AppleInsider Staff
The developer behind massively popular indie game Flappy Bird removed the app from Apple's iOS App Store on Sunday, saying he 'cannot take this anymore.'
After a meteoric rise to the No. 1 spot on Apple's iOS App Store charts, the deceivingly simple Flappy Bird has been removed by the game's developer Dong Nguyen. The takedown comes after Nguyen promised to pull Flappy Bird on Saturday.
At one point, Flappy Bird was raking in about $50,000 per day from in-game advertising, reports The Verge. In addition to revenue, ads were added to enhance the gaming experience, according to Nguyen, who modeled the title after bite-sized Japanese offerings.
The exact reason for Flappy Bird's removal is unknown, though Nguyen stated legal issues are not to blame. When the developer announced he would be pulling the app, some theorized Nintendo had taken issue with the title's art style, which was heavily influenced by Super Mario Bros. In a series of tweets following the sudden rise in downloads it became apparent that Nguyen was distressed by the amount of attention he and his game were getting.
I am sorry 'Flappy Bird' users, 22 hours from now, I will take 'Flappy Bird' down. I cannot take this anymore.
— Dong Nguyen (@dongatory) February 8, 2014Also unclear is why the game became so popular. After lying relatively dormant in the App Store since its debut in May 2013, Flappy Bird saw a huge spike in downloads over a short period of time. Some attribute the boost to a slew of social media posts and ensuing press coverage.
Nguyen's small development firm dotGears Studios has released a few other titles similar to Flappy Bird, though none have seen the same level of success. With a refusal to sell the game's rights to another party, it appears Flappy Bird's death will be just as spontaneous as its rise to the top.
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33 Comments
Was anyone else disturbed by the language of the Flappy Bird reviews? Either they were all written by the same person/organization, or for some strange reason it's common for people to associate an addicting game with Satan/the devil. Honestly, I was confused by the striking similarity in both thematics and semantics.
The reason why this game went viral is because it essentially has become an internet meme. Popular YouTuber "PewDiePie" uploaded a video of him playing it -- he has 22 million subscribers, meaning that gave the game a lot of traction. Also, it became a trend to post vine videos (on the popular app "Vine"). These videos are also spread throughout other popular social media sites -- this is how the game has become a meme. @Sporlo, I think the App Store reviews referring to possession and the devil is part of this meme. People have been making up stories about how this game has caused them to lose their life and sanity to the addictive qualities of this game. It's a bit of an ongoing dark-humor joke about this game. I think that all of these jokes, videos, and internet memes being created in reference to this game, is part of the reason why the creator has taken down the game. I, personally, don't believe that is a justified reason to take a game that makes him $50k a day, but it's what he felt was the right thing to do.
With that sort of money, Dong could/should just a hire a PR Manager to filter out the abuse. I would! Life too short to deal with other people's insecurities.
Copycat Frappy Bird app in 3... 2... 1...
Coming soon to the App Store: Flapping Geese, Flappie the Bird, Flap Flap Flap!, and Flap Away Birdie.