After reading my classmate Sung Ahn’s blog regarding to ‘flappy bird’, I realized how this app succeeds in marketing.

Flappy bird became very popular in early 2014, and it was removed by its creator in February 10, 2014. Before it shutdown, Flappy Bird earned $50,000 per day from in-app advertisement.  That why people can not understand why it is removed.

The creator Dong Nguyen explained his reason about shutdown: “Flappy Bird was designed to play in a few minutes when you are relaxed, but it happened to become an addictive product. I think it has become a problem. To solve that problem, it’s best to take down Flappy Bird. It’s gone forever.”

 

I agree with Sung, the product becomes scarcer, more people are willing to buy it.  This case verifies this point. When the news about shutdown of Flappy bird was released, a huge number of people were rush to download it. It is like If you do not get it right now, you won’t have it forever. This pushed consumers to take actions immediately. They may not even think about what this game is about, and whether they like it or not. The limited time forces consumers make the decision. No matter the creator intended to do this or not, product with limited time offering is attractive for people. Firms love the word “ limited”, so we can see limited time offering, limited edition, and limited order everywhere. Usually, limited products worth more in consumer’s eyes.

In my point of view, the shutdown of Flappy Bird becomes legend. When Flappy Bird is in full flourish, it is gone forever. People would remember that. That is why any game similar to Flappy Bird becomes popular. However, all of them still represent Flappy Bird.

The creator Dong Nguyen shows his ethical reason to shutdown.  He not only consider about earning money, but also the impact of his product on people’s lives. I feel like that makes Flappy Bird more valuable. I believe that Flappy Bird is just the beginning of his success.