Walmart Takes Angry Birds Space to New Heights with the First Retail and Gaming Integration
"Golden Eggsteroid" Clues to Bonus Levels Embedded Exclusively in Walmart Merchandise; One of Four Clues Available to Walmart's Facebook Fans
BENTONVILLE, Ark., March 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- America, the Angry Birds are in their final dissent to your local Walmart! Angry Birds Space, the newest version of the world's most-downloaded mobile game from Rovio Entertainment, will touch down in app stores March 22, and only Walmart customers will be able to access "Golden Eggsteroid" clues that unlock four bonus levels in the game. For the first time, Walmart has joined forces with a leader in mobile entertainment to provide its customers with an integrated online and in-store gaming experience.
Walmart is also offering its more than 13 million Facebook fans the first of four special "golden eggsteroid" clues starting March 22 by visiting: http://facebook.com/walmart. The remaining clues will be embedded in select limited-edition Angry Birds merchandise available in Walmart stores, including apparel, plush toys, mobile phones, snacks and more. This first-of-its-kind retail gaming experience launches on Facebook today and catapults into more than 3,000 Walmart U.S. stores on March 25.
"Walmart is bringing fun back to the shopping experience, with interactive merchandise that brings the best of digital gaming together with in-store retail," said Seong Ohm, senior vice president and general merchandise manager for entertainment, Walmart U.S. "By partnering with Rovio, we're able to give millions of avid bird slingers bonus content by coming into our stores and shopping our broad assortment of Angry Birds Space merchandise. This is just one of many exciting partnerships Walmart is forging to give our customers access to exclusive content."
Customers can search through Angry Birds Space-themed items - including apparel, mobile phones, plush toys, snacks and more - for hidden game clues that unlock four "golden eggsteroid" bonus levels. The golden eggsteroids may be hidden on pricetags, snack boxes and even on an actual t-shirt design. Examples include:
-- Angry Birds(TM) Space Fruit Snacks - $2.18
-- Angry Birds(TM) Space Limited Edition Space Tee - $6.97
-- Angry Birds(TM) Space 5" Plush Birds - $14.97
"We wanted to give our fans a unique retail extension to Angry Birds Space that rewards them for their eagle eyes," said Peter Vesterbacka, chief marketing officer and Mighty Eagle of Rovio Entertainment. "Only Walmart can deliver the reach across America for this type of program and we wish our fans luck as they seek out our hidden clues."
Additionally, T-Mobile is offering a special Angry Birds promotion in Walmart stores. With the purchase of any T-Mobile Androidsmartphone, such as the Samsung Exhibit II 4G, paired with a great value plan, such as the T-Mobile Monthly4G $30 Unlimited Web & Text plan, Walmart customers will gain access to an Angry Birds Space portal in the T-Mobile Mall where they can download the new game and find a hint to unlock a hidden golden eggsteroid level. Customers will also be given access to extras like downloadable Angry Birdswallpaper and Angry Birdsanimated shorts.
To "like" Walmart and Angry Birds Space on Facebook, please visit walmarturl.com/angrybirdsspace.
About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at over 10,000 retail units under 69 different banners in 28 countries. With fiscal year 2011 sales of $419 billion, Walmart employs 2.2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://walmartstores.com, and on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart. Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com and http://www.samsclub.com.
About Rovio Entertainment
Rovio is an industry-changing entertainment media company based in Finland, and the creator of the globally successful Angry Birds franchise. Angry Birds, a casual puzzle game, became an international phenomenon within a year of release, and is now the number one paid app of all time. Following this success in mobile gaming, Angry Birds has expanded rapidly in entertainment, publishing, and merchandise to become a beloved international brand. For more information, visit rovio.com.