Gaming industry observers were stunned that the creator would voluntarily kill off a game that at its peak was bringing in $50,000 a day in advertising revenue.
“Flappy Bird” has delighted and enraged players in equal measure. To progress through the game, players tap the screens of their phones to keep a crude, heavily pixelated bird aloft and navigate a mazelike series of obstacles. On the face of it, the game couldn’t be simpler. But “Flappy Bird” is also extraordinarily difficult.
The reality, Mr. Dong Nguyen says, is that he enjoys making videogames in his spare time, and the attention that “Flappy Bird” garnered badly crimped his style.
He still lives at home with his parents in Hanoi, but finds it difficult to walk down the street in his neighborhood without being pestered. He says he has virtually disconnected himself from the Internet and hasn’t checked his email in days. He is also on vacation from his day job writing firmware for sophisticated computer hardware and said he isn’t sure if or when he will return to work.
The fuss, Mr. Dong Nguyen says, “is extremely uncomfortable” and he is waiting for his life to return to normal. He refused to be photographed or filmed for this article.
In a bizarre tribute, some players listed their iPhones for sale on online auction site eBay noting that they were preloaded with “Flappy Bird.” One was listed for $134,295, although others are more modestly priced, with “Flappy Bird” mentioned as an additional inducement to potential buyers.
Sources: The Wall Street Journal, ABC News