Social games outfit ngmoco, now a DeNA-owned company, is partnering with indie mobile game developer TinyCo in order to bring TinyCo’s games to Android and the Mobage social gaming platform. The first two titles to be ported over are Tiny Chef and Tiny Nightclub.
Mobage, as you may remember, arrived in an English version on Android in summer 2011 following Toyoko-based DeNA’s December’s acquisition of ngmoco for $400 million. The social gaming platform now serves over 30 million users with more than 1,000 game titles for smartphones, feature phones and PC’s. DeNA is now working to expand Mobage globally by building up a presence in the U.S., European and Asian markets.
Currently, Mobage offers developers shared currency, a virtual goods bank system, a payment API, plus advertising management and analytics tools.
San Francisco-based TinyCo is an up-and-comer in mobile gaming, having raised $18 million in Series A funding in February in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz. At the time, Marc Andreessen detailed TinyCo’s “impressive execution,” saying it took “the best elements of Facebook gaming—continuous product updates and content additions, virtual currency and goods, and constant, relentless review of user data to improve the overall experience—and optimizes them for mobile devices.”
TinyCo has several App Store top 10 titles now, including Tiny Zoo Friends, Tiny Pets, Tap Resort and VIP Poker.
TinyCo makes beautiful, fun and engaging games that can be played anywhere on mobile devices. Their mission is to make millions of people happy five minutes at a time. TinyCo was co-founded by Suli Ali and Ian Spivey in 2009 and is headquartered in San Francisco.
ngmoco (“Next Generation MObile COmpany”) is creating and producing games for the iPhone. CEO Neil Young is a former executive from Electronic Arts, where he oversaw the development of several hit titles. Another EA vet and partner at Kleiner Perkins, Bing Gordon, sits on the board. Kleiner is an investor through its iFund.
DeNA Co., Ltd. (pronounced “D-N-A”) provides social game platform, social games, e-commerce and other Web services for mobile devices and PCs. DeNA’s current flagship business is its mobile social games platform Mobage (pronounced “moh-bah-geh”), which offers first-, second- and third-party games on multiple localized player networks worldwide.
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