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arn

macrumors god
Staff member
Apr 9, 2001
16,362
5,795
If you spend 30 seconds looking at the reviews for this app it is clear that they are mostly fake. I don't understand why that part is being shuffled under the rug.

It was part of a twitter "worst review" type thing so people piled on. At least that's the theory:

http://www.thechocolatelabapps.com/is-twitter-the-fuel-behind-the-success-of-the-1-app-flappy-bird/

it's like the amazon milk review phenomenon: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/09/technology/09milk.html?_r=0

people try to outdo each other.
 

Thepoobear

macrumors 6502
Oct 30, 2013
282
0
I'm interested in why you feel that an individual desiring a return to privacy and avoidance of undo attention is "severely unstable"?

I wasn't aware that the desire to avoid celebrity and all that goes with it was a sign of severe mental instability.

50,000$ a day.
 

Solomani

macrumors 601
Sep 25, 2012
4,785
10,477
Slapfish, North Carolina
I don't, hes an idiot. People like his game, it doesn't mean he has to read news about it or respond to anything. It's on the app store making him money.

Yep. The guy had some issues.

If he was sick of the attention, he could have simply sold the game to a host of companies (e.g. Rovio, Zynga) willing to take it from his hands. He would have made a large chunk of money and then he would consider himself "retired" as developer of the game.

But he was unwilling to even do this?! Crazy cakes.
 

firewood

macrumors G3
Jul 29, 2003
8,107
1,343
Silicon Valley
Wow this is just an incredibly bad decision made by the developer. "Flappy Bird" is a great game and he would obviously earn big money if he sells it to a larger company like Gameloft.

A larger companies legal department would have to do legal due diligence before approving a big money purchase. All the IP licenses and marketing history would have to be legal and look above-the-board. The purchase expenditure would also likely be reported to some tax authority.
 

Solomani

macrumors 601
Sep 25, 2012
4,785
10,477
Slapfish, North Carolina
So...all that matters in life is money.

Perhaps this guy has other values....just possibly?


Free money for so little work is rare blessing…. a blessing that he threw away. If he didn't want the money personally, then he could have still taken it (e.g. by selling Flappy Bird to some company for several hundred thousand dollars) and then donated that money to some charity, or maybe using the money to buy his parents a nice house?
 

HiRez

macrumors 603
Jan 6, 2004
6,250
2,576
Western US
So...all that matters in life is money.

Perhaps this guy has other values....just possibly?
What a quaint notion. Then why did he put ads in his game in the first place? As a developer, you have to actually do a little work to use ads, you have to actively choose it (you can't accidentally have ads working in your game).

There's ONLY ONE reason to choose to put ads in your game: they generate MONEY.
 

lastcall

macrumors member
Jan 10, 2013
51
6
It was part of a twitter "worst review" type thing so people piled on. At least that's the theory:

http://www.thechocolatelabapps.com/is-twitter-the-fuel-behind-the-success-of-the-1-app-flappy-bird/

it's like the amazon milk review phenomenon: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/09/technology/09milk.html?_r=0

people try to outdo each other.

Yes, competitors on Amazon do post fake reviews, both positive and negative, on each other's product. But this Flappy Bird guy has thousands of bot-generated reviews, all fake. I'm not saying that he's running a bot scam himself, but someone is obviously generating them, whether their intentions are good or evil.
 

Shrink

macrumors G3
Feb 26, 2011
8,929
1,727
New England, USA
What a quaint notion. Then why did he put ads in his game in the first place? As a developer, you have to actually do a little work to use ads, you have to actively choose it (you can't accidentally have ads working in your game).

There's ONLY ONE reason to choose to put ads in your game: they generate MONEY.

And, if the dev is to be believed, a level of attention and disruption of his life he found not worth the financial returns.

Is that really so hard to believe? It seems that the idea that someone might value peace and privacy over money is anathema to most posting on this thread.
 

Centris 650

macrumors 6502a
Dec 26, 2002
576
308
Near Charleston, SC
This game drove me nuts!
 

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iambents

macrumors newbie
Feb 9, 2014
1
0
Judging by western standards

Laughable how those criticising this guy are doing it by western standards. Perhaps his priorities are not exactly the same as those of us living in the west?
 

firewood

macrumors G3
Jul 29, 2003
8,107
1,343
Silicon Valley
It was part of a twitter "worst review" type thing so people piled on. At least that's the theory:...

But consider the likelihood of any "worst review" challenge going viral without some vast social seeding ahead of it.

Just try starting a worst review campaign going for the macrumors app and see how far that gets.
 

Shrink

macrumors G3
Feb 26, 2011
8,929
1,727
New England, USA
Maybe he's got more money than he needs? If so, that's fine. If he doesn't, then he's abnormal.

So it's abnormal to value anything else, like peace and privacy, over the great god money.

Very interesting concept of normalcy...

It certainly is in the minority here, but putting aside that this is not exactly a random sample, being in the minority in one's values does not constitute being abnormal in any way that I know.
 

D.T.

macrumors G4
Sep 15, 2011
11,050
12,460
Vilano Beach, FL
With the revenue he was generating he could’ve easily hired plenty of support personnel: a CS person/firm, a maintenance developer (or two). The success of a mobile application didn’t have to be that disruptive - I suspect there is more to the story (that we’ll likely never hear about).
 

tuna9720

macrumors regular
Jan 17, 2008
191
47
It's an interesting story, yes! But why did I delete the game right after the download? I don't get it! The game lasts 15 seconds for the most. I do like playing video games but this one was a pointless game anyway. Also, unless there is a connection between the super mario the look of the pipes are stolen.

But again, if the developer is sincere for the reason to retire the game, it is a sad story.
 
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cmwade77

macrumors 65816
Nov 18, 2008
1,071
1,200
$50k a day, I'd just hire a secretary and an accountant, (P.S only contact me in case of emergency). :D

Really, I would love to make $50,000 a day! Seriously, that's about 1.8 million if that kept up for a year.

So, really, I would think that there's something more to this story.
 

nfl46

macrumors G3
Oct 5, 2008
8,326
8,609
Well, with the amount of money he's probably made, the guy is probably set for a very long time! When the money runs dry, come out with Flappy Bird 2. Lol. Smart move by him! Lol! Instead of updating the app and fixing it, enjoy the money!
 
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