‘Flappy Bird’ flying out, says developer

MANILA, Philippines – Is “Flappy Bird” flying out?

The creator of the popular and highly addictive mobile game said in a series of tweets early Sunday, February 9, that he will take down the game.

“I am sorry ‘Flappy Bird’ users, 22 hours from now, I will take ‘Flappy Bird’ down. I cannot take this anymore,” game developer Dong Nguyen said in a tweet posted around 3 am Manila time, in his Twitter account @dongatory.

I am sorry 'Flappy Bird' users, 22 hours from now, I will take 'Flappy Bird' down. I cannot take this anymore.

— Dong Nguyen (@dongatory) February 8, 2014

If it goes as he planned, ‘Flappy Bird,’ which has recently topped the app charts, will be gone from the App Store and Google Play by 1 am Monday, Manila time.

He says it is not anything related to legal issues. “I just cannot keep it anymore.”

Nguyen also warned that he won’t sell the game. However, he said he will still continue making games.

“Flappy Bird,” first launched in May 2013, has a simple rule: help a bird flap through a path blocked by obstacles by tapping the screen to move it up and down. It has become a hit among smartphone users, from ordinary folk to celebrities.

Forbes’s Paul Tassi reports Nguyen has received a lot of flak due to what many netizens say is a “pretty terrible game,” but wondered if it could be the reason.

“This sort of move makes no rational sense as Nguyen has been reported to be bringing in $50,000 a day from in-app advertising revenue,” Tassi writes.

The Vietnamese game developer, in his previous tweets, has lamented that the success of the game has taken a toll on his private life.

In a tweet Saturday, February 8, he said, “I can call ‘Flappy Bird’ is a success of mine. But it also ruins my simple life. So now I hate it.”

He also said, in a tweet, that the media is “overrating” the game’s success, and appealed to be left alone. “[Success] is something I never want. Please give me peace.”

Press people are overrating the success of my games. It is something I never want. Please give me peace.

— Dong Nguyen (@dongatory) February 4, 2014

– KD Suarez/Rappler.com