This is Nottingham -- THOUSANDS of people in Notts are flogging their smart phones and tablets for up to £2,000 as a gaming craze grips the county. In a phenomenon experts "have not seen before" the secondhand phones are fetching thousands of pounds on internet auction sites because they have the hit game Flappy Bird downloaded on them. The game has been withdrawn from the iPhone App Store – where people can buy games and other accessories for their phones – after developer Dong Nguyen said the hoards of users were "ruining his life and becoming too addicted". And now people are desperately trying to get their hands on the game – with around 2,000 people in the county currently selling phones and tablets online. Rochelle Richardson, 20, who is a waitress from Gedling, said she was selling her iPhone, which has the game installed. "I'm hoping to make some money to go on holiday," she said. "Some phones are going for thousands of pounds.""If I can get more than it cost, I can buy a new one and have the holiday as well. "I saw them going on eBay and thought 'I need to do that'." She added: "The game does my head in anyway and I can't get anywhere with it." Computer games expert, Iain Simons, who runs the annual GameCity event in Nottingham, said he had never seen anything like the phenomenon. "I haven't seen an instance before where an iPhone game has been removed from sale and people were selling devices with it on," he said. "It's incredible." More than 50 million people have downloaded the game, which was free to purchase, worldwide before it was removed on Tuesday. Professor Mark Griffiths is an expert in video game addiction at Nottingham Trent University and compared Flappy Bird to playing slot machines. He said: "Most of these types of game are very simple to play – it's got to be one of the simplest games to play. Even someone who is 85 can tap away – that's the thing with any great game. "It's a game that produces cognitive frustration. When you don't proceed you know where you went wrong and the only way to get rid of that frustration or anger is to play straight away again. That's what happens with people playing slot machines." Arabella Griffin, who works as a hairdresser in Radcliffe-on-Trent, said she is so addicted to the game she wouldn't sell her phone. The 18-year-old said: "I think it's because so many people are on it and you are in a competition. "You have to beat people's scores – it appeals to me. "I spend about three hours a day on it. "I've seen it on eBay – I would only sell my phone if a replacement had the game – I don't want to lose the game. "It's quite sad really." Are you cashing in on the craze? Email peter.blackburn@nottinghampost.com
Reported by This is 10 hours ago.
This is Nottingham -- THOUSANDS of people in Notts are flogging their smart phones and tablets for up to £2,000 as a gaming craze grips the county. In a phenomenon experts "have not seen before" the secondhand phones are fetching thousands of pounds on internet auction sites because they have the hit game Flappy Bird downloaded on them. The game has been withdrawn from the iPhone App Store – where people can buy games and other accessories for their phones – after developer Dong Nguyen said the hoards of users were "ruining his life and becoming too addicted". And now people are desperately trying to get their hands on the game – with around 2,000 people in the county currently selling phones and tablets online. Rochelle Richardson, 20, who is a waitress from Gedling, said she was selling her iPhone, which has the game installed. "I'm hoping to make some money to go on holiday," she said. "Some phones are going for thousands of pounds.""If I can get more than it cost, I can buy a new one and have the holiday as well. "I saw them going on eBay and thought 'I need to do that'." She added: "The game does my head in anyway and I can't get anywhere with it." Computer games expert, Iain Simons, who runs the annual GameCity event in Nottingham, said he had never seen anything like the phenomenon. "I haven't seen an instance before where an iPhone game has been removed from sale and people were selling devices with it on," he said. "It's incredible." More than 50 million people have downloaded the game, which was free to purchase, worldwide before it was removed on Tuesday. Professor Mark Griffiths is an expert in video game addiction at Nottingham Trent University and compared Flappy Bird to playing slot machines. He said: "Most of these types of game are very simple to play – it's got to be one of the simplest games to play. Even someone who is 85 can tap away – that's the thing with any great game. "It's a game that produces cognitive frustration. When you don't proceed you know where you went wrong and the only way to get rid of that frustration or anger is to play straight away again. That's what happens with people playing slot machines." Arabella Griffin, who works as a hairdresser in Radcliffe-on-Trent, said she is so addicted to the game she wouldn't sell her phone. The 18-year-old said: "I think it's because so many people are on it and you are in a competition. "You have to beat people's scores – it appeals to me. "I spend about three hours a day on it. "I've seen it on eBay – I would only sell my phone if a replacement had the game – I don't want to lose the game. "It's quite sad really." Are you cashing in on the craze? Email peter.blackburn@nottinghampost.com
Reported by This is 10 hours ago.