Ngmoco’s “freemium” model pays off, acquires iPhone game company Freeverse
They might have cancelled the follow-up to their cute little rolling blob series, Rolando, because it couldn’t be turned into a “freemium” title, but iPhone game startup Ngmoco clearly isn’t doing bad itself: they’ve raised $25 million in capital fund and purchased Freeverse.
Who is Freeverse? They’re another popular iPhone gaming company, responsible for titles such as Moto Chaser and Skee-Ball.
The move should allow Ngmoco to take their successful “freemium model” — in which games are free for users to download or play, while the developers themselves make their money through in-game advertisements and in-app purchases — and roll-it out to their recently acquired Freeverse titles.
As a business model, it makes a lot of sense: with the average price of apps ever plummeting, Ngmoco’s freemium approach allows them to give most users what they want — a free, simple game to play — and squeeze revenue out of them anyway. I don’t necessarily think that leads to very sophisticated games in the long run… but most people don’t want sophistication, they want entertainment.
John Brownlee is Cult of Mac's Deputy Editor. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his girlfriend and two parakeets. You can follow him 
