Picture credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images
Dong Nguyen, developer of the uber-popular and often criticized Flappy Bird app, when asked about the return of Flappy Bird app stores said “I’m considering it”. What are we to make of this?
The game was pulled from major apps stores after the developer said he wanted to go back to being ‘simple’. Right after it was announced that the game would be pulled down from major app stores across compatible operating systems, the game saw 10 million downloads in the 22 hours until it was taken down, reports CNET. About a month after the game’s demise, Dong Nguyen gave an interview to Rolling Stone where he spoke up about his controversial decision.
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Nguyen maintains that the decision to take down Flappy Bird was for his own well-being after the developer found himself at the receiving end of criticism from all around the world. At the time of his announcement of taking down Flappy Bird, it was initially believed to be a part of an ulterior motive that the developer was believed to have in mind. Honestly, it was tough to digest, since the app alone was making him up to $50,000/day!
About Flappy Bird knock-offs that keep appearing on app stores, Nguyen says “People can clone the app because of its simplicity, but they will never make another Flappy Bird.”
Well said, Nguyen.
You have to know a guy is savvy when he acts in the way that the Flappy Bird creator did. He creates a game that comes from a relatively simple idea, he sees that it sells well and instantly removes it from the store to create artificial scarcity…
When enough time is gone (but not too much so that the hype would be forgotten), he re-releases the game but with twice (and thrice, and and…) the sales -> The guy becomes mega rich.
I kind of predicted that it won’t be long before he would re-release the game, but most news agencies were sheepishly reporting that “the creator is concerned with how addictive the game is”, as if that’s a valid reason for one to pull his game from a store (games are *supposed* to be addictive). And guess what, he never really cared, if he did he would not re-release.
Congratz to the guy, he played us all. The game of artificial scarcity is old, but when executed well (it is) almighty.
Almost as if he has been studying Xiaomi đ
Haha, yeah, exactly!
Spot on :p