What addiction claims more young lives than any other, and may soon outnumber smokers and drug addicts?
Angry Birds, the two-year old gaming app from developer Rovio, has been downloaded more than 300 million times to date and is on track to reaching its one billion downloads, according to Rovio CEO Peter Vesterback. The franchise has turned Rovio into a reported $1 billion company (on par with JetBlue).
Clearly there's a demand for kitschy bird-catapulting games. According to the infographic below, created by Ask Your Target Market, single, young men are "most likely to fall victim to its allure" and start down a path of time-wasting like no other.
That's no small accomplishment for a startlingly simple game with a broad franchise. Starting out as a free, ads-free iPhone app in 2009, Angry Birds has expanded to free and paid versions for Android, Windows Phone 7, Symbian, Maemo, PC/Mac, Sony PS3/PSP, and Roku hardware. There are alos plans to launch on various Nintendo consoles, Microsoft Xbox, and BlackBerry PlayBook as well as a version that takes advantage of near-field communications (NFC).
The rules of the game are simple though no other company has been able to replicate Rovio's financial success. The game involves using gestures and taps to catapult cartoonish birds at different block-based structures. You can progress through levels based on how many birds it takes you to finish knocking down the structure. Angry Birds comes in free and paid versions, and three themes: original Angry Birds, Angry Birds Seasons, and Angry Birds Rio, a marketing tie-up with Twentieth Century Fox movie, 'Rio.' Angry Birds mania is also apparent in everything from plush toys to real life re-enactments to a cookbook.
Are you an Angry Birds addict? As the infographic below shows, you're not alone, and suffice to say there's no cure in sight:
Infographic by: AYTM Market Research