Flappy Bird and 2048 trump Destiny in Google searches this year

Google reports that 2014 saw more people using its search engine to look for information on mobile games Flappy Bird and 2048 than any other game, including big-budget releases like Titanfall and Destiny. It's an interesting bit of trivia (brought to our attention by Polygon) that suggests small mobile titles that become viral hits can still outpace games with marketing budgets measured in millions, at least in terms of popular interest. More worrisome for developers is the fact that, at least in the eyes of Google, the freely available 2048 eclipsed the game it was essentially cloned from: Asher Vollmer and Greg Wohlwend's award-winning mobile puzzler Threes. Both Flappy Bird and Threes were cloned to death shortly after they rose to popularity, so it's troubling to see one retain name recognition while the other falters in the lists. For more details on what Google saw in 2014, check out the company's Year in Search.