If you’ve been playing Flappy Bird as much as us here at Newegg HQ, you were probably surprised when Dong Nguyen — the creator of the extremely difficult and overtly simple game — sent out some confusing tweets.
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, 2014
I also don’t sell ‘Flappy Bird’, please don’t ask.
— Dong Nguyen (@dongatory) February 8, 2014
And I still make games.
— Dong Nguyen (@dongatory) February 8, 2014
Staying true to his word, the game has been pulled from both Google Play and iTunes, leaving the millions of people who downloaded the game ask one simple question: why? Especially during a time when the game is experiencing an immense amount of popularity and generating Nguyen an estimated $50,000 a day from advertising.
Rumors have been swirling recently about the legality of the game for its resemblance to Super Mario Bros. but Nguyen is claiming “it is not anything related to legal issues” and he “just cannot keep it anymore.” Only Nguyen knows his reasons for yanking the game but his actions add to a growing list of questionable behavior on his part.
After a mobile consultant pointed out some suspicious behavior regarding the app’s sudden rise to stardom, Nguyen began to shun all media attention. He inexplicably canceled an interview with Reuters, refused to reschedule for the following day, and turned off his phone so nobody could get a hold of him. Odd behavior for a person who up until recently was talking about developing a sequel along with a version for Windows Mobile, don’t you think?
Regardless if he cheated his way to the top of the game charts, Flappy Bird became a phenomenon that most likely guarantees whatever game Nguyen comes up with next will be a huge success. One look at eBay where devices that have his game installed are listed for hundreds or even thousands of dollars is evidence enough that people want more from the Hanoi-based developer.
If you’re one of the few people who didn’t have the opportunity to download the game and don’t want to spend your life savings just to play it, there are now many imitations available in app stores and online with clever titles like Flappy Doge and Flappy Pants.
You could also play one of the other games Nguyen’s .GEARS Studios has designed. All promise to be incredibly hard and fun to play, guaranteeing you’ll still be able to pull your hair out and throw your phone at a wall out of frustration.
