Thursday, August 18, 2011

MocoSpace boosts HTML5 game fund to $2M

By Rodney Brown

Boston’s MocoSpace has added $1 million into a fund to be used to boost development of social mobile games based on HTML5, according to a release.

MocoSpace is a mobile social network publisher, operated by Boston-based JNJ Mobile Inc. The venture-backed, profitable company said back in February that it was planning to offer $1 million for developers to build mobile games. According to the release from MocoSpace, the company raised $1 million for the fund back then, and this new $1 million brings the fund to $2 million.

The focus of the HTML5 development effort by MocoSpace is Facebook’s Project Spartan, “an HTML5-based platform for games and apps to reach consumers outside of Apple and Google’s app stores.” Project Spartan is expected to launch sometime this fall. MocoSpace said in the release games coming out of the fund already include Happy Farm and Cage Fighter from New Game Town, In the Club from Upgraded Studios and Goosy Avatar and Goosy Pets from Celander US Inc. Because the games are played using HTML5 through a browser, only an Internet connection is needed, no apps need to be downloaded.

In September of 2010 MocoSpace raised $3.5 million from SoftBank Capital, a Newton VC firm, to expand its social games offering. Also backing the company is General Catalyst.

Also in February of this year, MocoSpace took a stab at acquiring MySpace after the web-based social network had been put on the block by the owner News Corp. Ultimately, MySpace was sold to Specific Media, which was backed by Justin Timberlake, among others.