iPhone News Updated

Google poaches iPhone/iPad game maker ngmoco

Google poaches iPhone/iPad game maker ngmoco

Google has increased its social gaming consolidation spree, taking the battle into iPhone’s camp, investing in iPhone and iPad game developer ngmoco through its venture capital (VC) arm Google Ventures, TechCrunch reported.

Ngmoco is the designer of “We Farm” the second most popular game on iPad. Though Google’s investment in ngmoco is a partly sum of $3-5 million, the significance of the investment is critical to Google’s social networking ambitions.

Google has bagged prized gaming application developers like Zynga and Slide and virtual currency maker Jambool. However, instead of directly lapping ngmoco, Google’s strategy to go through its VC arm raises questions. Could it be ngmoco’s association with Apple that is forcing Google to take an indirect route?

Google cannot directly poach application makers from Apple and hence is approaching them via VC route, say experts. Also for Apple game developers who want to tap the burgeoning Android market, VC offers a route to step out of Apple’s umbrella without damaging their relationship with Apple.

Since Apple apps store applies strict rules to scrutinize the quality of game applications, insisting on good quality games, it pays for Google to migrate these quality games on to Android by exerting influence over VC funded game developers.

Google’s aggressive stance in approaching the gaming segment reveals that competitors like Apple do not have the luxury to wait and watch. Once it has aggregated sufficient number of gaming companies it can flood the market with Android-based games. Moreover, the future of smartphone hinges on the quality and quantity of applications provided, which others cannot ignore.

[Thanks: http://www.ibtimes.com]

Comments are closed.