The popular smartphone video game Angry Birds is to be coming direct to TV screens in the near future, but not as most expected, on an android device. The game will be flying onto TV screens, after a deal with Internet TV giant Roku sees the Rovio Mobile production come free, as part of the new Roku set-top box.

Angry Birds, a fairly simple arcade-style game involving catapulting the bird characters into a fort to demolish, will be part of a selection of over 250 ‘entertainment options’ on the new box, which is produced primarily for the purpose for streaming music and video in a high-speed connected service.

For those that are worried about how they will play the game without its traditional touchpad method (for platforms such as smartphones and tablet computers), Roku have confirmed that as part of the deal that sees Angry Birds on the smart TV product (as a free and installed ’start-up’ app), controllers for the game will be provided with the box.

However, this current-based marketing method will prevent over 1 million Roku customers (since its launch in 2008) from backdating the game to their system, and have been told that if they want the Angry Birds game, or any of the expected video game releases in the future, they will need to purchase a new set-top box, at a cost of $60 for the most basic version.

Since release in late 2009, the move will be the first time that Angry Birds is available to play on a high-definition TV screen, having previously been in the domain of portable touch-screen devices and web browser releases. Despite never having been released in any other format, the game has been a worldwide hit, recording a huge 200 million downloads in its existence.

Roku CEO Anthony Wood hopes that his company’s latest move can catch on with Angry Birds’ fanbase, having a projected sales figure of over 2 million this year, while this could in turn raise the planned revenue to $150m, up from the $47m recorded last year.

Peter Vesterbacka, head of Rovio’s marketing department, was extra optimistic about the deal: “We believe that a lot of our fans will buy the Roku just to play Angry Birds.”

While Netflix’s official streaming service is by far the most-used application on Roku’s systems, could a challenger be ready to ‘fly’ up to the top of the popularity stakes?

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