Sega of America president leaves for ngmoco

So, the long and short of it is this: Sega of America president and CEO Simon Jeffery is leaving Sega, a longstanding name in the video game industry that has created hits in both hardware and software, for ngmoco, a company known for its iPhone titles, namely Rolando. If that doesn't tell you something about the state of the game industry (or at least the state of Sega), we're not sure what will.

According to Gamasutra, Jeffery -- a longtime proponent of the iPhone as a gaming platform -- is leaving in order to run ngmoco's new publishing arm, Plus Publishing. The new group will offer support to developers in areas like marketing and technology, while also allowing them to implement its Plus Network, a social networking service for iPhone games. Says ngmoco co-founder Joe Keene, "Building a community of gamers in these kinds of experience is really core to our future strategy, and one of the things that will be leveraged highly in the work that Simon will be doing."

Jeffery says of Plus Publishing that it will have a "fairly open-door policy," adding that he would like to talk to "pretty much anyone" about publishing possibilities, including small independent studios and larger publishers.