ngmoco

News Byte

Ngmoco Hires Former Mattel Exec to Head Up Marketing

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on October 13, 2011 at 8:00 am PT

Following the recent appointment of a new COO, San Francisco-based Ngmoco continues to fill out its executive team. It has hired Michael Staskin as CMO to lead global marketing and communications, including the launch of Mobage, a mobile games platform. Previously, Staskin was VP of Marketing at Sisal, a gaming and lottery company in Italy; before that, he held several positions for Mattel. He will be based in San Francisco.

Ngmoco Hires COO From Current TV Ahead of Major Growth Spurt

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on August 23, 2011 at 8:00 am PT

Ngmoco has hired Joanna Drake Earl to be its second in command as the game company grows and begins to fully execute its vision of being a mobile entertainment network.

U.S. Mobile Game Revenues Expected to Double in 2011

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on August 18, 2011 at 1:20 pm PT

U.S. mobile game revenue has started accelerating, fueled by new game publishers coming into the space and the ability to make more than 99 cents per download through the rise of the free-to-play business model.

DeNA Gains Traction in the U.S. With AT&T Social Games Partnership

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on August 4, 2011 at 5:51 pm PT

A week after launching its social network on Android, Japan-based DeNA already has some surprises in the works, including its first carrier partnership in the U.S.

DeNA Launches Social Game Network on Android Worldwide

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on July 27, 2011 at 8:14 am PT

Looking to build a very large game network, Japan-based DeNA has launched a social games platform on Android in English-speaking countries around the world.

Game Studios Are Hot Acquisition Targets in the Race to Mobile and Social

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on July 22, 2011 at 10:05 am PT

Following the intense bidding war for PopCap last week, it’s likely that more blockbuster purchases will come. So, who will be next?

Is There a Myspace Mafia, Too? Because Leaving Seems to Have Paid Off for Many Ex-Execs.

Kara Swisher in Social on June 13, 2011 at 11:28 am PT

When the selling of Myspace winds down in the next week or so, it’ll probably attract a spate of comments about what a failure the whole social networking enterprise turned out to be. That is, unless you think of the mob of former execs who have worked at the company over time, many of whom have moved on to some more golden opportunities after leaving Myspace.

News Byte

Japanese Game Leader DeNA’s CEO Steps Down

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on May 25, 2011 at 3:09 pm PT

DeNA, which runs Mobage-town, one of Japan’s largest mobile gaming networks, said its founder, President and CEO Tomoko Namba, is retiring due to a family health issue but will continue as a board member and adviser, Reuters reports. Namba, one of Japan’s rare female executives, will be succeeded by Isao Moriyasu, DeNA’s COO and GM of Social Media Business and COO. Last year, DeNA acquired ngmoco in the U.S. for $400 million.

PapayaMobile Raises $18 Million for a Mobile Game Network

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on April 27, 2011 at 6:00 am PT

Papaya Mobile, which is building a mobile social gaming network on Android, has raised $18 million in a second round of funding.

Is There a Second Act for Kevin Rose?

Liz Gannes in Social on March 18, 2011 at 3:52 pm PT

As TechCrunch reported today, Digg founder Kevin Rose is starting a new company. Rose told NetworkEffect at SXSW he was working on a new start-up, but I hadn’t written about it yet as I had yet to find out what the company actually does.