Joystiq

DeNA acquiring ngmoco for $400 million

Alexander Sliwinski — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 11:02:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

DeNA, a Japanese mobile internet company, is set to purchase mobile publisher ngmoco, best known for Rolando and Topple, for a whopping $400 million. The combination of the two companies, according to the announcement, will create "the world's largest mobile social games platform company."

The ngmoco shareholders and employees will receive $300 million in cash and securities, with an additional $100 million contingent on performance milestones.

Gamasutra points out that this is just the latest acquisition by DeNA, which has slowly been making selective purchases in the western market. This is also just the latest social media purchase with an incredible dollar figure attached. Disney recently purchased Playdom for over $500 million, while EA acquired Playfish late last year for $300 million. -- oh yeah, and there's also that rumored $100 million investment by Google in Zynga. Now, let us all hold a moment of silence for sanity.

DeNA acquiring ngmoco for $400 million originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 12 Oct 2010 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rolando 3 canceled, but the franchise lives on

Griffin McElroy — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:10:00 EST

After the not-exactly-phenomenal commercial reception of Rolando 2, iPhone developer ngmoco decided to swap to a free-to-play model for all its future titles. It's a model which led to the development of the extremely competent iPhone shooter Eliminate, but the new business model also led to the unfortunate death of the third installment in the Rolando franchise. The developer's co-founder, Neil Young, explained to IGN, "we said to ourselves, 'Look. If we can't make the game free-to-play, we're not going to release it.' And Rolando 3 as it was envisioned at that time was not a free-to-play product."

However, don't think you've seen the end of the Loco Roco-esque platformer. Young later confirmed that "at the appropriate moment we'll deliver a new Rolando experience that takes full advantage of everything we've learned from the free-to-play world." Sounds like we'll eventually get a new Rolando and, better yet, it won't cost us any Rolandough.

Rolando 3 canceled, but the franchise lives on originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rolando almost removed from App Store

JC Fletcher — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:15:00 EST

This weekend, ngmoco announced plans to remove the original Rolando from the iPhone/iPod Touch App Store, to allow the sequel to launch on July 1 without competition from its own predecessor. However, in response to a fan outcry, the company has decided not to delist the platformer.

Before the announcement of the change of plan, Offworld's Brandon Boyer speculated that the delisting was designed to create "artificial scarcity" for the title, and enticing one final rush of downloads before the game disappeared -- and then making the title available once again when the sequel's sales dropped.

In addition to canceling the removal of Rolando, ngmoco has reinstated Topple to the App Store, a game that had also been removed to make room for its own sequel.

Rolando almost removed from App Store originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DodoGo rolls up LocoRoco with something egg-stra

Randy Nelson — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:15:00 EST

France's Weezard Interactive is hoping to prove there's room in this world for one more "guide a pack of cute, round characters to the exit" style game with DodoGo. The game, set for release later this year, immediately calls to mind the likes of Rolando and LocoRoco, but offers up some novel new touch interaction ideas.

In getting the dodo eggs -- which are, of course, all smiley and bouncy -- through each level, players will need to perform some basic actions (drawing lines to connect pulleys, placing springy launchpads) in addition to a couple of really stand-out gameplay mechanics. Namely, the ability to change the level's topography so the little guys/girls can roll to safety or avoid predators. There also appears to be a decent-sized focus on devising clever plans to do away with said baddies using the various tools and items offered up. (Oh, and we totally love the idea of a "crash test egg" that can be deployed to test a puzzle solution so no "real" dodos are harmed.)

Check the trailer after the break and tell us: are you egg-cited?

Continue reading DodoGo rolls up LocoRoco with something egg-stra

DodoGo rolls up LocoRoco with something egg-stra originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rolando 2: Quest for the Golden Trailer

JC Fletcher — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:15:00 EST

Everyone's favorite rolling-based platformer is back! No, not that one. Not that one either. The iPhone one. Rolando. Publisher ngmoco has updated its website with a new trailer for Rolando 2: Quest for the Golden Orchid.

Not content to merely bring the rollin' and smilin' to a new tropical setting, developer Hand Circus seems to have added a hint of an extra dimension to the game! Rolando is as blissfully side-scrolling as ever, and the sprites remain 2D, but the game is now embellished with 3D environments and a new camera system. What will Hand Circus do for the third Rolando game?

[Via What They Play]

Rolando 2: Quest for the Golden Trailer originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 07 May 2009 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rolando dev claims barriers to publishing much lower on iPhone

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:00:00 EST

Simon Oliver has been a game developer for more than a few years now, so we're going to trust him when he says, "The barriers to publishing, compared to developing for the Wii, or PlayStation Portable, or Nintendo DS, [are] incredibly low," regarding Apple's iPhone. The Rolando developer recently spoke with GamesIndustry.biz and had some interesting things to say regarding the development and publishing processes involved in his massively successful game.

"There were a lot of aspects in my own skillset that I felt needed work - my C++ was okay, but it was quite seat-of-the-pants stuff initially," he says, regarding development of Rolando. He believes that while "there's not the same level of quality control that you get on XBLA or WiiWare" the games released for Apple's platform are more interesting as "the barrier to entry is so unbelievably low." We've certainly heard this tune before and it looks as though some major players are jumping on the iPhone bandwagon. We're hopeful that the future for the iPhone's developmental wild west can withstand the pressure of big money publishers wrangling up all the mindshare.

Rolando dev claims barriers to publishing much lower on iPhone originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rolando 2 gets a website, regular info updates

Ben Gilbert — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 14:30:00 EST

Rolando creator Simon Oliver must be a busy man. Aside from the two currently in-development Rolando sequels -- Rolando 2: Quest for the Golden Orchid coming in June and Rolando 3 in November -- the developer is also posting regular updates to publisher ngmoco's new Rolando 2 website.

Promising new character and environment reveals as well as tours of "exciting new gameplay" on the site, we imagine Rolando fans like us might make this a stop on their daily stroll down internet street. Though we can glean little from what's currently on the site, it seems Rolando 2 players will be encountering a tropical island theme when the game arrives on iPhone this summer. The prospect of that thrills us just as much as it does you -- does that mean we get to take a boat?!

Rolando 2 gets a website, regular info updates originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 19 Apr 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GDC09: Rolando sequel, sequel to Rolando sequel announced

Ludwig Kietzmann — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:54:00 EST

LocoRoco-esque phone tilt-em-up news now, with developer ngmoco efficiently announcing two sequels to the iPhone's beloved Rolando. You know you've made it big when you become a trilogy -- complete with subtitles!

According to IGN, Rolando 2: The Quest for the Golden Orchid will arrive sometime in June, followed by the currently unsubtitled Rolando 3 in November. The news echoes comments made earlier by the game's creator, Simon Oliver, who modestly promised "more activity on the Rolando front" for the remainder of the year. Aside from the pair of follow-ups, ngmoco also plans to release a pack of 20 new levels for the original game.

If you're unfamiliar with all this Rolando business, check out our review of the game that got the ball rolling on the rolling ball game.

GDC09: Rolando sequel, sequel to Rolando sequel announced originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone It In: Rolando

Justin McElroy — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:30:00 EST

Anyone who's ever played LocoRoco has been guilty of it. You just can't help but tip your PSP to the left or right, trying for that extra smidgen of incline to get your gelatinous balls of goo rolling, even though you know it has no real effect. But in ngmoco's Rolando, the controls are all about the angle of your system, and it makes for some of the most fun you can have on your iPhone.

Continue reading iPhone It In: Rolando

iPhone It In: Rolando originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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More Rolando rolling out in 2009

JC Fletcher — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 06:30:00 EST

Hand Circus's Rolando is one of the iPhone's breakout hits (IGN called it the iPhone's "killer app" in their review), so it's no surprise that the developer would want to follow up the Loco Roco-esque puzzle-platformer in some way. Creator Simon Oliver told Pocket Gamer that plans are in the works for more Rolando content of some kind.

"I can't say too much about this now, but you'll see some more activity on the Rolando front in 2009," Oliver said, "and I've got a couple of new game ideas bubbling away at concept stage right now."

This could mean some kind of new version of the first game with added content, or a sequel, or even a game on another platform -- although Rolando's success on the iPhone platform will probably inspire Oliver to stay there. Whatever the details of the content, this is great news for people who like rolling little circular guys around.

More Rolando rolling out in 2009 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 05 Feb 2009 06:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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