“Flappy Bird” Demand

“Flappy Bird”, a popular mobile game, was taken down by its creator over the weekend. From CNN.com:

“Flappy Bird” has flown the coop.

The addictive game that soared to the top of iPhone and Android app downloads disappeared from app stores on Sunday, though players who already have it apparently can keep on flying.

…Although new players can no longer download “Flappy Bird”, the game remains playable for those who had already added it to their devices.

A secondary market has emerged yesterday, with entrepreneurs willing to part with their “Flappy Bird” installed mobile devices — for some pretty high prices:

Several auctions have popped up on the online marketplace eBay featuring iPhones that included an installed copy of “Flappy Bird”, which was removed from app stores by its developer after it skyrocketed to the top of the Google Play and Apple App Store.

Some listings for the smartphones feature bids reaching hundreds and thousands of dollars, including one with a top bid of $99,900. We’ve reached out to eBay to determine whether this listing and some of the other high-price auctions are legitimate.

So these sellers obviously understand scarcity and supply. But the better question is: what is the demand for “Flappy Bird”?

(HT: AL)