日前，日本软银向手机游戏开发商MocoSpace投资350万美元，用于开拓该公司的网页手机游戏市场。

MocoSpace

据MocoSpace公司董事长贾斯汀·西格尔（Justin Siegel）介绍，该公司成立于2005年，位于波士顿，在网页游戏、娱乐内容等领域总共拥有1400万名功能手机和智能手机用户。尽管MocoSpace公司的市场赢利颇丰，但日本软银的注资对其新业务拓展仍然不可或缺。

MocoSpace公司预计未来手机娱乐内容的表现形式，将从当前占主流的应用下载转向在线网页体验。用户通过在线网页体验这一模式，即可直接登陆游戏界面或访问其他娱乐网站。目前的MocoSpace网站主要向用户提供聊天、听音乐、玩游戏、看电影、上传照片等社交服务。（参看：基于移动浏览器的手机社交游戏是否有未来可言？）

西格尔表示，本次所获投资将用于打造MocoSpace游戏平台（MocoSpace Games Platform），该平台主要面向第三方游戏开发商开放。开发商可以使用HTML5网页格式编写游戏代码，游戏投放MocoSpace平台后即可在任何手机浏览器运行。目前，MocoSpace主要向iPhone和Android平台投放免费应用，但其用户群体很可能在不久的将来转向其应用的网页版本。

MocoSpace游戏平台的优势在于，开发商只需编写一次游戏代码，游戏应用即可在任何基于HTML5技术的智能手机上运行。其劣势在于，目前大多数用户仍然比较依赖iPhone和Android这类手机平台上的应用，用户习惯的培养仍需时日。但这些问题在西格尔看来都不是难题，他认为手机网页应用代替现有的应用下载必将成为趋势。

目前MocoSpace已经拥有每月100万的在线手机游戏用户，但他们玩的这些内容大多数还不能算是严格意义上的社交游戏。MocoSpace公司表示不久将推出自主开发的网页社交游戏，并于2011年初正式向第三方应用开发商开放MocoSpace游戏平台。投放该平台的游戏将以休闲内容为主，难度较大的铁杆游戏（hardcore games）则不在此列。

MocoSpace用户当前每月可创造30亿的综合浏览量（page views），其应用完全免费，主要靠广告赞助，但西格尔表示虚拟商品交易也是该公司不断扩大的业务之一。

MocoSpace的劲敌包括MySpace、Facebook、Twitter等社交网站的手机版本，另外苹果Game Center、Ngmoco、Aurora Feint、Scoreloop以及木瓜移动（PapayaMobile）等手机社交游戏平台也在MocoSpace的竞争名单之列。

截止目前，MocoSpace总共集资1050万美元。MocoSpace原先的投资者包括风险投资公司General Catalyst、Pilot Group，此外，天使投资人迈克尔·迪林（Michael Dearing）以及日本软银任事股东罗恩·费舍尔（Ron Fisher）也将进入MocoSpace董事会。MocoSpace公司共有35名员工，由西格尔和杰米·霍这对自小就相识的老友创办，二人原先还成立过一家名为JSmart、后来被SK集团收购的手机游戏公司。

MocoSpace raises $3.5M from SoftBank for browser-based mobile games

MocoSpace has made a big bet that browser-based games will take off on mobile phones as the mobile web comes of age. And now SoftBank Capital is making a bet that MocoSpace is right about that. Japan’s SoftBank is investing $3.5 million in MocoSpace in a strategic round.

Boston-based MocoSpace was founded in 2005 and has more than 14 million users for its browser-based games and entertainment on both feature phones and on smartphones, said Justin Siegel, chief executive of the company, in an interview. The company is already profitable, but Siegel said the investment will help it enjoy new support from SoftBank.

MocoSpace expects that entertainment on mobile phones will migrate from apps, which are the dominant delivery form today, to the mobile web. Under that model, users start web browsers and visit sites to play games or engage with other entertainment. On the MocoSpace site now, you can socialize via instant messenger or listen to music, play games, watch video and upload photos.

Siegel said the company will use the current funding to invest in the MocoSpace Games Platform, which third-party game developers can make games for.

Developers create their code in HTML5 web format and it will then run on any mobile browser. MocoSpace exists as a free app on iPhone and Android, but the user base will likely shift to the web over time.

The advantage is that developers can then create a game once and run it on any smartphone that runs HTML5. The disadvantage is that most users now use apps on platforms such as the iPhone and Google Android phones. That doesn’t deter Siegel, who expects a steady migration to mobile web applications in the coming years.

Already, MocoSpace users play about 1 million games on the mobile web site per month. But most of those games aren’t modern social games. MocoSpace will be launching its own browser-based social game soon and it will open the platform in early 2011 to third-party developers. The games will focus on casual content, not hardcore games.

“The browser is not the only way to go for mobile games, but we think it is a very big opportunity,” Siegel said.

MocoSpace’s current users generate 3 billion page views per month. The company’s application is free and supported by advertising, but Siegel said virtual goods transactions are a growing part of its business.

Rivals include other social networks such as MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter, to the degree they exist on mobile phones. It also competes with social mobile game platforms such as Apple’s Game Center, Ngmoco, Aurora Feint, Scoreloop and PapayaMobile.

Previous investors in MocoSpace include General Catalyst, Pilot Group, and angel investor Michael Dearing. Ron Fisher, managing partner at SoftBank Capital, will join MocoSpace’s board. MocoSpace has 35 employees. Founders Siegel and Jamie Hall have known each other since they were eight years old. Their previous company was JSmart, a mobile gaming company bought by SK Group. To date, the company has raised $10.5 million.（source：venturebeat）

声明：本文中文为游戏邦翻译，英文原文采用venturebeat，转载请保留版权信息，谢谢！