How does a game like Flappy Bird reach the coveted top spot in bot the App Store and the Play Store? That is the question I wish to answer today. There are a couple of points that may have increased the popularity of Flappy Bird. They are as follows:
1. It is rumored that Nguyen, the creator of Flappy Bird, used bots to increase the initial popularity of Flappy Bird. He used bots to play and review the game which increased its ranking.
2. The App Store considers a range of parameters in ranking an app. They are: Number of downloads, rate of reviews, rating and time spent by users on that app. Flappy Bird was an extremely addictive game, which had a very strategically placed "Rate" button. This caused a greater amount of people to review it in a very short time span. This was because the "Rate" button was positioned very close to the "Play Again" button, which caused many to hit it accidentally.
3. The game was addictive enough that people played it for long time periods.
These are the facts. This is why Flappy Bird was such a runaway hit without any marketing whatsoever. At the peak of it's success, the creator was getting around $50,000 per day through advertising revenue. But the creator, overwhelmed by it's success, has taken the app down, saying "it's too much for me". I think a lesson can be learned from this. Apps can succeed based on very clever marketing. So all the potential developers, get out there and start developing. The Flappy Bird Saga has indeed been spectacularly surprising. Let's hope indie games keep getting as much attention in the future.
1. It is rumored that Nguyen, the creator of Flappy Bird, used bots to increase the initial popularity of Flappy Bird. He used bots to play and review the game which increased its ranking.
2. The App Store considers a range of parameters in ranking an app. They are: Number of downloads, rate of reviews, rating and time spent by users on that app. Flappy Bird was an extremely addictive game, which had a very strategically placed "Rate" button. This caused a greater amount of people to review it in a very short time span. This was because the "Rate" button was positioned very close to the "Play Again" button, which caused many to hit it accidentally.
3. The game was addictive enough that people played it for long time periods.
These are the facts. This is why Flappy Bird was such a runaway hit without any marketing whatsoever. At the peak of it's success, the creator was getting around $50,000 per day through advertising revenue. But the creator, overwhelmed by it's success, has taken the app down, saying "it's too much for me". I think a lesson can be learned from this. Apps can succeed based on very clever marketing. So all the potential developers, get out there and start developing. The Flappy Bird Saga has indeed been spectacularly surprising. Let's hope indie games keep getting as much attention in the future.
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