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.

DeNA unleashes Mobage social games platform on U.S., China

And so, it begins. The first salvo hath been fired. The shooter: Japanese mobile social games giant DeNA. The ammunition: Mobage, its social games platform for smartphones now run by Ngmoco, creator of iPhone hit Godfinger. Pocket Gamer reports that the first phase of DeNA's conquest for global mobile games domination has begun with Mobage's release in the U.S, China and a list of English-speaking countries.

The platform, first released for Android phones, will expand into other countries "soon," according to Pocket Gamer. Mobage currently hosts 20 free games available to players in the states and China like Pocket God, We Rule and Zombie Farm. Many of which, according to Pocket Gamer, will debut on Android through Mobage.

"Mobage's release outside of Japan marks the next step in our company's global expansion," Neil Young, Ngmoco CEO and DeNA executive officer, said. "The opportunity in front of us is to build Mobage into the definitive destination for games and entertainment across territories and mobile operating systems."

The platform works a lot like Facebook does for web-based social games in that it handles the release and payment for games and virtual goods within the network. However, it's far more focused on those games, with support for chat, meeting friends through games and more. The platform releases just as Zynga ramps up its mobile gaming efforts with two releases, Hanging with Friends and CityVille Hometown, in just two months. (Though, Mobage will have the bloodiest social game ever among others from some legendary Japanese designers.) Mobage is available now for free in the Android Market, though no word on an iOS release ... yet.

Now DeNA is ready for global domination; Mobage exits open beta

"Alright, guys, time-in." If the mobile social games space were a game of tag in the schoolyard, that's essentially what Japanese social game maker DeNA just said. The company announced that the ngmoco-powered Mobage platform for Western Android devices is out of open beta. Ngmoco CEO Neil Young said, "Mobage has come out of beta," according to GamesIndustry.biz.

Certainly an apt description of current events, but we'll take it. Since Mobage launched this July, the service hasn't enjoyed much success. Despite that, a number of games from Zombie Farm to We Rule already hit the top 25 on the Android Market while on Mobage. However, according to Young, that was just a test.

"The beta period allowed us to test, refine and prove the service, assuring a superb user experience with Mobage and our world-class suite of games," Young said. "We now start the process of scaling the service and it is great to already see our games ranking high in the charts."

A wild success or not, DeNA is already ahead of its arch nemesis, Gree. The competing Japanese mobile social game network has yet to release its OpenFeint-backed global games network, though it has said that it's coming ... in 2012. Of course, there's also the mighty Zynga to worry about, which might have a few mobile tricks up its sleeves with Project Z. It looks like we'll have to wait another year to see the mobile social games race pick up the pace.

How do you connect with friends in your mobile games? Which of these three companies do you think will provide the best service?

Social game makers Gree, DeNA to take spotlight at Tokyo Game Show

Social games will go toe to toe with the hardcore scene at this year's Tokyo Game Show, Reuters reports. Gree, the 26 million player-strong mobile and social games creator hailing from Japan, will have one of the largest booths at Japan's equivalent of E3 this year, according to Reuters. In fact, both Gree and its competitor DeNA will conduct keynote addresses at the event, which runs Sept. 15 through 18.

Reuters reports that several game companies aside from DeNA and Gree, including famed creator of games like Contra and Castlevania (some of the most hardcore franchises around) Konami, are shifting resources toward social games. While the biggest Japanese games company, Nintendo, lags behind as it continues to focus on games created deliberately to take advantage of its hardware. Unfortunately, that hasn't been working out so well for the company as of late.

"Nintendo has done some pretty awful things - no software, poor pricing, poor PR, no sign of a sustainable turnaround, software support dropping like flies," JP Morgan analyst Hiroshi Kamide told Reuters, referring to the failed 3DS launch (and resultant massive price drop).

On the other hand, competitor Konami recently welcomed over 10 million players to its social games. "You can make serious returns with social games in Japan if done well - and that is exactly what they have done," Kamide said to Reuters about Konami.

Both DeNA (which enjoys 3 million more monthly players than its rival) and Gree have major ambitions of becoming global competitors in the social games space to companies like Zynga and EA, which have blazed the trail for Facebook and mobile social game in the western world. Just this past year, both Gree and DeNA made huge purchases to make global headway in the space with mobile social game network OpenFeint and mobile games developer Ngmoco, respectively.

Just as some social game makers invaded this year's E3 event in the states, it looks like the ballooning sub genre will fill up the streets of Tokyo this week, too. Whether the two companies will fill the conference halls with hot air has yet to be seen. But considering Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley analyst Masato Araki expects Japan's social games industry to grow to about 400 billion yen ($5.1 billion) by 2013 from 106 billion yen in 2011, according to Reuters, you can bet everyone will be all ears.

Do you think Gree and DeNA will have some new, interesting things to say about social games at this year's TGS? How do you think traditional Japanese gaming companies will respond? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment