Rovio is set to bring its flagship title, Angry Birds, to in-car touchscreens for the first time in collaboration with manufacturer Mercedes-Benz.
The deal was facilitated by Angry Birds’ global licensing agency IMG, and will allow drivers who use the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class to download the title from the Faurecia Aptoide in-car app store. The car features a large touchscreen display known as Mercedes hyperscreen and it seems Mercedes-Benz are eager to push the multimedia aspect of what their new in-car entertainment tech can do.
It’s not the first time mobile games have come to cars including early effort by manufacturers such as Tesla. But it does mark a major step into this burgeoning world of multimedia play in vehicles by a titan of mobile gaming in the form of Rovio. And Mercedes and Rovio's announcement comes ahead of an upcoming BMW reveal, set to show off the in-car gaming skills of their forthcoming, eagerly awaited i5 electric vehicle.
Driving forwards it's safe to say that in-car gaming is truly set to be 'a thing'.
Head of brand licensing at Rovio Hanna Valkeapää-Nokkala said “Mercedes-Benz and Angry Birds are both known for driving innovation, shaping trends and creating incredible experiences in our respective fields. We can’t think of a more fitting partner for our first in-car entertainment offering. We have no doubt Angry Birds will prove to be the perfect travel companion!”
Drive angry
Aside from the obvious move by many car manufacturers to include multimedia aspects, and the natural next-step of including mobile games - already built for touchscreens - in these displays, this is also one of the first major deals we see come out of IMG. Announced earlier this year, IMG are the exclusive licensing agent for the Angry Birds franchise, and it seems they managed to secure a significant deal with a major car manufacturer.
It’s unlikely we’ll see mobile games in cars overtake their native platform, after all a car is a much greater luxury than a mobile phone and a lot more difficult to use casually. However, it does show that these games, already made to be played on the go, are a serious consideration for car manufacturers to increase the value proposition of their vehicles.
