Don’t blame Nintendo for Flappy Bird’s removal

Those upset over the removal of Flappy Bird from the iTunes and Google Play stores shouldn't be angry at Nintendo, as the company has denied speculation that it complained over the game's similarities to the original Super Mario Bros.

"While we usually do not commen ton the rumors and speculations, we have already denied the speculation," Nintendo spokesperson Yasuhiro Mingawa told the Wall Street Journal.

Over the past few weeks Flappy Bird has climbed to the top of each store's respective "Top Games" charts, but was abruptly removed this past weekend. The game's developer, Dong Nguyen warned that he would be removing the game but didn't give any specific reason. All he had was a cryptic tweet that read: "I cannot take this anymore." He later added that his decision was not based on "anything related to legal issues" and that he "still make[s] games."

It's possible that Nguyen's decision was based on an overwhelming amount of hate/death threats he received from frustrated players. Flappy Bird is easily one of the more polarizing games we've seen of late. Some find its ridiculously challenging/poorly designed gameplay to be maddeningly addictive while others just find it plain frustrating. Others (like Kotaku) were upset to realize that Nguyen's game was generating him close to $50,000 a day for "ripped off" art, though they've since reworded the article.

We'll be sure to keep an eye out for any developments regarding Flappy Bird as its one of the more interesting stories of this early year.