Rovio hopes to repeat "Angry Birds" success with “Amazing Alex”

PanARMENIAN.Net - Rovio is hoping to repeat its "Angry Birds" success with a new videogame called “Amazing Alex,” The Wrap reported.

The game, a revamp of a pixelated precursor called “Casey’s Contraptions,” is scheduled for release within the next two months, Rovio CEO Mikael Hed said.

A physics puzzler, it centers on a young boy, Alex, who likes to build things.

The big question is whether “Alex” can spawn the same kind of success as the avian demoliton derby "Angry Birds."

Obsessively played on smartphones around the world, the game flew past the one-billion mark in total downloads earlier this month, the company has said. It was iTunes' top-selling app in 2011.

An "Angry Birds: The Movie" is reportedly in development at Marvel Studios, and a series of "Angry Birds" animated shorts geared for multiple platforms is set for this fall from Rovio.

And the brand also has blown up in terms of merchandising, inspiring a vast array of products - plush toys, candy, figurines - and Rovio is gearing up to open a second theme park (the first is in Finland) based on the game in China.

Rovio picked up “Casey’s Contraptions” from developers Snappy Touch and Mystery Coconut.