ngmoco Names Free-to-Play Gaming Expert Ben Cousins General Manager of ngmoco Sweden

Former Electronic Arts Executive to Create and Lead ngmoco Sweden, Broadening Mobile Social Games Leader’s Reach Across Borders, Genres, Players

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mobile social games leader ngmoco, a DeNA Co. Ltd (2432.T) company, has hired former Electronic Arts executive Ben Cousins to establish and lead ngmoco Sweden. The Stockholm-based studio will focus on leveraging DeNA’s Mobage social gaming platform and ngCore game development engine to deliver innovative free-to-play games for a global audience on mobile devices.

“These platforms are bringing hundreds of millions of new gamers into the fold, and at the same time existing core gamers are discovering the innovation, immersion and connectivity they bring. I’m excited to participate in helping shape what we believe is the future of games.”

Prior to joining ngmoco, Cousins was the general manager of EA’s Easy business unit, focused on creating free-to-play games monetized with virtual goods. In this role he was pivotal in the success of Battlefield Heroes, the free-to-play web version of the blockbuster Battlefield franchise. He also served in executive producer and creative director positions within Electronic Arts’ DICE studio working on the Battlefield franchise.

“Ben has spent his whole career innovating,” said Neil Young, CEO, ngmoco. “From pioneering downloadable content for handhelds to helping spearhead bold moves into free-to-play gaming for core games franchises, Ben brings a keen understanding of delivering great freemium games and AAA game development to ngmoco. We’re thrilled to have him leading ngmoco Sweden.”

Cousins’ experience at targeting core gamers with free-to-play games will be central in his new role as he builds a team to deliver innovative and high quality experiences on mobile and social gaming platforms.

“The games industry is at an inflection point,” said Ben Cousins, general manager, ngmoco Sweden. “These platforms are bringing hundreds of millions of new gamers into the fold, and at the same time existing core gamers are discovering the innovation, immersion and connectivity they bring. I’m excited to participate in helping shape what we believe is the future of games.”

ngmoco Sweden will focus on creating content for DeNA’s Mobage social gaming platform, which gives developers access to a suite of features to enhance their mobile and social games, including a shared currency, a virtual goods bank system, plus a payment API, advertising management and analytic tools.

The team will also use the ngCore game development engine, a Native level performance development SDK that allows quick Java Script-based development. Making games powered by ngCore allows developers to release games across devices and regions.

For more information on ngmoco, please visit http://blog.ngmoco.com. Developers interested in developing for Mobage can download the free SDK and get more information at https://developer.mobage.com.

About ngmoco

ngmoco is a wholly owned subsidiary of DeNA Co., Ltd, the world's leading social mobile gaming company. Headquartered in San Francisco and with studios in New York, Portland and Amsterdam, ngmoco creates and publishes games for the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Android in collaboration with the best and brightest game makers in the world. ngCore technology is patent pending. To find out more about Mobage Smartphone SDK visit https://developer.mobage.com. To witness the lives and minds of the ngmoco team at work on the future of social mobile gaming, visit http://www.ngmoco.com.

About DeNA

DeNA Co., Ltd. is a world-leading Web service company that operates the Mobage social gaming platform, social networking services and e-commerce websites. Drawing on its extensive community base and rapidly expanding developer line-up, Mobage currently serves over 27 million users in Japan with more than 1,000 game titles for smartphones, feature phones and PCs. The company generated annual sales of more than 1.3 billion U.S. dollars in fiscal year ended March 2011. To expand the Mobage platform globally, DeNA is building a presence in the US, Europe and in China. DeNA is listed on the Tokyo stock exchange (2432). For more information, please visit http://www.dena.jp/en.