Well, that escalated quickly. In just a couple short years Angry Birds has gone from an obscure iOS game to a huge money-making, licensing machine. The funny thing is, I don’t mind at all. Rovio seems to be doing everything with right Angry Birds. They haven’t put out a crappy game yet and I’ll be eagerly waiting for November 8th to download Angry Birds Star Wars.

I can’t wait to see some gameplay and level design from this one. The art looks awesome; those little birds actually look great as Star Wars characters. The Rebel and Empire logo redesigns are pretty cool too. I’d totally rock a Pig-themed Empire logo on a t-shirt, and I’m sure I’ll get the chance, because they’ll be launching a huge merchandise push when the game hits the App Store. From Rovio’s blog post:

In addition to the game, this fall will also see the unveiling of a massive retail launch for Angry Birds Star Wars. Merchandise ranging from Halloween costumes and apparel to action figures and collectible plush toys will be available at select retailers, starting October 28.

I want some PVC figures from this game, and wouldn’t mind having something with those pig TIE fighters, because come on, pig TIE fighters!

Also, how is there not an Angry Birds cartoon yet? I know they’ve been talking about it forever, and when you think about some of the weird crap we grew up watching the concept doesn’t sound that crazy.

As someone who pushes pixels all day, I’ve grown to appreciate folks who can actually make physical objects with their own hands. How’s that work? Etsy has no shortage of awesome geek gear, and this Angry Birds Crochet Pattern is no exception.

My sister pointed this out, which is appropriate since she made me these awesome crocheted Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for Christmas. It’s amazing seeing Angry Birds making the leap from our iPhone screens to the real world with all the shirts, toys and games coming out lately.

What should be the next bit of Angry Birds merchandising? Undies?

Everybody loves Angry Birds, right? For being so pissed off, they’re all cute and cuddly, and the way they dispatch pigs in the game is so rated G it borders on adorable.

But in real-life, outside of the game, it’s a completely different story. Those blood thirsty avians aren’t just angry…they’re hungry. And they won’t let a good slice of bacon or ham go to waste.

If you’re ok with bird-on-pig violence, you might want to “dig in” to today’s Ript Apparel t-shirt, available only on 1/31/2011. Head over to their website to pick up your own for only $10.

How do you make something awesome even awesomer? You create it out of Lego bricks.

That’s exactly what Yiu Keung did with Rovio’s video game phenomenon. All your favorite birds of mass destruction are represented. There’s even the evil pigs and the slingshot.

Can you imagine tossing these around to create a smash-em-up, real-world version of the game? No, I can’t either.

See the full gallery of photos on Facebook.

I love gifting apps to friends and family. Give someone an iTunes gift card and they could blow it on Neil Diamond albums or TV episodes, but gift them an app and chances are they’ll at least give it a try. It helps that they’re super cheap and have enormous value (Angry Birds updates, anyone?), so think of them as digital stocking stuffers. I’m addicted to quite a few iPhone apps at the moment, so here are some of my recommendations that would make great gifts for other iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch owners.

Angry Birds Seasons

Angry Birds is the biggest iPhone addiction of me and a whole lot of other people, and for good reason. The gameplay is easy to pick up on, but the endless levels can be very tough and take you quite a few tries to master. Angry Birds is the original classic, but Angry Birds Seasons might make a little more sense to gift. It’s like an advent calendar, and each day until Christmas a new level unlocks. Both are 99¢.

The Incident

My second favorite iPhone game (at the moment) is The Incident by Neven Morgan and Matt Comi, an 8-bit styled game where you try to dodge an endless array of falling objects. You control the main character by tilting your iPhone, and the combination of the gameplay, graphics, and music makes it one of my top picks. It’s $1.99.

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