The Mysteries of Apps: Flappy Bird Shows That Dumb Luck Matters

Joost van Dreunen, chief executive of SuperData, sees Flappy Bird as the exception that proves the rule. Studying marketing plans or cribbing programming tactics can prove useful, but there’s very little to take away from random good fortune. “You can still get lucky—that’s the big lesson,” he says. “The myth of the mobile millionaire still exists.”

Except maybe for the millionaire part. Riches have not followed users, and the game hasn’t cracked the list of the 100 top-grossing apps in the U.S. This is primarily because it has eschewed the main way that mobile games make money: creating free games that require people to pay for certain features. This model has become controversial, and has even been accused of destroying the game industry. But it seems to be the only way to turn viral success into a sustainable business.

This doesn’t appear to concern Nguyen, who has recoiled from attention from the press and investors. By his own account, he is a developer who got very lucky—and he’s “no businessman.”

Article Appeared@http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-02-07/the-mysteries-of-apps-flappy-birds-shows-that-dumb-luck-matters#r=hpt-ls

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