As the news concerning ngmoco's purchase of Freeverse is digested by the mobile gaming industry, it's been interesting to gauge the reaction of various parts of the community.

Jason Citron, co-founder and CEO of iPhone game studio Aurora Feint, which developed the OpenFeint social gaming network, has an interesting take on the deal.

For one thing, OpenFeint is a rival technology to ngmoco's Plus+, while on the other, Aurora Feint's next game will employ the same freemium model that ngmoco - and now Freeverse - is centered around.

Pocket Gamer: Do you think the deal makes sense for ngmoco?

Jason Citron: Only time will tell. The iPhone games market is red hot right now and we're seeing the leaders separating from the pack.

Are you surprised ngmoco has now raised $40 million in funding?

Not at all. The iPhone space, while competitive, is still one of the most exciting places to be right now for venture capitalists and game makers alike. I think this further validates the vertical and increases the value of the entire ecosystem.

Do you think the deal has wider significance in terms of the rise of the freemium model?

I think that ultimately the players will decide if the freemium model will work on the iPhone.

That said, ngmoco followed OpenFeint's footsteps in launching a social gaming platform and is again following us in terms of opening up its network and creating social gaming support as we're doing with OpenFeint X.

Developers and publishers will need to decide which platform works for them and without competing directly against them as ngmoco would likely prioritise its own titles over thirdparties titles.

Thanks to Jason for his time.