CrunchGear

Video: Peter Vesterbacka Gives The Angry Birds Update. A Franchise Is Flourishing!
Nintendo Begins 3DS Demo Tours Around The U.S., Canada
SXSW 2011: Initial Thoughts?
Daily Crunch: Shapes Edition

Video: Peter Vesterbacka Gives The Angry Birds Update. A Franchise Is Flourishing!

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 04:39 PM PST

I ran into Rovio’s Peter Vesterbacka again at SXSW 2011 and he was kind enough to give me the update since I saw him last at the Mobile World Congress. Dude is everywhere…and busy.

Here’s the short version, but watch the video below to get the info straight from the Mighty Eagle himself!

Reached 100 million downloads
Angry Birds Rio arrives March 22
Raised 42 million in Series A funding…

Social game launching in May
Sold 2 million Angry Birds plush toys
Movie, TV deals possibly coming soon
Rovio Books
Payments platform is moving along as planned

Nintendo Begins 3DS Demo Tours Around The U.S., Canada

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 07:30 AM PST

The Nintendo 3DS is still a few weeks away from release here in North America (March 27, to be exact), but that doesn’t mean you can’t play with it right now. Nintendo has begun a series of demo events in cities around the country where you can, in their own words, "be one of the first to experience the Nintendo 3DS system before launch day." What cities are involved?

Four cities get the 3DS demo, and they are:

New York at Grand Central Terminal

Chicago at the Citigroup Center

Los Angeles at Third Street Promenade

San Francisco at Pier 39

And don’t worry: there are similar events in Canada, too.

Nintendo also says that 3DS units will be at select retailers in the weeks leading up to the launch date, so don’t freak out if you don’t live in or near one of those aforementioned cities.

In other 3D news, last night I was on After Dark Radio with Bryan Alvarez (of Figure 4 Weekly fame), and we discussed all sorts of fun tech topics including, but not limited to, 3D. So if you have a spare moment!

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

SXSW 2011: Initial Thoughts?

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 06:45 AM PST

Rolling into Austin, TX yesterday on a warm, sunny afternoon for SXSW 2011 was a nice change of pace for me considering that the typical mid-March day in the Midwest is cold and rainy. Fortunately, multiple preparatory tasks, like badge collection, registration and the like did not prevent me from wandering around the conference and city.

I haven’t seen much yet, but the things I did see, were definitely unexpected. Stay tuned for more interviews and coverage as the conference begins to hit stride on March 12.

In the mean time, just know that:
1. You can get into a pillow fight in the middle of the street here in Austin.
2. You can test out what it's like to receive corporal punishment at the conference (part of an anti-corporal punishment campaign for schools).
3. Apple really can put a store anywhere it wants on short notice – even in a Gold's Gym.