After the creator of the famously addictive mobile game Flappy Bird took down the game for download, many continue earning good money from its popularity.

Flappy Bird, designed by Nguyen Ha Dong, made a meteoric rise to the top of the best-selling products in both the App Store and Google Play after its recent release. Since, it has been both loved and lambasted for its retro-like simplicity, combining old Nintendo-like graphics with simple one-touch controlling from even older video games. One thing that is not up for discussion, though, is its continued popularity, especially after it has been made unavailable for legal download.

Nguyen Ha Dong took down Flappy Bird on February 10, during its peak popularity. While there is ongoing speculation about the reasons for the game's removal, the flames of demand burn on despite official pronouncements that the wings of the bird have ceased flapping.

Dong's decision was announced 22 hours before the app was pulled, giving many users a chance to download the game to their phone for later use. Even now, high scores continue to be uploaded and compared on social media sights such as Facebook.

A second-hand iPhone 5S was recently posted on Ebay with a price of USD1.499 attached along with the app, about double the price of a brand new iPhone 5.

Smaller businesses are trying to cash in on the craze as well. Since the copyright is no longer protected, selling Flappy Bird merchandise has become something of a cottage industry, including many retailers who sell items such as Flappy Bird Valentine's Day t-shirts for VND130,000-145,000 (USD6-7).

Matching t-shirts

While the official income of the developer or the game's overall profit remains unknown, it seems that other individuals and groups will continue to squeeze all the juice they can from the unexpected fad.