This post is part of our series that looks at the tech gadgetry and geeky moments that went truly viral in Asia in 2014. Check out google.com/2014 for lists of the most popular searches around the world. Enjoy!
Flappy Bird, the frustratingly addictive mobile game, is the pride of Vietnam, and this year’s most viral gaming app. Flappy Bird is not only hugely popular in Asia, this app even made the Google’s top 10 global trending searches list—above Disney’s Frozen. Made in a weekend by creator Dong Nguyen, the adorably low-tech Flappy Bird was the highest spiking game of 2014, above Destiny, a multi-million dollar game. In addition to being a global phenomenon, Flappy Bird spiked in searches in Malaysia, the Philippines and Hong Kong.
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| Flappy Bird, the innocuously addictive game out of Vietnam |
Just how big are gaming apps in Asia? According to Google’s
Consumer Barometer, more Asians play games on their phones than anywhere else: In Thailand, 65% of smartphone owners play games on their mobiles, and in China that number is 64% — compared to very serious Germany where only one in five smartphone owners play games on their mobiles.
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| Most Asians use their smartphones for gaming. Germans? Nein. |
When you’re talking about a clear majority of very populous countries all playing games on their smartphones, that’s literally hundreds of millions of people glued to games. Is it any wonder then, that in this brave new world of mobile games, a humble game featuring a hapless bird made by one Vietnamese developer could become a viral hit? Watch this space for more global hits made by Asian developers.
Posted by Amy Kunrojpanya, Head of Communications & Public Affairs, New Emerging Markets
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