Demonstrating just how much the industry has changed, Digital Goldfish released its first mobile game in 2005. It was monochrome baby simulator for Java phones called BabyGrow.
It was not successful.
Seven years on, however, the developer's been acquired by longterm partner Ninja Kiwi, having found plenty of success with the iOS and Android games it's made based on Ninja Kiwi's Bloons games.
With that licensing agreement about to time out, this proved to be the opportunity for both parties to look towards a synergetic future.
"The deal's been the cards for awhile," confirms Digital Goldfish's MD David Hamilton.
"It made sense for Ninja Kiwi to bring our mobile expertise inhouse and for us to work even more closely with them for the future."
Half a world away
Despite their geographical separation - Digital Goldfish in Scotland and Ninja Kiwi in New Zealand - the companies share a similar background.
Both were set up in the mid-2000s by twentysomething co-founders. In the case of Digital Goldfish it was Hamilton and fellow University of Abertay graduate Barry Petrie.
Ninja Kiwi was started by the Harris brothers, Chris and Stephen.
All four are now involved in the combined 35-strong operation, making games for web and mobile.
Pop! Attack!
For Digital Goldfish (or Ninja Kiwi Europe as it will now be known), next up is Bloons TD 5 on iOS; the latest release in the tower defence line of games.
The previous title did over 1.5 million downloads despite being priced at $2.99, but perhaps that's not so surprising given the Flash version of the game get around 5 million monthly players.
Indeed, the various Bloons games have been downloaded more than 8 million times.
"It's very popular," Hamilton says. "Even on DSiWare, Bloons TD 3 was a hit, #1 in Europe and #2 in the US, while Bloons TD 4 did 100,000 paid downloads on Google Play."
It was also a top 10 paid game on Amazon's Appstore for Android and the Barnes & Noble Nook tablet.
Yet the future isn't just about Bloons.
Ninja Kiwi has other web games that have come to mobile, such as SAS: Zombie Assault, and plenty more than could make the transition. Similarly, Digital Goldfish has its own IP in development for mobile and Facebook, including a point-and-click adventure.
Their future success together will be all about how well they integrate those two activities with the buoyancy of Bloons.
Feature
Contributing Editor
A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon is Contributing Editor at PG.biz which means he acts like a slightly confused uncle who's forgotten where he's left his glasses. As well as letters and cameras, he likes imaginary numbers and legumes.
Top Stories
News
3 hours, 21 minutes ago
EU ruling gives Apple six months to bring iPadOS into line with DMA demands
News
5 hours, 4 minutes ago
Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen joins LEGO’s board of directors days after Squad Busters’ soft launch
News
6 hours, 22 minutes ago
A Thinking Ape lays off staff across game design, software engineering, art teams and more
Feature
5 hours, 31 minutes ago
King’s Paula Ingvar: a games industry journey from "I’m not worthy!" to Candy Crush Soda’s VP of product
Feature
9 hours, 41 minutes ago
Hot Five: Supercell’s Squad Busters levels up, retro Nintendo on iOS, and Genshin Impact’s worst month yet
News
Apr 26th, 2024
Week in Views - Squads busted, Apple crushed, War zoned and Snoozin' with the Snorlax…
Events
Dubai GameExpo Summit 2024 | Middle East | May 1st |
The MENA Games Industry Awards 2024 | Middle East | May 2nd |
GameDev Atlantic 2024 | May 4th | |
Mobidictum Meetup Berlin May 2024 | Europe | May 7th |
Mobidictum Meetup Tallinn May 2024 | Europe | May 21st |
Israel Mobile Summit 2024 | Middle East | Jun 6th |
WN Conference Istanbul 2024 | Jun 11th | |
DevGAMM Vilnius 2024 | Europe | Jun 14th |
Popular Stories
News
Apr 23rd, 2024
Supercell’s Squad Busters soft launches today with over 100,000 Google Play downloads
News
Apr 25th, 2024