Pretty interesting phenomenon with this free game app. I got lucky and happened to install it on Saturday, then on Sunday the programmer removed it from all download sites saying he couldn't handle all the BS associated with having the number one downloaded app on the net. It's no longer available. I checked ebay and ipad (and iphone and android phones) have prices with the app installed ranging from $300 to $16,000, the average being maybe a $200 premium on the typical cost of whatever device its on.
I think this is pretty unprecedented, and am curious about any thoughts people have.
It's a great game, incredibly addictive, and the genius is its simplicity. No levels, no power ups, no villains, no nothing really. It starts and stays the same, no increase in difficulty throughout. Terrible graphics, bad music; the programmer has said it took him only a few days to program it. And, he was making $50K per day from the in-game ads.
That was one of the original theorys, no doubt. Like a big internet joke. But then, people played it, loved it (as do I), and the rickroll theory went out the door.
wait so lemme get this straight. Guy makes a crappy game, it hits big, and hes making $50K per day on it. Then removes it from the store because he doesnt want to deal with the publicity. The demand for the game is so high that there is an actual market for people to sell their iphone with the game installed on it?
wtf? who doesnt want 50K per day? And who the **** wants to pay $500+ to play a crappy game?
yeah, if he was making $50K per day, it would have to have many many millions of downloads, and if that was the case, no way copies would be selling for $200 + price of device cuz the supply would VASTLY outweigh the demand
after exhaustively studying this on google (I read 3 articles!). I have surmised that he made a boat load of money (at least in 3rd world asian country terms), and took it down to create even more buzz about it, and thus securing demand for his future talents. Or he just cant cope with success and cracked.
wait so lemme get this straight. Guy makes a crappy game, it hits big, and hes making $50K per day on it. Then removes it from the store because he doesnt want to deal with the publicity. The demand for the game is so high that there is an actual market for people to sell their iphone with the game installed on it?
wtf? who doesnt want 50K per day? And who the **** wants to pay $500+ to play a crappy game?
Rumor is that he's facing pressure from Nintendo because of his "homage" graphics. He doesn't want to "deal" with the "cease and desist letters."
yeah, also read that he may have "cheated" his way to the top of the download charts as well.
either way, its prolyl a smart move. Grab a bunch of cash, and removing it creates a huge buzz, while still getting out while the getting is good.
or he just cracked *Shrug*
I very much doubt he grabbed much cash. The vast majority of people who downloaded it probably played it for maybe 5 minutes before giving up and trying to trick someone else into downloading it.
I very much doubt he grabbed much cash. The vast majority of people who downloaded it probably played it for maybe 5 minutes before giving up and trying to trick someone else into downloading it.
No trickery. 50M downloads. And I have to say, I started playing it and was immediately hooked. Played tonight, said to myself "okay, only 30 mins to beat my high score," played for an hour. 38! Lol.
It's the easiest game to learn I've ever played, and perhaps, the hardest at the same time. I think the guy just got lucky with how addictive it is, no other explanation I can think of. And btw, there are now many games out that basically copy it, even the name. Just crazy for a game that took a few days to program.
I very much doubt he grabbed much cash. The vast majority of people who downloaded it probably played it for maybe 5 minutes before giving up and trying to trick someone else into downloading it.
whats so dumb about it? looks just like some game my friend plays on his console where all you do is run and jump, thats it, no levels, no increase in difficulty, nothing. Its addicting. That game made a **** ton of money as well
I have no games on my phone (with the exception of sporcle and Jeopardy--but they don't count as games, as my Dad would say). My brother just told me about this game and I tried to download it, but to no avail.
If OP is correct, and the programmer actualy removed it, it can really only be one of two reasons:
1. Programmer thinks money is evil
2. Programmer didn't expect his plagiarized game to bring this much attention all at once. (it looks like he ripped off a good amount from the original Mario bros--probably without their consent).
If I had to guess, this is his Lawyers doing, and probably for his benefit.
Lol I think this is OP's first time playing an endless runner. They are addicting but there are literally thousands of them.
The best one I've played is called PunchQuest. Rainbow Unicorn Attack 2 is also pretty good, but once you get the hang of it, you can get a near infinite score, or at least as long as your wrists/thumbs can hold out. I played one level for 55 mins straight before just putting it down due to boredom/pain.
I don't know what to make of this story other than the fact that Indie game devs tend to be really odd and temperamental. It wouldn't surprise me at all if he just got annoyed with its popularity and didn't give a **** about the money.
