In a move that could lead to more killer games on Android, Google Ventures has invested some cash into the prolific iPhone game maker ngmoco.
According to TechCrunch:
The company, which is already profitable, took the money as part of a new round of funding — probably in the $3-5 million range. ngmoco currently has some very popular games on iOS, including “We Farm,” which is currently the second most popular game on the iPad.
Google Ventures is a separate entity from Google itself but you can bet that the move could lead to a stampede of new Android games and we all know that little, green robot could use a boost in the mobile gaming department.
So far, the brunt of the innovation in the mobile gaming space has been on the Apple iPhone thanks to developers like ngmoco, Capcom and Electronic Arts. The iOS platform also has the added benefit of powering the wildly popular iPod Touch, which creates a huge potential market of gamers on the go.
Apple has been adding new features to its Apple iPhone platform to encourage game developers, including in-app purchases, Open GL support and more. The iOS 4 will also have a Game Center feature which will bring Xbox Live-like features including leader boards and matchmaking.
But as Android continues to gain traction, game developers are increasingly eying that little green robot. The Android NDK should enable higher levels of visually-pleasing gaming and Google has even hired a mobile gaming evangelist for the Android platform. The ngmoco investment should only bolster this.
We could soon see the mother of all Android gaming phones when Sony Ericsson unveils its latest smartphone. This device is supposed to come with a slide-out controller, Android 3.0 and beefy internals. I’m fairly certain this Sony Ericsson PlayStation-like phone will only support certain games though.
So, what’s your favorite Android game? I’m still a big fan of the SNES emulator.
[Via TechCrunch]