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Young and Restless
Neil Young, like his more famous namesake, was a rock star of sorts. As an executive at Electronic Arts, he was involved in some of the company’s biggest franchises, including “The Sims” and “Spore.” Then he surprised just about everyone in the industry last year by leaving the mighty EA to make cell phone games.
The phone in question, though, was Apple’s iPhone, which has become (among other things) the hottest game-playing device on the market. Young’s company, ngmoco (“next generation mobile company”), has become one of the iPhone’s most reliable app developers, thanks to hits like “Rolando,” “Topple” and “WordFu.”
“The iPhone removes a lot of obstacles,” such as manufacturing and retailing, Young says. “We’re selling directly to customers. Apple has trained millions of people to download games.”
Apple’s download-only model gives ngmoco the chance to continually improve its games. “Rolando” launched in December with 36 levels for $10. Since then, ngmoco has added 20 free levels and has another 36 paid levels (again, for $10) on the way. “For less money, that’s twice as much content as a Nintendo DS cartridge,” says Young. “And it’s all built on feedback from players, taking advantage of all that knowledge.” And “Rolando 2,” coming this summer, should take that further.
Young says it can be tough to get attention among the thousands of games available at the App Store. “It’s a very crowded marketplace with a lot of pricing pressure,” he says. His company has managed to cut through the clutter with a mix of public relations, fan outreach and cross-promotion. Still, he says, “our job is to connect consumers with games. These are challenges we have to solve as an industry.”
Dead ‘Duke’
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