I agree. I love this guy. I bet that very few of us on HN would have done what he did. I certainly wouldn't have.
I'm not saying that what he did was right, but it was right for him, and what is impressive to me is that he realized that. That kind of self-knowledge is a wonderful quality to have or develop.
Yes, it is difficult to bring oneself to turn off the magic money machine once it starts printing, but keep in mind how much money he made and how much the existing installed copies still make for him. It certainly made the decision easier, I think.
Personally, I think this sentiment cheapens his decision and makes less of what he's really done here. I think what he's done is pretty heroic, at least in modern terms, and something that very few, possibly none, of us would be willing to pull the trigger on.
Wether he's made, or is still making, a fortune is besides the point. He made the hard choice and has made it clear to everyone who's asked that he is all the better for it. This more than anything else is a powerful and important example that we may or may not see again. If nothing else he has highlighted the need for more empathy in software. His focus seems to be in bringing joy and entertainment to people and doesn't appear to have any ulterior motive. This is rare and we should be celebrating it rather than dismiss it by the fact that he has been fortunate enough to actually be successful from it (something that is also extremely rare).
The 'heroic' attribution is thrown around a lot today, and few deserve it less than a man who decided to no longer offer a silly game for sale as a result of idiot-generated controversy.
I think to myself that I definitely wouldn't have, and that I would have weather the storm of the press outside my house, and just focused on that great payday (everyday).
But from what I've heard, the paparazzi changes everything and it really is life-changing. So hard to say either way.
With millions of dollars, you can just get stuff delivered to you for a couple of weeks until the press sees something else shiny. I've been straight-up bedridden for longer than he lasted under the attention of the press, and there is no way it's more restrictive than that. The guy's choice was his to make, but I do not buy that he had no choice.
And yet, here we are a few weeks later, and he's in Rolling Stone magazine. The game hasn't been forgotten. He had the #1 game on the iTunes App Store charts, the same store where people now buy music by rock stars. I wouldn't dismiss the comparison too quickly.
What made his move puzzling wasn't that he didn't like the attention (I totally get that) but that it seemed obvious that pulling the app would make it worse, not better.
Maybe it was worse for a short time, but if the app was still available the craze might still be active, or not, you just can't be sure of that. By removing it he dictated his own terms.
I guess I don't quite understand. I also believe that I am to some extent "master of my fate," but I would use my authority to choose to leave the game up and keep earning money. I would do so with as much pride and conviction as Dong Nguyen.
If it is a marketing ploy, it is far from brilliant. Brilliant would have been taking it down for a day then putting it back up. Not keeping it down for weeks while the excitement around the game fades.
Brilliant would have been taking it down for a day then putting it back up. Not keeping it down for weeks while the excitement around the game fades.
Based on what, exactly? This sounds like conjecture.
UPDATE: Fine. Taking it down for one day can result in the audience feeling jerked around, him being perceived as unreliable, and any number of other negative connotations. There are also myriad instances of successful relaunches after extended absences, even to the degree that minor appearance tweaks justify a sequel or version bump. Simply put, there are just as many reasons why it wouldn't matter if he waited, if not more, than those supporting it to be "brilliant" for him to only wait a day and disastrous if he didn't.
I'm not saying that what he did was right, but it was right for him, and what is impressive to me is that he realized that. That kind of self-knowledge is a wonderful quality to have or develop.