Rovio's Peter Vesterbacka Talks, China, Merchandising, Animation

This is a part of our TechCrunch Disrupt 2011 event coverage.

Here at TechCrunch DisruptBeijing, Peter Vesterbacka, CEO of Rovio Interactive, the team behind Angry Birds, was on stage just moments ago, talking to TechCrunch/CrunchGadget guy John Biggs. Peter was wearing a red bird-face hoodie and clutching several Angry Birds helium balloons in a not-too-subtle indication that he’s going to be talking about merchandising.

Upon arrival in China, Peter has been browsing around shops in Beijing looking at some of the er… unofficial Angry Birds merchandising that’s available from the pirates. But, thinking positively, Peter says he’ll look at some of the things the pirates are doing and telling his people that they should try that out. “So, yes, we’re pirating the pirates,” joked Peter.

One concern is the quality of the pirated merchandise, which can hurt the Angry Birds and Rovio brand. Peter related how he looked at some shoddy birdie merchandise in a shop in Beijing, and gently berated the shop owner for selling low-quality items.

And that matters a lot to Peter. “We don’t see ourselves as a game company,” he said to John. That’s not the first time we’ve heard him say that. So, being an “entertainment franchise” company, the quality of Rovio gear is crucial going forward.

Rovio Gets Animated

Animation shorts are “important” to Rovio now, and they’re working on full-feature animated movies that’ll take two or three years to develop. They’ve recruited David Breaux, the animator behind Iron Man, for upcoming longer features. Peter notes:

We have more distribution than probably some Hollywood studies.

So that’s something they’ll leverage with their cartoons and movies.

An Angry Birds Cookbook will come out in English and Chinese, and Rovio opened a Shanghai office last week. So there are plenty of signs that the company is investing time, effort, and money into China to ensure that its entertainment ventures – as well as its games – can take off. “We want to be more Chinese than some Chinese companies,” says Peter. How about Angry Birds cigarettes? You can have that idea for free, Rovio.

Don’t Get Gobbled Up Like Pac-Man

TechCrunch man Biggs asks the pertinent question: How can Rovio avoid dying out like Pacman, or vanishing into the Beijing smog of time like Tetris?

Peter points out that “We’re making the movies ourself […] We care about two things – our facts and are brands.” By looking after both, and staying in control and strategic diversifications, Peter insists that Rovio can stay relevant – and profitable – for longer.

Also, says Peter, their wide distribution network keeps them in tune with users, and regular updates fly out to users quickly and regularly, unlike the stick-a-coin-in-the-slot inconvenience that killed off older games that lacked the magical platforms and distribution channels that Rovio is expanding and using today.