Hello!

Each week I’m going to send out a note about my game of the week. This is week 1. Congratulations! You are a guinea pig.

Feel free to pass this email on to whoever you think would be interested. And if you want me to stop emailing you, just let me know.

The first ever game of the week is Amazing Alex. It’s the second big release from Rovio, the guys who made Angry Birds.

How does it work?

The aim of the game is to help Alex make wizard contraptions from everyday household items (he’s got some time off school over the summer holidays).

How does it make money?

Rovio charges for the game – $0.99 on iPhone in the US, and the same on Android (although on Android there is also a free taster version). The game launched simultaneously in multiple languages on iOS and Android, and has hit the top 10 all over the world.

Why is it important right now?

Rovio has a huge advantage here vs. smaller developers, because it can cross-promote within the various Angry Birds games. That cross-promotion helped them to get enough downloads to push the game into the top lists on the app stores, where it was discovered by many more people and as a result had a whole load more downloads.

As this is a big release for Rovio (and as they have a big marketing budget), there’s a neat trailer on YouTube, a Facebook page that promotes the best fan-made levels, and a Twitter account that does mainly customer engagement.

Check it out, and let me know what you think!

Cheers,

Todd