Angry Birds

A few days after announcing Angry Birds Star Wars 2, Rovio Entertainment also announced that the original ABSW game would be coming to console systems on October 29th. The game will be available for the Nintendo 3DS, the Wii, Wii U, Sony's PS3 and PS Vita and the Xbox 360. Rovio is adding 20 exclusive levels to the game, plus some new game modes.

Rovio's Angry Birds Star Wars was originally released to the App Store on November 8, 2012. The game features 6 Star Wars-themed worlds plus the Golden Droid bonus levels. Rovio also released a series of ABSW toys and board games to tie-in with the game's release.

Rovio Entertainment is following up its popular Star Wars mobile game and toy line with Angry Birds Star Wars 2 on September 19th. ABSW2 will feature over 30 playable characters, and Hasbro-created "telepods" that interact with the game. A telepod is a physical toy that represents a playable character within the Angry Birds universe. Players can unlock the characters in the game by individually purchasing the toys, and using their device's built-in camera to activate them. Rovio's new telepods are a lot like Activision's very popular Skylanders toys, which are used with the various Skylanders console video games.

NFC-based video games are becoming so popular that even Disney has taken a crack at them with its planned Disney Infinity series. Disney Infinity is set to launch a few months ahead of Activision's newest Skylanders game SWAP Force on August 18th. It will be interesting to see how consumers respond with so many NFC-based video games / toys being released around the same time. These games can be very pricey after purchasing both the starter sets and individual characters. A Skylanders starter set retails for around $70, and each individual toy costs around $10 to $14. It is unknown at this time how much the individual Angry Birds telepods will set you back.

Fans of the Angry Birds franchise will be happy to know that Rovio's popular Facebook game is coming to iOS on May 2nd. Angry Birds Friends is the next installment in the Angry Birds series of games available on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The Facebook version of the game was launched one year ago and attracts over a million daily users.

It's not clear whether or not the Angry Birds Friends app will require Facebook Connect to play. Since the game is designed for social interaction, players can create bird avatars, gift power ups to friends, and invite friends to play the game. In addition, many other features will be incorporated into the game including in-app purchases to enhance the experience.

Coming off the big Angry Birds Star Wars announcement, Rovio has issued a Halloween-themed update to its Angry Birds Seasons game. The update brings 30-levels of haunted pig action, and a new character called Frankenswine.

Players must brave a haunted house with new ghost bricks and ghouls to save their eggs. The update is free for users who've already purchased the iPhone or iPad version of the game.

The newly announced Angry Birds Star Wars app won't be available until November 8, but fans of both franchises can begin collecting the toy line starting on October 28th. Several online retailers are currently accepting pre-orders for the toys which include: A Jenga Death Star Game, an Angry AT-AT Attack Battle Game, and five plush Angry Birds / Star Wars characters (Darth Vader, Luke, a Stormtrooper, Leia and Han Solo).

Rovio Entertainment has also rolled out a line of new Angry Bird themed Halloween costumes for children and adults, and also plan to release an Angry Birds / Star Wars apparel line in the near future. The game will be available on more platforms including iOS, Android, Amazon's Kindle Fire, Mac, and Microsoft's Windows, Windows Phone and Windows 8. Rovio promises that both franchises will be well represented in the crossover.

"From the deserts of Tatooine to the depths of the Death Star – the game and merchandise will feature the Angry Birds characters starring as the iconic heroes of the beloved Saga," Rovio said.