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Flappy Bird developer ‘It was just too addictive’, felt guilty for people wasting time

Benjamin Mayo Feb 11 2014 - 4:03 am PT

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Dong Nguyen made waves at the weekend after announcing Flappy Bird would be removed from the App Store. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Nguyen explains his —  unorthodox — reasoning.

“It was just too addictive,” Mr. Dong said. He says he didn’t intend for people to play the game for hours at a time, as many gamers appear to have done.

“That was the main negative. So I decided to take it down,” he said.

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Unverified: Flappy Bird pulled by Apple after copyright complaint from Nintendo? [Updated: Not true]

Ben Lovejoy Feb 10 2014 - 3:50 am PT

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Update: Nintendo has sent an email to the WSJ denying that it has made any complaint about the app’s similarity to Super Mario Bros.

Apple’n’Apps,  a relatively unknown site without much of a track record, is suggesting that Flappy Bird may have been pulled by Apple after Nintendo complained about copyright infringement regarding the graphics used in the game. Those pipes do look “Super Mario-esque”. The developer Dong Nguyen had claimed he was withdrawing it voluntarily, and that there were no legal issues. But there’s some gray area there we suppose.

A person familiar with the App Store review process tells Apple’N’Apps that Flappy Bird wasn’t removed voluntarily by Mr. Nguyen, as he claims. It turns out that Nintendo got in touch with Apple regarding the art assets in Flappy Bird claiming that they’re in direct violation of their copyrights. Apple contacted Mr. Nguyen regarding the copyright claim, and that’s why we saw the new updated version with graphic changes to the pipes [as well as fewer ads]. Nintendo already decided that they had seen enough, and Apple is the one who pushed Mr. Nguyen to remove Flappy Bird (with 24 hour notice).

We’ve asked Apple for a comment, and will update if we receive a response, though the version arguably makes more sense than a developer voluntarily forsaking around $50,000 a day in revenue due to the attention the game was receiving. Dong Nguyen’s two other games remain on the App Store, currently ranking #4 and #18.

Apple is know to err on the side of caution where copyright complaints are concerned.

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Birdwatchers twitchy about ‘unethical’ and ‘dangerous’ use of iPhone apps

Ben Lovejoy Jan 3 2014 - 4:04 am PT

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Screengrab: http://blog.nature.org

If you were to pick a hobby likely to generate confrontations and harsh words between participants, birdwatching probably wouldn’t spring immediately to mind. Yet the WSJ reports that the use of iPhone apps by birders is doing just that, as a new breed of birders use iPhone apps playing birdsong to persuade birds to come out of hiding.

An otherwise peaceful pastime has been roiled by conflict as digital field guides, and the song recordings they include, have made birding easily accessible for anyone with a smartphone and, sometimes, a portable speaker. In a hobby where reward has come from years of quietly, patiently waiting outdoors and diligently studying technical tomes, there is deep resentment of birders who are relying on these easy-to-use—or abuse—apps.

The American Birding Association is apparently considering “a major revision to its oft-cited Code of Birding Ethics to address smartphone use,” with the National Audubon Society also planning a “comprehensive policy” on the issue.

Some say it can get stressed if it thinks the playback is a territorial threat. A predator may even be lying in wait. The bird could also leave its habitat or stop responding to the calls, realities scientists say make them nervous.

“The I-gadgets are incredibly dangerous to people who know nothing about birds,” said avid birder Heidi Trudell.

I’m now expecting to hear tales of pitched battles with knitting needles between those who are for or against the use of iPads for knitting patterns …