How Rovio launched an Angry Birds empire after 51 failed attempts (#StartupAsia preview)

Use one finger to pull the oddly-shaped bird back on the slingshot, and release it to rain destruction down on evil pigs. Rinse and repeat.

A simple concept for a mobile game, but something about it utterly captured its audience. Angry Birds went on to not only distract billions of people around the world from actually doing something productive, but also spun off a cartoon series, a merchandise empire, and even became the theme for several park rides and attractions. In fact, close to 50 percent of Angry Birds’s revenue came from such non-game sales in 2013, according to the International Business Times.

The disturbingly addictive game was by no means an overnight sensation, though. By the time Angry Birds arrived and became a roaring success, Finnish developer Rovio had already launched a grand total of 51 other game titles, and was close to bankruptcy. Angry Birds became its doorway to worldwide success.

The question is, how did Rovio finally manage to create the perfect game? Was it just really lucky, or is there a lesson here about putting your head down and working hard against the odds? Rovio’s brand ambassador Peter Vesterbacka – who is better known as the ‘Mighty Eagle’ – will be taking the stage at Startup Asia Jakarta to let us in on the company’s recipe for success. Interviewing him will be Anton Soeharyo, CEO of TouchTen Games, who has himself achieved a measure of success in building up his own game studio.

See: Rovio exec quits to help a Japanese music startup go global