'Angry Birds' May Be Mad at China Theme Park

9:40 AM PDT 9/16/2011 by THR Staff

Comments

A real-life version of the popular video game has appeared in China, but without authorization.

Move over Apple. A theme park in China has adapted the popular "Angry Birds' video game into a real-life, balloon-flinging, pig-pounding experience.

Chinese Authorities Find 22 More Fake Apple Stores

China Closes Fake Apple Stores in Southwestern City of Kunming

Located in the Hunan province capital of Changsha, players use big slingshots to fire bird balloons at castle-like structures containing the pigs that are the rage-inspiring targets of Rovio's hit game, according to a report by CBS News.

Despite the surprising likeness of the pieces to the game's animated characters, Rovio has not licensed the any such adaptation, bringing to the surface once again ongoing disputes over intellectual property rights protection in China. Rovio told the Mobiledia gaming site that it would welcome a partnership, but that it had not been approached by theme park operators.

During the summer, unlicensed retail outlets and designed to look like Apple stores were found in several provinces. Concerns over pirating of movies, music and software remain, although China's booming box office, led by Hollywood films and taking in about $1.5 billion last year, has somewhat mitigated earlier outrage.