Flappy Bird creator pulled game over addiction concerns

Dong Nguyen has spoken publicly for the first time since the high profile removal of his hit title Flappy Bird from the world’s app stores.

And it transpires that the decision was caused simply by the Vietnamese developer’s concerns about the amount of time people were spending playing the simplistic title.

Flappy Bird was designed to play in a few minutes when you are relaxed,” Nguyen told Forbes. But it happened to become an addictive product. I think it has become a problem. To solve that problem, it’s best to take down Flappy Bird. It’s gone forever.

After the success of Flappy Bird, I feel more confident, and I have freedom to do what I want to do. [But] my life has not been as comfortable as I was before. I couldn’t sleep. I don’t think [removing the game from sale was] a mistake. I have thought it through.”

When pressed on the accuracy of claims that the free game was raking in over $50k per day from ad revenue, Dong said: I don’t know the exact figure, but I do know it’s a lot.”

Dong also confirmed that he has no plans to take legal action against any of the Flappy Bird clones that have flooded app stores since its removal.

The site adds that I was able to run the interview on the condition that it did not picture Dong’s face, and that the interview itself was delayed because Nguyen had a sudden meeting with Vietnam’s deputy prime minister Vu Duc Dam”.

The 29 year-old added that should any of his other smartphone games, such as Super Ball Juggling and Shuriken Block, suddenly find themselves replicating Flappy Bird’s success he would not hesitate to withdraw them too.