We've all heard of the nanny state, but apparently there's also such a thing as the nanny developer. Flappy Bird creator, Dong Nguyen, says he decided to take down his super popular game several days ago, because it was "an addictive product."
"Flappy Bird was designed to play in a few minutes when you are relaxed," Nguyen told Forbes in a recent interview. "But it happened to become an addictive product. I think it has become a problem. To solve that problem, it's best to take down Flappy Bird. It's gone forever."
Now read: 4 other apps we'd like to see join Flappy Bird in oblivion
But Flappy Bird isn't truly gone forever since rip-offs of the game like Flappy Fish and Ironpants still abound. Android users who search hard enough will probably find the original in alternative app stores as well--just watch out for malware.
If you're really desperate and have some money to burn, a few opportunistic hucksters are also selling phones and tablets preloaded with Flappy Bird on eBay. Prices range anywhere from $150 all the way up to $8,000, because, hey, it's eBay. (Wait, wasn't Flappy Bird a free game?)
Although Nguyen says he took the game down for our own good, the events of the past few days suggest otherwise. It may have had more to do with Nguyen's difficulties dealing with his new found fame than anything else.
"I can call 'Flappy Bird' is a success of mine. But it also ruins my simple life. So now I hate it," Nguyen said on Twitter on Saturday. He later followed up that comment with his announcement that Flappy Bird would be pulled from iTunes and Google Play.
Even the interview seemed to be too much for the accidental star developer, who Forbes described as "stressed."
Nevertheless, Nguyen won't let Flappy Bird's success dissuade him from following his passion. Nguyen says he plans to continue making games, and he still has two top 20 apps in the iOS App Store. He just might be hoping to avoid another Flappy Bird-sized success.
