• IMPORTANT: Welcome to the re-opening of GameRebels! We are excited to be back and hope everyone has had a great time away. Everyone is welcome!

Flappy Bird Removed from App Store

Toxique

Well-Known Member
MOTM
Joined
Jan 27, 2012
Messages
3,910
Reaction score
11
flappy-birds-dead-header.jpg

The addictive game that soared to the top of iPhone and Android app downloads disappeared from app stores on Sunday, though players who already have it apparently can keep on flying.

A tweet from the game's creator suggested that its sudden success had become an albatross.

"I am sorry 'Flappy Bird' users, 22 hours from now, I will take 'Flappy Bird' down," developer Dong Nguyen wrote on Saturday. "I cannot take this anymore."

Nguyen, a Vietnamese developer with a studio called DotGears, did not reply to CNN's request for an interview last week and has stayed mostly quiet in the wake of the game's recent and sudden success.

His no-frills game gave players a chance to steer a tiny bird through an obstacle course of metal pipes. But it's unclear why it shot to the top of the most downloaded charts.

Although new players can no longer download "Flappy Bird," the game remains playable for those who had already added it to their devices.

Hundreds of phones with "Flappy Bird" installed have suddenly appeared for sale on eBay at prices up to $15,000.

"Flappy Bird" was originally released for the iPhone in May but didn't become the top free iPhone app until mid-January, following a surge in popularity that seems to have kicked off in early December. Observers have voiced several unproven theories about the game's sudden success, including the use of bots to get it on Top 10 lists artificially, organic enthusiasm on social media and a surge in amusing user reviews in the Apple App and Google Play stores.

Nguyen told Chocolate Lab Apps he created the game in two to three days and says he did not promote the app in any way after its release.

In a series of Twitter posts Saturday, he said he wouldn't sell "Flappy Bird" and would continue to make games.

"It is not anything related to legal issues," he said. "I just cannot keep it anymore."

Last week, "Flappy Bird" had an average four-star rating from more than 543,000 reviews in the Apple App Store and 228,000 on Android. Many of the reviews were lengthy, tongue-in-cheek tales of time lost, marriages ended and people going cuckoo after playing the game.

Source
 

Stealth

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 29, 2012
Messages
1,251
Reaction score
8
Finally, it is gone. I have been waiting for this day all my life!
 

Stealth

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 29, 2012
Messages
1,251
Reaction score
8
By all of my life I meant since like late December when nobody would shut up about it.
 

uchenna

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2012
Messages
430
Reaction score
0
Ironpants is still available, it another great game like flappy birds to make you rage ;)
 

Guardian

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 5, 2012
Messages
982
Reaction score
57
:p Wow, that's crazy. Most people try to capitalize further on their success, not run from it. Good for him I guess? Now I guess we can finally stop hearing about the game.
 

Pluto

Active Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2013
Messages
359
Reaction score
1
Well he closed it also for the copyright strikes against him because if you notice those tubes are copyrighted by Nintendo for Mario Bros. That is also one reason he closed it that most people do not know about currently.
 

Toxique

Well-Known Member
MOTM
Joined
Jan 27, 2012
Messages
3,910
Reaction score
11
Fuzed said:
He is bringing it back.

Really? I guess that if a game makes 50k a day in ads then you would want to bring it back :p
 

Stealth

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 29, 2012
Messages
1,251
Reaction score
8
If it's coming back I will not know what I will do with my life.
 

overcast

Active Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2017
Messages
518
Reaction score
19
After all these years the game is back on Google Play. I guess the author may be making good sum of money these days. Also the amount of effort taken by the author are lot higher for sure. The reason being earlier his game had no ads but now after specific levels there are ads popping up. The game remains classic either way.
 

Clara1993

Active Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2017
Messages
80
Reaction score
5
After all these years the game is back on Google Play. I guess the author may be making good sum of money these days. Also the amount of effort taken by the author are lot higher for sure. The reason being earlier his game had no ads but now after specific levels there are ads popping up. The game remains classic either way.
Thanks For letting us know, But I wonder what was his reasons for Don Nguyen to take the app off from App store!! However I think people could still get on apk website, That's how I do when I can't find an app in all store :) Or Download some On blackmart :)
 

DenisHero

Active Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2017
Messages
49
Reaction score
0
Be sure that Flappy Bird game is not dead.
There are uncountable copies of the original Flappy game.
They will never be as popular as the main game.Those clone developers rely on the fact that game will be crowded by the people who played the old Flappy Bird.For example,Clumsy Bird has 10 million download.A bit re-skinned,to cover the same design as the original.
The dev should make some ads revenue as well.
 

airfightermax

Active Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2017
Messages
145
Reaction score
14
Be sure that Flappy Bird game is not dead.
There are uncountable copies of the original Flappy game.
They will never be as popular as the main game.Those clone developers rely on the fact that game will be crowded by the people who played the old Flappy Bird.For example,Clumsy Bird has 10 million download.A bit re-skinned,to cover the same design as the original.
The dev should make some ads revenue as well.
Also the actual game is not dead yet. While the developer removed it from stores, he never pulled the plug on the ads so If you have the app on your device now, advertisements would still show up inside the game. Meaning he is still somehow earning from ad revenue.

I do remember that he also released another game after he removed flappy Bird from the store and I tried it and it's more difficult than Flappy Bird itself.
 

giovanniiiii

Active Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2017
Messages
214
Reaction score
11
I understand why he had to delete the game, since it is becoming mainstream. I've heard that the game was so highly addictive that it eventually harms people in some way though I do not see how this happens though, although there was a rumor that a guy killed his brother because he was interrupted while playing the game.
His privacy as a person is being affected though and he wouldn't want that. He could have earned a lot though if he didn't pull it out of the playstore since I do not see other issues than it is addictive.
 

thart

Active Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2017
Messages
341
Reaction score
23
It was the best new i've heard before. I really hate that game.
Thanks God it's gone.
 

sima061

Active Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2017
Messages
47
Reaction score
3
I kept it on my phone for a long time. After I got a new phone I was so sad I couldn't play it anymore. Addictive - in a fun way and it remained interesting even after a longer time of playing which is actually strange for such a simple game. And wow, it's been more than 3 years since the flappy bird boom. Too bad I can't download it now, I'd love to play again now that I think of it, this thread reminded me :tearsofjoy:
 
Top