Flappy Bird Deleted, Creator Receiving Death Threats, Suicide Rumors
Flappy Bird was deleted by its creator shortly after it was released, removing the app from the Apple and Android stores and once again facing the ire of its fans. It seems Flappy Bird creator Dong Nguyen can’t win at this point.
This is an example of fanboys doing what they usually do, blowing a relatively small upset out of proportion. At first, Dong Nguyen was making thousands of dollars a day just from ad revenue from the Flappy Bird app. Then accusations of plagiarism flew in from everywhere, saying that he ripped off the general appearance of the game from Super Mario Bros.
Some said that the Flappy Bird creator removed the app from the Apple and Android stores because of a potential Nintendo lawsuit, but for now it’s only speculation leading to that conclusion. Even though Nintendo has been known to do things like that, Nguyen had a more personal reason. He was simply tired of the game’s popularity and the fanboy hate that comes with it.
Now that Nguyen has removed the app from the Apple and Android stores, the fans are outraged once again. The app that so many people paid for is now gone, and while some enterprising users are taking advantage of the situation by selling iPhones and Android smartphones with Flappy Bird still installed on them, others are showering Nguyen with death threats.
[fb link=”https://www.facebook.com/GabrielIglesias/posts/10152252410884602:0?] Post by Gabriel Iglesias [/fb]
With Flappy Bird deleted and those who bought it becoming hostile, another rumor has been floating around that its creator shot himself this morning. It is yet unknown whether this is true or not, but considering how Nguyen removed the app from both markets due to the negativity, it lends weight to the possibility.
The Vietnamese creator of Flappy Bird has been receiving death threats such as the following:
“F**k you a**hole, I’ll f**king kill you if I have to. Put back Flappy Bird on the market or I’m afraid I’ll have to meet you.”
“You’re a f**king pu**y!!! And this game sucks anyway. But you’re still a pu**y. Kill yourself.”
One similar tweet went the other way, with a woman allegedly posting a picture of herself with a gun in her mouth. Other rumors involve gamers who didn’t post pictures, but actually committed the deed.
This is the kind of negativity that game developers face regularly, and apparently until Flappy Bird‘s memory flies along on its not so merry course, Dong Nguyen will probably have to continue dealing with it. Developers of games such as Fez, Call of Duty, and BioShock have all dealt with the death threats and some individuals have left the industry over it.
Scepticism, death threats as Flappy Bird developer pulls game from stores http://t.co/ru46RZGCdZ pic.twitter.com/mmacukOZTV
— The Straits Times (@STcom) February 10, 2014
It’s unfortunate to see gamers reacting in this manner, and Nguyen probably never wanted it to end like this. With Flappy Bird deleted, it could be a while before the proverbial dust settles.
[image via Flappy Birds, thekingslayer.com]
