Rolling Stone magazine recently caught up with Flappy Bird creator Dong Nguyen for an extensive interview. The Vietnam based developer has become something of a celebrity, both on the internet where gamers and journalists alike reveled in the controversy of such a simple game being popular and amassing so much money for its creator. Some people call Flappy Bird a scam with "ripped art", some a fun and simple game, others addicting.
The last thing, addiction, was a big reason the creator felt the game was a problem. Coupled with scrutiny, for example from an upset mother whose child broke their phone when playing Flappy Bird, or complaints from people that lost their jobs over the game, Nguyen removed the game from stores in early February, saying that he was sorry to Flappy Bird users and that he couldn't take the reactions to the game anymore. In the interview, Nguyen appeared to feel personally responsible for how people reacted to the game.
At its peak, Nguyen claims that he was making roughly $50,000 a day from in-game ads in Flappy Bird. Nguyen has been able to quit his job and is planning to move out of his parent's home and buy a car. For a time, he was also a target for paparazzi in his home town.
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But what of the game itself? Hundreds, perhaps thousands of clones already litter the digital mobile stores. Nguyen has also received offers to sell the game to companies wanting a piece of the flappy pie, but he has declined.
As for re-releasing the game, the developer says, "I'm considering it." Dong Nguyen may re-release the original game with a "warning". A warning that asks people to "please take a break." Because clearly people are too dumb to realize that for themselves and have actually blamed him for their attachment to the game. Because people are dumb.
Nguyen was emotionally affected by the game's criticism, but that seems to have died down. He's making some money from the game, even if it has been taken down, and now he can live comfortably and continue work on making games. I don't see an issue with that.