Several months later, a plush Angry Bird doll flew in real life to the International Space Station on board a Russian rocket. Representatives from Rovio came to the launch as guests of NASA. Released on July 8, 2011, the special moon landing level was timed so it coincided with NASA's last space shuttle mission, which lifted off the same day. One was a bonus level that was unlocked only after players found golden eggs, but the other, Level 1-17 of 'Summer Pignic,' featured an Apollo-style lunar module and lunar rover, as well as decreased gravity slowing the rate at which the birds fell to the ground. Last year, Rovio added two levels to Angry Birds Seasons with a space theme. (Image credit: NASA/Apple/Rovio/)Īngry Birds Space will not mark the first time, however, that Angry Birds has ventured into space - in the game or in real life. The first Apple iPads in space and an 'Angry Birds' plush doll were launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in late 2011.

'Science and education are very important to us, and we are very excited to have NASA and National Geographic as launch partners on Angry Birds Space,' Stalbow said.įor its part, the space agency is 'excited to see elements of space exploration and science integrated into play,' a NASA spokesman told. 'You'll be lobbing birds on entirely new planets,' Yahoo! Games' Ben Silverman wrote, adding that players will have to contend with zero gravity and new gameplay elements such as slow-motion puzzles and 'lightspeed' destruction.Īndrew Stalbow with Rovio North America told Silverman that the Angry Birds Space environments would continue to employ real physics, lending an educational component to the game. Rovio said it would release more details about Angry Birds Space in early March but shared with Yahoo! Games that the game would introduce some new types of birds while bringing back some from the earlier games, but now enhanced with 'super powers.' In the original Angry Birds, and in its follow-on versions Seasons and Rio, players use a similar slingshot to launch a flock of multi-colored birds at hungry green pigs, knocking over wood, stone and ice structures in the process. 17 doesn't offer a lot of information yet, other than the release date and the Neil Armstrong-inspired slogan, 'One small fling for a bird, one quantum leap for birdkind.'Ī graphic on the site shows a slingshot firmly planted on the moon.

The Angry Birds Space website and video teaser released on Feb. 'Not only is this a first for us as an integrated entertainment company, but the first time this has ever been done for a mobile game!' 'We'll launch simultaneously in mobile gaming, animation, retail and publishing,' Rovio stated. Less than a year later, and with a Space Act Agreement in hand, Rovio and NASA are now counting down to a cross-platform launch that Rovio says will go where no mobile game has gone before.

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