The rise and fall of ‘hyped’ apps

May 1, 2012 — by Nick Chow

Back in December of 2009, throngs of iPhone and iPod aficionados were polarized by the newest finger-tapping phenomenon, Angry Birds. But as newer apps were released, Angry Birds diminished in popularity. 

Back in December of 2009, throngs of iPhone and iPod aficionados were polarized by the newest finger-tapping phenomenon, Angry Birds. But as newer apps were released, Angry Birds diminished in popularity. Throughout the years, this “hype” pattern has been shown through the rise and fall of games like Doodle Jump, Angry Birds, Hanging with Friends, and most recently the popular sketching game Draw Something.

Draw Something is a popular app where friends draw pictures and send it to a friend who tries to guess what it is.

“I like games like Draw Something … because it lets you play with other people device to device without having to be next to each other,” sophomore Justin Liu said.

However, sophomore Matthew Lee disagrees. He feels that Draw Something is just another overrated game.

“Draw Something is totally overhyped. I really don't see why people enjoy it so much,” Lee said. “In a way, it is entertaining, but it quickly loses appeal to the user because words are repeated quite often, and soon it just becomes a waste of time.”

In contrast, Lee believes that an earlier game, Doodle Jump, was better. Doodle Jump lets players control an endless jumping cartoon that hops from platform to platform.

“Doodle Jump was definitely a great game for me. When I first got it, I spent chunks of time playing one round after another,” said Lee. “It presents the game in a way such that pressing the ‘play again?’ button is just so easy to do. [It was definitely] not overhyped.”

Nevertheless, Doodle Jump was not free from criticism.

“People get bored of them after a while … ‘Doodle Jump’ might have different backgrounds and themes, but it's still the same game of jumping from platform to platform, then falling to your inevitable and eventual death,” says sophomore Eric Taw.

Another previously popular game is Temple Run, which also garnered mixed feelings. This game involves the player controlling an explorer who must dodge endless obstacles.

Lee likes the game because of its simple and addictive objective.

“Temple Run was a real ‘catcher’ for me, not only because the game was fun, but because it was relatively quick,” Lee said. “I could say ‘OK, I just want one game,’ or I could waste lots of time playing it. It also helped that everyone else was playing it too.”

In contrast, freshman Nishant Agrawal dislikes the game.

“I think Temple Run is overrated and overhyped because there’s not that much to do in it, and the objectives are pretty lame,” said Agrawal.

Overall, these games all will fade from prominence as another newer, more “hyped” games take their place.

“Since you become more familiar with the game as you play more and the game starts to slow down, it loses the glamour it had at the start,” Lee said.

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