ngmoco: EA vet Neil Young's new iPhone publisher

July 1st, 2008, 01:28 Posted By: wraggster

Well that didn't take long. Just a little over a week after announcing his departure from Electronic Arts, former EA Blueprint head Neil Young – an 11-year veteran of the mega-publisher – has revealed his latest gig: ngmoco. Never heard of it? Well, that's because it's brand new; however, if Mr. Young and every other business-minded human eying up the iPhone market is right, you'll be hearing plenty about ngmoco.

First, what's the name mean? Young tells Newsweek that it stands for "Next Generation MObile COmpany" (what, you didn't totally see that the first time?). Alright, but what does that mean? He tells Gamasutra the company is a "publisher that is specifically focused on games for the iPhone and beyond." So, not just the iPhone, but "that class of mobile phone" – touch screen, network connectivity, accelerometer, et al. Young isn't looking to develop games at ngmoco, but rather to commission, finance, and produce titles, hoping the brand name and institutional knowledge will help ngmoco's titles remain visible in what he expects to be a busy, competitive marketplace.

Most interestingly, he talks about how Apple's forthcoming AppStore will rebalance the mobile gaming industry's reliance on carriers. Now, he says, the average revenue per user on mobile phones is "$7.50 or $8" compared to $45 on the PSP and $62 on the DS, leaving a great deal of potential there given the right product.

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/30/ng...one-publisher/

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