Nintendo Not Responsible for 'Flappy Bird' Removal - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Nintendo Not Responsible for 'Flappy Bird' Removal

by

Flappy Bird fans upset the game has been pulled from the App Store by its developer should not blame Nintendo for the removal, despite similarities to Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. game. Nintendo spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa confirmed to The Wall Street Journal that the game maker had not complained about the title.

In an email to The Wall Street Journal, Nintendo spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa on Monday reiterated previous company statements that the Japanese videogame giant hasn’t complained at all about Flappy Bird's similarities to Nintendo’s original "Super Mario Bros."

"While we usually do not comment on the rumors and speculations, we have already denied the speculation" last week, he [Yasuhiro Minagawa] said.

flappy-bird
Reports suggest Nguyen could face a copyright lawsuit and other legal issues in his home country of Vietnam, but the developer has denied those claims. He instead expressed frustration at the attention his game has brought him, pleading on Twitter for the media to "Please give me peace."

Flappy Bird no longer appears in the App Store and is only available to those who downloaded the app before it was removed. Nguyen said he is not interested in selling the game, so it won't return unless he changes his mind. Before it was removed, Flappy Bird was generating $50,000 a day in ad revenue and had been downloaded over 50 million times, according to The Verge.

Top Rated Comments

nepalisherpa Avatar
163 months ago
I'm tired of hearing about Flappy Bird!
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TwinCities Dan Avatar
163 months ago
Ever think maybe MacRumors and their constant coverage and attention to this non-story may have some responsibility in this whole nonsense? Me too.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
163 months ago
I am normally a pretty compassionate person, but I almost feel like organizing a campaign to continually spam this guy's social media accounts.

How many people are working their butts off trying to enjoy some level of success financially and this guy pisses it away because it interrupts his quiet life.

And the reality is that he fumbled into success. It was not his programming genius that caused this game to succeed. It was its difficulty on top of simplistic graphics and game play coupled with some social media viral bizarreness.

He's as bad as the movie stars that complain about paparazzi.

I know my insensitivity will anger some, but I did say that I "almost' feel like doing something.

----------


I think you have some issues. Who cares what somebody else does with their money? Lots of people get a little lucky on their way to success. Lots of people make millions of dollars a year. Lots of people stop working when they are making millions. Money is just a resource. Not to mention, there are downsides to money. Have you seen how a lot of rich famous people end up so ****ed up? You think that is a coincidence? We don't have any idea about his personal life or what is going on with him. We shouldnt need to know. Its his choice what to do with his app.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ck2875 Avatar
163 months ago
Can we get a 'Flappy Bird Blog' tab up at the top if these articles are going to be a regular thing?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
0098386 Avatar
163 months ago
I am normally a pretty compassionate person, but I almost feel like organizing a campaign to continually spam this guy's social media accounts.

I don't think so :).
The guy's clearly an introvert and just wants to make games without fame. Not everyone is after lots of money and fame. He probably made enough to live a comfortable life for a few years and to have the financial freedom to make whatever he wanted, it's what I'd do.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
163 months ago
More like Flappy Mouth with this guy... I thought the best way to avoid the spotlight is to get out of it... not keep on talking and stepping back into it.
As far as I know hes only released like 4 tweets and its been a couple of days since his last. He has hardly done anything to stir up the attention. He simply announced he was taking a game down, gave people a day to download it, and then did as he said.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple Working on All-New Operating System

Wednesday July 29, 2026 11:39 am PDT by
Apple is developing an all-new operating system that is essentially a mix of tvOS, watchOS, and iOS, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In a report this week, he said the operating system will feature a grid of icons, widgets, and apps, along with customizable clock faces. The new software platform is intended for Apple's long-rumored smart home hub. With built-in facial recognition,...
imac video apple feature

Apple Made Its Second-Biggest Acquisition Ever This Year

Wednesday July 29, 2026 12:03 pm PDT by
Apple this year acquired Israeli startup Q.ai for close to $2 billion, according to the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone maker Beats in 2014. This is also the largest known Apple acquisition since the company purchased Intel's smartphone modem business and patents for $1 billion in 2019. Q.ai...
Four iPhone 18 Pro Colors Mock Feature

iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra: Pre-Orders and Release Date

Thursday July 30, 2026 6:12 am PDT by
Apple has yet to reveal when the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra will be announced and released, but the dates usually follow a familiar pattern. Labor Day is September 7 this year. The last time the holiday fell on that day was in 2020, but the iPhone event that year was delayed until October due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So, the last time Labor Day was on September 7 in a normal year was in ...

🔗 Related Apple News & Rumors

Stay updated with the latest Apple ecosystem news and verified rumors