The ultra-popular, but no-longer-available, video game "Flappy Bird" may be coming back -- but not anytime soon, according to its creator.
When a Twitter user asked him if he was going to put "Flappy Bird" back in the App Store, Dong Nguyen tweeted, "Yes. But not soon."
@painfullpacman Yes. But not soon.
— Dong Nguyen (@dongatory) March 19, 2014
After being downloaded more than 50 million times by users in 100 countries and making $50,000 per day, Nguyen abruptly removed "Flappy Bird" in February, saying that people were becoming too addicted. Phones with the game installed were once listed on eBay for up to a $100,000, but since then, have gone down in price. You can now buy a phone with "Flappy Bird" for a low, low price of $15,000.
The 28-year-old Vietnamese developer behind the highly addictive mobile game sat down with Rolling Stone magazine earlier this month. He told the magazine that after being released last spring and a few months of inactivity, the game went viral in December -- and that was the beginning of the end.
The instantaneous rise to number one in the App Store and Google Play raised questions about whether Nguyen had artificially boosted rankings. It also spurned unwanted attention from local Vietnamese paparazzi and messages from annoyed parents, saying that the game was distracting children. He felt the instant fame and fortune was too much, ruining his "simple" life.
"It is something I never want," he tweeted early February. "Please give me peace."
At the time of the interview, Nguyen was not working on a new version of the game, but hinted he would consider releasing "Flappy Bird" again, adding that he will include a warning "to please take a break."
Now, it appears that he plans to release a "better" version of "Flappy Bird."
@Colin_052099 It will not be the original game but a better one. I keep my word.
— Dong Nguyen (@dongatory) March 19, 2014
