Godfinger developer Ngmoco to create mobile gaming social network

Mobage Mobile
So, that's what they've been up to. San Francisco-based mobile games developer Ngmoco revealed today its first major project since being bought out by Japanese social gaming company DeNA for $403 million: Mobage, CNN reports. Pronounced "Moe-ba-gay,"Mobage will be the smartphone extension of DeNA's already successful Mobage Town mobile network in Japan, which is home to 20 million plus users.

We imagine Mobage will take advantage of the more powerful smartphones and according to Ngmoco CEO Neil Young (just a coincidence, folks), Mobage may allow for anonymity through user names. "Sometimes you don't want your friends and family knowing that you're playing these games every day," Young said to CNN.

And if you thought social gaming was huge in the U.S., take a trip to the Far East and see how it's fairing over there. DeNA claims that it might clear $1 billion in revenue this year alone, which would launch the company much farther than any American social games company in 2010. "It's hard for people in the West to get their heads around how big it is in Japan," Young said. "What's happening in Japan is really a blueprint for what's going to happen here."

Since Zynga recently hired a new mobile maestro, it's safe to assume that at least one U.S. company knows exactly what they're up against. I don't know about you, but I smell a Facebook wall fight of epic proportions in 2011.

Sega making cutesy Yakuza mobile social game in Japan

Yakuza Mobile in actionIf Bangkok in Mafia Wars didn't satisfy your undying love of Far Eastern gangster stories, perhaps a trip to Japan is in order. Sonic the Hedgehog creator Sega is working on a mobile adaptation of their beloved Yakuza franchise. A social game that will only appear on Japan's GREE mobile social network, Yakuza Mobile takes on a visibly more... chibi look, but that's almost expected given the average screen real estate Sega is working with. (So, is this what Sega was referring to a few months ago?)

According to Silicon Era, the fictional Japanese town of "Kamurocho has been overtaken by a powerful foe, and you need to help free it." The game will require cooperation between players to help stop this enemy using the GREE social network. Yakuza Mobile is slated for a winter release in Japan, but no mentions of a U.S. port have been made... yet.