Ever since the developer of the popular mobile game Flappy Bird removed the app from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, there have been a number of clones of the game submitted to both app stores.
Now it looks like both Apple and Google have decided to block these games. According to TechCrunch, both app stores are now rejecting apps and games with the word ‘Flappy’ in the title.
Ken Carpenter of Mind Juice Media recently submitted his game ‘Flappy Dragon’ to the Apple App Store. The game was rejected, and the reason given was that Apple said that his app attempts to leverage a popular app.
It appears that a number of other apps with the word ‘Flappy’ in the title have also been rejected from the Apple App Store.
There are also a number of reports of Google rejecting apps with the word ‘Flappy’ in the title. There have apparently been so many app submissions to Google Play with the word ‘Flappy’ in the title that Google now treats apps with the word as spam.
The Rise and Fall of Flappy Bird
Flappy Bird, developed by Vietnamese developer Dong Nguyen, became an overnight sensation due to its simple yet highly addictive gameplay. The game required players to navigate a bird through a series of pipes by tapping the screen to keep the bird in the air. Despite its simplicity, the game was notoriously difficult, leading to widespread frustration and addiction among players. This unexpected popularity led to Nguyen earning a significant amount of revenue from in-game ads.
However, the game’s success came with its own set of problems. Nguyen received a lot of negative attention and criticism, which eventually led him to remove the game from both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store in February 2014. This sudden removal created a vacuum that many developers tried to fill by creating their own versions of the game, leading to a flood of ‘Flappy’ clones.
Apple and Google’s Response
In response to the overwhelming number of ‘Flappy’ clones, both Apple and Google decided to take action. Apple began rejecting apps that attempted to leverage the popularity of Flappy Bird by including the word ‘Flappy’ in their titles. This move was aimed at maintaining the quality and originality of the apps available on their platform. Ken Carpenter’s ‘Flappy Dragon’ was one of the many apps affected by this policy.
Google also took a similar stance. The influx of ‘Flappy’ clones was so significant that Google started treating these apps as spam. This was a necessary step to ensure that the Google Play Store did not become cluttered with low-quality, copycat games that offered little to no originality or value to users.
The actions taken by Apple and Google highlight the challenges faced by app stores in maintaining a balance between allowing developers the freedom to create and ensuring that the apps available to users are of high quality and originality. By rejecting these ‘Flappy’ clones, both companies aimed to discourage developers from creating low-effort, copycat games and to encourage more innovative and original content.
The removal of Flappy Bird from app stores led to a surge in clone apps, prompting Apple and Google to take action to maintain the quality of their platforms. This situation serves as a reminder of the importance of originality and quality in app development and the role of app stores in upholding these standards.
Source TechCrunch
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