Ngmoco, LLC (stylized as ngmoco) was an American-based publisher of video games for the iOS and Android platforms, and a subsidiary of DeNA Co., Ltd. The company was founded by former Electronic Arts executive Neil Young in July 2008. Since its founding, ngmoco has had more than seven million combined game installs. Venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Norwest Venture Partners, among others, have financed the company with a combined total of US$40.6 million. The company is most well known for their publishing of the Rolando game series and Eliminate Pro.
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | July 2008 |
| Founder | Joe Keene Bob Stevenson Neil Young Alan Yu |
| Defunct | October 18, 2016 |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | International |
Key people | Neil Young (CEO) |
| Products | Rolando Rolando 2 Eliminate Pro |
Number of employees | 26[1] |
| Parent | DeNA Co., Ltd. (2010-present) |
| Website | www.ngmoco.com |
History
editIn June 2008, Electronic Arts Games label president Frank Gibeau announced to the media that executive Neil Young was leaving the company to form a company of his own.[2] Young had managed Maxis, EA Los Angeles, and EA's Blueprint division. The next week, Young announced that the company, co-founded by Bob Stevenson, Alan Yu and Joe Keene, would be named "ngmoco" (short for "Next Generation Mobile Company"), and would focus on game publishing for the iPhone platform.[3][4][5] It was also announced that the company had achieved funding from venture capitalist firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (as part of the iFund), and that partner and former Chief Creative Officer of EA Bing Gordon had joined ngmoco's board of directors.
In October 2008, the company released their first three games. They consisted of Topple, MazeFinger, and Rolando.[6] In March 2009, ngmoco's games on the App Store had received over seven million installations.[7] The company's board was joined by Tim Chang, whose investment firm Norwest Venture Partners invested $10,000,000 in ngmoco's second round of funding.
On 15 June 15 2009, ngmoco launched a social networking, game discovery and multiplayer platform called the "Plus+ Network", combined with a third-party channel for independent developers. The "Plus+ Publishing group" is headed up by former Sega of America and LucasArts executive Simon Jeffery.[8]
On November 4, 2009, ngmoco announced it had acquired iPhone and Facebook developer, Miraphonic, whose games included Epic Pet Wars and Epic Soldier Wars.[9][10]
In February 2010, investors Institutional Venture Partners, and existing shareholders Kleiner Perkins, Norwest Venture Partners, and Maples Investments led another fund-raising campaign in a series C venture round to raise an additional $25,000,000.[11] Soon thereafter, ngmoco acquired long-time Mac OS and iOS developer Freeverse. They also acquired Stumptown Game Machine.
On October 12, 2010, Japan-based DeNA announced its decision to acquire ngmoco for $400,000,000.[12] After this, ngmoco LLC became the regional headquarters for all Western subsidiaries of DeNA, including studios in Vancouver, Santiago de Chile, Stockholm and Amsterdam.
On October 18, 2016, DeNA Co., Ltd. announced the closure of all Western subsidiaries,[13] shortly after announcing a new strategy for the West in collaboration with Nintendo.[14]
Games
editThe following is a list of games that have been published under the ngmoco name:
- Dr. Awesome (2008)
- MazeFinger (2008)
- Rolando (2008)
- Topple (2008)
- Dropship (2009)
- Eliminate Pro (2009)
- Rolando 2: Quest for the Golden Orchid (2009)
- Star Defense (2009)
- Topple 2 (2009)
- Touch Pets: Dogs (2009)
- Word-Fu (2009)
- Adventure Bay (2010)
- Charadium (2010)
- Eliminate Burst (2010)
- Eliminate: Gun Range (2010)
- GodFinger (2010)
- Star Wars: Imperial Academy (2010)
- Touch Pets: Cats (2010)
- Touch Pets: Dogs 2 (2010)
- We City (2010)
- We Doodle (2010)
- We Farm (2010)
- We Rule (2010)
- Fantastic Fish (2011)
- Dreamtopia (2012)
- Skyfall (2013)
References
edit- ^ Madway, Gabriel (2009-03-23). "iPhone Apps mean money for game publisher ngmoco". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2009-03-26. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ Pigna, Kris (2008-06-19). "Neil Young Leaving Electronic Arts". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ Nutt, Christian (2008-06-30). "Q&A: EA Vet Young Reveals iPhone Publisher Ngmoco". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ Ali, Rafat (2008-07-31). "iPhone Game Start-Up Ngmoco Gets Funding from Kleiner Perkins". mocoNews.net. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ Schonfeld, Erick (2008-07-31). "Kleiner Perkins' iFund Invests In Stealth Gaming Startup ngmoco". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ "ngmoco Reveals Its First Three iPhone Games". IGN. 2008-10-16. Archived from the original on October 20, 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ Morrison, Dianne See (2009-03-23). "mocoNews - IPhone Games Publisher Ngmoco Raises $10 Million In Second Round". mocoNews.net. Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ "ngmoco Unveils Its Social Networking Plus+ Network". PocketGamer.biz. 2009-06-16. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
- ^ "Ngmoco Acquires Miraphonic, Creator of 'Epic Pet Wars'". Touch Arcade. 2009-11-04. Retrieved 2010-01-20.
- ^ Kee, Tameka (2009-11-05). "ngmoco's First Acquisition: 'Epic Pet Wars' Developer Miraphonic". mocoNews.net. Retrieved 2010-01-20.
- ^ Schonfeld, Erick (2010-02-22). "iPhone Game House ngmoco Raises $25 Million Series C, Buys Freeverse". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2010-02-22.
- ^ Buchanan, Levi (2010-10-12). "DeNA Buying ngmoco for $400 Million". IGN. Archived from the original on 2010-10-15. Retrieved 2010-10-13.
- ^ "DeNA shutters Western business as games "did not meet expectations"". GamesIndustry.biz.
- ^ "Nintendo Partners With DeNA To Bring Its Games And IP To Smartphones". TechCrunch.