Nintendo wasn't concerned by Flappy Bird's pipes

Much of the criticism aimed at now-defunct smartphone title Flappy Bird concerned allegations of IP infringement.
Some quarters of the press and development community criticised the game’s creator Dong Nguyen for his use of a green pipe design that quite clearly references Nintendo’s Mario platform series.
However, Nintendo spokesperson Yasuhiro Minagawa has confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that Nintendo itself had not filed any complaints about the game.
“While we usually do not comment on the rumours and speculations, we have already denied the speculation” he said.
Speculation remains concerning the exact reason for Nguyen’s decision to pull the game. He has previously insisted that it was not a legal matter, and indeed it certainly doesn’t seem as if he was being leant on by Nintendo.
A more likely cause is the sudden outburst or press attention endured by the developer, some of which has been undeniably vile.
Nguyen has remained silent on Twitter since the game’s removal.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/ninte...-pipes/0127927