By now, most of you are familiar with the Flappy Bird for the endless tapper that has swept the globe. It is a simple yet appealingly difficult game that captivates gamers with its visuals and danger of crash-anytime threats.
Flappy Bird is a simple yet difficult game that became a global sensation in 2013. At its peak, reportedly, its creator, Dong Nguyen, was making $50,000 per day in ad revenue.
Design is quite simple and challenging but not quite impossible to hone. The unpredictability of when you’ll crash is the key factor that keeps gamers focused on the game. As the bird mostly takes 2-3 minutes before it crashes, it would suit your daily to the best level.
In this blog, we will look into why Flappy Bird was shut down as well as why it is an entertainment punching pack for you. Let’s explore the captivating world of flappy birds.
What is a Flappy Bird?
Flappy Bird is an addicting one-button game that you can play free of charge. You continuously click the bird to fly as far as you can!
The gameplay is extremely simple and easy, which can make players easily angry. Game: raise the bird and bring it through the pipe without facing any obstacles. This is a simple task for any player, isn’t it? But as the player fails, everything goes back to 0, and the player will have to start from zero points.
Flappy Bird pulled off wonders in just a few months. It made healthy income for the owner. Game proved to be a golden hen for the creator, regardless of criticism.
Idea of Flappy Bird
In 2014, flappy bird took the world by storm with garnering 90 million downloads and raked in $50,000 a day in ad revenue. All of a sudden, Dong Nguyen made the decision to shut it down. The store behind this fascinating success is a the whirlwind of viral success.
Dong Nguyen’s journey into game development started with his love for Super Mario Bros. He studied computer science at Hanoi University of Science in Vietnam to create how own games that eventually landed him at s gaming studio, Punch Entertainment for internship. The idea for Flappy Bird struck Nguyen as he considered the needs of busy people who want entertainment on the go in a short period.
Flight of Flappy Bird
On October 29th, 2013 Flappy Bird was back on the charts. This was a turbulent roller coaster ride zig-zagging up and down until January 17 when it gets itself at number one.
Nguyen was asked in an interview with The Chocolate Lab Apps the success of the game’s success was due to only organic installs. He responded:
“I didn’t use any promotion methods. All accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram about Flappy Bird are not mine. The popularity could be my luck.”
Are we to believe that Nguyen didn’t spend a dime on user acquisition, and just got lucky to achieve that success in no time? The game appeared to gain massive bursts of downloads that new users would push Flappy Bird higher up the charts. But before Flappy Bird would drop too low, another burst of downloads kick in and drive charts high again.
On estimation, Flappy Bird burst campaigns received over 75000 downloads. The real question is how an indie developer from Vietnam afforded these campaigns because these downloads were estimated to cost him about $100,000.
Why did Flappy Bird shut down?
Many reviewers criticized Flappy Bird for its high level of difficulty and alleged plagiarism in graphics and game mechanics on one end, and others found it addictive. At the end of January 2014, Flappy Bird was the most downloaded game on the App Store for iOS. But games were removed from both the App Store and Google Play on February 10, 2014, citing the claim of Dong Nguyen that he felt guilty for the game’s addictive nature and excessive usage.
Nguygen launched Flappy Bird on Apple’s App Store on May 24th 2013, and it didn’t take long to become talk of the town. According to App Annie, flappy bird was ranked 892 in the family game category when launched. Three days, it fallen off the charts instantly after staying there for five months, completely unloved and unknown.
In August 2014, Flappy Bird was released with a revised version, with the name Flappy Birds Family, exclusively for the Amazon Fire TV.
Flappy Bird’s story is a sobering reminder that creating great game isn’t enough, and it is even harder in the modern world when play stores are bombarded with lots of games every single day.
Dong Nguyen has since returned to a quieter life, developing new games, but staying out of the public eye. Flappy Bird has remained an intriguing chapter in the gaming world.
Casual Gaming Future
Hype of flappy bird game didn’t take long to go above the charts neither it didn’t long to get itself into the abyss too. However, game has left its mark regardless of what went through the whole process.
Even after a little more than a decade, hyper-casual games continue to thrive. The genre accounts for over five billion downloads and 75% of all mobile game installs.
The runaway success of Flappy Bird shows that intuitive and engaging gameplay trumps all. It has completely redefined what makes a fun and shareable mobile game experience. Flappy Bird’s success was short-lived, but its groundbreaking legacy will continue to guide simple and basic mobile game design. The pipes that those little birds navigate have changed a lot in the gaming industry.
Final Thoughts
Flappy Bird is a simple click-and-fly bird experience that cultivated thousands, if not millions, in a short period. Flappy Bird serves as a testament to the unpredictable nature of viral success in the digital age that can fade from the spotlight, but its legacy will live in the annals of gaming history. Players who experienced its addictive gameplay firsthand will continue to remember it.
Flappy Bird apparent shutdown because the owner claimed to be guilty of its addictiveness. Regardless of everything, criticism, popularity, and shutdown, Flappy Bird earned its place among the most popular casual games. Hype has been real, and it was phenomenal considering it didn’t take long to go high!
Flappy Bird reminded the world that regardless of how overcrowded the market for mobile games is, any game can become a globally recognized title. It has made a mark on gaming history.