11 years have passed since the pure Vietnamese game Flappy Bird made the whole world crazy.
Yesterday (May 24) marked the 11th anniversary of Flappy Bird, a mobile game created by programmer Nguyen Ha Dong, officially launched on Apple 's App Store . This event revived memories of a popular culture phenomenon that took the world by storm.
Developed in just 2-3 days, Flappy Bird with its simple but addictive gameplay quickly climbed to the top of the free application rankings on both the App Store and Google Play Store. Huge advertising revenue of up to 50,000 USD per day turned Nguyen Ha Dong, then in his 20s, into a millionaire overnight.
The game Flappy Bird caused a global storm in 2013-2014.
However, rapid success also comes with unexpected consequences. Flappy Bird's excessive addiction has made its author feel concerned. Just less than a year after its launch, author Nguyen Ha Dong decided to remove Flappy Bird from app stores, citing "the game has become a problem".
This shocking decision has caused an uproar in the global gaming community. Phones with Flappy Bird pre-installed are for sale for prices ranging from 1,500 USD, even more than 9,000 USD on eBay. At the same time, a series of copies of Flappy Bird also quickly appeared to fill the void left by this game.
Despite facing many mixed opinions about its simple graphics and gameplay that does not require high skills, Flappy Bird is still recognized as one of the most prominent pop culture phenomena of the last decade. Its sudden birth and disappearance left a deep mark in the history of the mobile gaming industry.
11 years have passed, Flappy Bird is now just a beautiful memory for many people. However, the story of this game is still a valuable lesson about the balance between success and social responsibility of game developers.