//Amendment:
Following the publication of this article, ngmoco Neil Young has contacted PocketGamer.biz to say:
"ngmoco's first party development is bigger and better than ever, with a host of new titles shipping throughout the year on iOS and Android, phone and tablet."
According to the company's twitter account:
"There was a translation/transcription error in the Q&A you cited. We are definitely still making games for 2011 and beyond :)"
Our original article is below.
The purchase of US iOS developer ngmoco by Japanese social mobile platform company DeNA for $303 million (excluding earnout) in October was the biggest mobile gaming deal of 2010.
The price wasn't due to ngmoco's success as a freemium publisher of games such as We Rule and Godfinger however.
DeNA wanted ngmoco's Plus+ social mobile network, so it could integrate it with its own Japanese platform Mobage to create an East-West social mobile behemoth.
Change of focus
So, following on from DeNA's announcement of its spectacular FY10 results, it's revealed that ngmoco has dropped development work on new social games to work on the integration of Plus+ and Mobage.
According to a response to a question at its company presentation, in 2011 DeNA will invest an additional ¥600 million (around $7.5 million) in order to fund its overseas subsidiaries; mainly ngmoco.
Part of this increase in funding has occured as DeNA explains; "We are not forecasting such a large volume of revenue [from ngmoco], in part because ngmoco is concentrating its resources on preparations for the start-up of Mobage Global and has suspended the development of new social games."
Transitional quarters
Other aspects of DeNA's business were questioned; notably its prediction of Q1 FY2011 sales of ¥33 billion (around $407 million), which is an increase of only ¥1 billion ($12 million) compared to Q4's total.
It explained it expects growth to be slower in the first half of the year, as it invests aggressively in the launch of Mobage Global, and its Japanese network starts the transition from feature phone games to smartphones.
Blowing your trumpet
Another interesting aside is the company says it will be rolling out installation-based advertising campaigns in the US to quickly grow the install base of Mobage in the region.
Ngmoco was a keen user of incentivised download offerwalls from companies such as Tapjoy for its games; a practice since banned by Apple, and now publicly condemned by ngmoco executives.
DeNA said it would also be looking to deals with carriers and OEMs, such as its existing deal with Samsung, as well as investing TV commercials to gain users.
[source: DeNA (PDF)]
News
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.
Related Articles
Interview
Jul 17th, 2015
Flashback Friday: Neil Young on how ngmoco and Freeverse will dominate the iPhone free2play market
Top Stories
News
8 hours, 37 minutes ago
Subway Surfers Classic update set to take players back to the game's origins
News
8 hours, 37 minutes ago
A third of developers implementing new payment options in face of Digital Markets Act’s $18 billion opportunity
News
9 hours, 7 minutes ago
More Xbox cutbacks hit ZeniMax with only Microsoft’s mobile ventures now unscathed
News
10 hours, 37 minutes ago
Chinese publisher iDreamSky opens office in Riyadh for first international expansion
News
8 hours, 37 minutes ago
A third of developers implementing new payment options in face of Digital Markets Act’s $18 billion opportunity
Feature
May 7th, 2024
Mobile Mavens: The industry has its say on Squad Busters ability to draw in “untapped audiences” with its “influence from a range of genres”
Feature
May 7th, 2024
Hot Five: Supercell’s Squad Busters supremacy, Brawl Stars bounces back, and a games industry journey at King
Events
Valencia Indie Summit 2024 | Europe | May 16th |
Digital Dragons | Europe | May 19th |
Mobidictum Meetup Tallinn May 2024 | Europe | May 21st |
Israel Mobile Summit 2024 | Middle East | Jun 6th |
Future Games Show 2024 | Jun 8th | |
PC Gaming Show 2024 | Jun 9th | |
WN Conference Istanbul 2024 | Jun 11th | |
DevGAMM Vilnius 2024 | Europe | Jun 14th |