Recession or no recession, sound business prospects still make sound sense. As clear as day is the fact that the iPhone is on its way to becoming a gaming console. It is still not being said in the same breath as some of the other handhelds (aka PSP or DS) but that day might not be too far off either. It is therefore hardly surprising that Ngmoco, the iPhone games and applications publisher, has managed to raise $10 million in a second round of funding. Providing all that dough is a bunch of companies led by Norwest Venture Partners. Previous investors from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Maples Investments – who supplied $5 million last July – have also chipped in. This capital will be used to expand Ngmoco’s line of premium products as well as its development team. Ngmoco (an acronym for “next generation mobile company”) is also looking to invest in its own game networking platform. Electronic Arts former executive Neil Young is the founder of Ngmoco. He had this to say on the occasion:
The iPhone is really the first wave of new phones that have the same capability to play games as the handheld game systems have.
The fact that iPhone is selling as well as Nintendo’s Wii is a clear testimony to Young’s statement. Ngmoco, till date, has had five top-10 iPhone games, with over seven million instances of application installations. Look out for more new titles – including Star Defense, Touch Pets and LiveFire – from Ngmoco in the coming months.
Via: bits.blogs.nytimes
