A game made in a weekend topped the most expensive one in history
At its peak, the search trend for Flappy Bird was more than double that of Destiny. In fact, it was the highest gaming release in 2014.
The world of gaming
Independent developers in the spotlight
Games are now easier to access and build, as independent developers take on the big studios. Seven years in development, Destiny made record sales upon its release, but despite ruling the second half of the year, it was outdone in total searches by Flappy Bird and 2048 – games made by one person in no more than three days.
Game on
As they battled it out to be the world’s favorite source of entertainment, fingers, thumbs and searches focused on three top games at three key points this year.
Flappy Bird is a mobile game developed in Vietnam by Dong Nguyen. Its popularity surged in February when the developer took the game offline due to feeling guilty over its addictive nature.
Destiny is an online multiplayer video game developed by Bungie. It was the third highest-trending game of the year, following its release in September.
Game over
Mobile games were the most searched game format of last year, but in 2014 they were beaten hands down by card games.
'90s computer games' spiked 20x this year
Despite the gaming blockbusters, a nostalgic trend emerged in 2014 with retro games like Shovel Knight and FTL: Faster Than Light.
You've got a friend in me
There is still huge appeal around physical 'toys,' which outdid 'console' by 3x and 'computer games' by over 24x. Yet, interest in them has declined year on year.
'loom band tutorial'
We went loony for loom bands and people the world over searched for inspiration, with 'loom band designs' and 'loom band tutorial' growing by 3x this year.
'games for girls'
We search more for 'games for girls' than we do 'games for kids' or 'games for boys.' Game on, girls.
"When games play well, they don't age, whatever their lack of gloss."
Mike Diver, Vice columnist, on the trend of new games like the highly searched Flappy Bird mimicking the purity of retro counterparts.