Rovio Releases Free-to-Play but Pay-to-Win Angry Birds on Facebook

When one of my favorite MMOs, Lineage II, took the free-to-play route this past December, it became clear to me pretty quick that “free-to-play” actually translates to “pay-to-win”. The latest target of that scheme? Believe it or not… Angry Birds. Developer Rovio just released the game to Facebook, and as it stands, it’s the only version of the game that allows in-game purchases.

What in-game purchases could possibly exist for Angry Birds? Power-ups, of which there are currently four. One as noted at TechCrunch is “Sling Slope”, which allows you to target anywhere on the game field and have a precise shot. These power-ups can be had for 20 / $1, with the best deal being 1,000 for $20. I never thought I’d see the day where Angry Birds could cost $20.

Like most free-to-play games, not everyone will feel the need to purchase anything. But the tempation is hard to ignore when you want to get a higher score, or a more impressive result in general. While Angry Birds costs a mere $1 on most other platforms, this free-to-play model stands to handsomely reward Rovio. A $1 purchase of the game elsewhere stops at $1, after all, whereas this scheme allows people to continually purchase new power-ups.

I wouldn’t say this is a scheme I like to see become the norm, however. When a $1 game becomes a $20 or higher game, you gotta ask yourself if you are paying too much. But at the end of the day, it’s the fun-factor that matters.