Dong Nguyen

‘Flappy Bird’ creator breaks silence, says he pulled game because it was ‘addictive’

Flappy Bird

Indie developer Dong Nguyen has broken his silence following the sudden removal of his popular Flappy Bird game recently. In an interview with Forbes, Nguyen says the game was originally designed to be played “when you are relaxed.” However, the notoriously difficult game, created in mid-2013, rose to fame recently, with some social network and YouTube users pointing out comically just how frustrating it is to navigate Mario-style pipes with a pixelated bird. “But it happened to become an addictive product. I think it has become a problem,” explains Nguyen. To solve that, Nguyen removed the app last weekend, and he notes “it’s gone forever.

The popularity of the game, which Nguyen revealed to The Verge generates on average $50,000 per day from in-app ads, appears to have had its negatives. “My life has not been as comfortable as I was before,” says Nguyen. “I couldn’t sleep.” Forbes reports that Nguyen has spent the last few days internet-free and resting up, while also suddenly meeting Vietnam’s deputy prime minister ahead of the publication’s interview. Despite the time for reflection, Nguyen doesn’t believe the sudden removal of the game was a mistake. “I have thought it through,” he explains.

Nguyen also previously revealed to The Verge that he was considering a Flappy Bird sequel, but that now seems unlikely considering he believes it’s an “addictive product.” Instead, Nguyen says he will continue developing games, and he still has two popular titles, Super Ball Juggling and Shuriken Block, in the Top 20 games on the App Store. “After the success of Flappy Bird, I feel more confident, and I have freedom to do what I want to do.

The sudden and surprising popularity of Flappy Bird has spawned countless clones of the game, as well as a web version that combines Flappy Bird and doge to create a pixelated shiba. Several enterprising eBay users have even listed their phones for sale with a copy of Flappy Bird installed, hoping to cash in on the Flappy Bird craze.

[Source: TheVerge]

Flappy Bird’s Creator Says He’s Removing The Game

Flappy Bird

A tweet from Dong Nguyen, creator of the maddening and virally popular game Flappy Bird, says the game will disappear from the Android and iOS app stores at noon tomorrow. “I cannot take this any more,” he Tweeted today.

He also added:

Then made it clear he has no plans to sell it to other developers or companies.

As Kotaku points out, the game has been around since 2013, but recently became wildly popular, boosted by a Buzzfeed article about its simple yet frustratingly difficult to master gameplay. Could this just be a push for even more downloads? Perhaps—the free, ad-supported game has reportedly been raking in $50,000 a day.

But lately, Nguyen seemed uncomfortable with its popularity, refusing interviews and other press contact. Apparently enough to scuttle the whole thing.

So download it while you can [iTunes Link] [Google Play Link]. Come tomorrow, the game will disappear—just like all the hours you’ve wasted playing it.

Update: 10-02-14 5:07 PM;

At just after 5pm today, he did as promised and took the game down, meaning it is no longer available to download – and prompting a rush of #RIPFlappyBird tweets.

If you try and download it now, it won’t work.

But fear not! If you’ve already downloaded it, it’ll still be there. Just make sure you keep a backup of your phone.

[Sources: Twitter / Gizmodo]