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.

An IT entrepreneur turned mobile app developer and business commentator, Markus Nigrin of Windmill Apps brings a nuanced combination of expertise to his analysis of the ngmoco-Freeverse deal.

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

Markus Nigrin: Absolutely it does. We've all learnt a bit about this new ecosystem over the past 18 months and it shows that install base and early iconic game titles play a very important role. Freeverse has a great lineup of apps that fit very nicely into this model and can be leveraged by ngmoco.

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

Not really. The business model that ngmoco presents is very strong and should show decent results. However I would be surprised if that was the only thought behind the acquisition and the funding.

I bet we will see more initiatives in the social gaming segment by ngmoco, which is a hot topic these days. I think it has the customer base as well as the technology to do some serious damage in this space.

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

I would have to say Yes although personally I'm not a huge fan of freemium. And I (still) don't think that model lends itself naturally to every app, but ngmoco has learned to apply it quite masterfully.

If, as its press release states, Touch Pet Dogs had its strongest sales last weekend, then I have to admit that game is not on my radar and not of anybody I know of and that I would interpret this as ngmoco managing its growth very well within its own ecosystem of apps, by cross-selling and cross-promoting.

This would be very promising as it shows the broad mass of users is receptive to such ideas. It would be a good thing for big publishers as well as small developers.

Also, there are a lot of fine lines you can't cross with the freemium model and the experience ngmoco is building up should not be underestimated.

What do you think will be the power of the combined company?

I don't know much about their cultures but integration is a beast, despite all good resolutions. I hope it does not slow them down too much. The beauty about the mobile gaming world is the projects are generally self contained and typically not large, which should help.

Together I expect great games from the newlyweds and over time a role-model integration of freemium that we all can learn from.

Thanks to Markus for his time.

You can read further analysis of why the deal is good for Freeverse and ngmoco here.