Robert-Nay
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Angry Birds knocked from Top Free perch by Bubble Ball, made by an eighth grader
If ever there was proof that neither we, the wise sages of Joystiq, or you, the savvy consumers of video game-dom, can ever hope to fully understand the delicate balance of the iPhone App Store ecosystem, this is it: The holiday-themed Angry Birds Seasons Free has been knocked from its perch atop the Top Free Games category by ... Bubble Ball. Which was developed by an eighth grader. Young Robert Nay from Utah developed the game with his mother using the Corona SDK from Ansca Mobile. Making its debut less than three weeks ago, Bubble Ball has been downloaded over 1.5 million times, sending it to the top of the iTunes App Store, and dropping Angry Birds a pitiful three spots to number four. Of course, Angry Birds classic is still the Top Paid game, so it's hard to get too choked up. Speaking of getting paid, the Corona SDK doesn't yet support in-app purchases, so the Nays will have to be content with the knowledge that their creation is bringing joy to hundreds of thousands of bored public commuters (not to mention adding a meaty bullet point to a certain someone's college application). For comparison, take a moment to reflect on how you spent your eighth grade year and then drown your sorrows in some Bubble Ball.
14-year-old dev's first game tops iOS free apps list (we'll just say it: aww...)
Eighth graders of the world: you're not overachieving enough. Meet Robert Nay, the subject of today's feel-good story. The 14-year old Utah native designed a simple-and-fun mobile game and managed to rack up a million downloads within two weeks of its December 29th launch. Which thrust his game to the top of the iTunes Free Apps list (and subsequently netted another 400,000 downloads, according to AllThingsD). Bubble Ball's the game, also available in the Android Market. Give it a shot, and then do more with yourself, k?
