Rovio announces the Mighty Eagle smartbomb to solve your Angry Birds' problems
Buy your way through one stuck level
During his Nokia World 2010 keynote, Rovio CEO Mikael Hed revealed an interesting new gameplay and business element to the seven million selling mobile game Angry Birds.
Called the Mighty Eagle, it’s an in-app purchase that acts as a smart bomb to clear any level you’re stuck on.
“We want Angry Birds to relieve stress not increase it,” Hed explained.
“When your bird arsenal isn’t enough, and you’re stuck on a level, you summon the Mighty Eagle.”
Of course, by "summon" Hed means buy as an in-app purchase, something he demonstrated via Nokia’s Ovi Store. We’d expect the Mighty Eagle to also be available on the Apple App Store and Android Market.
The price wasn’t announced but it'll probably be 99c.
In terms of gameplay, the Mighty Eagle can be used once in a game to clear any level you’re stuck on. If you want to use it again you'll have to clear that level using the normal arsenal of birds before the Mighty Eagle is made available again.
“There are limits to his powers to retain the gameplay experience,” Hed explains.
“From a business perspective, this is the end of mobile games as a commodity and the start of games as a service.”
Of course, considering the close working relationship between the two Finnish companies - indeed Angry Birds was first released on the Ovi Store - Angry Birds, including the Mighty Eagle, will be available on all new Symbian^3 devices including the Nokia N8.
