Some say mobile gaming is the future, but make no mistake: PC gaming is alive and well in the U.S. and also in China. The latest proof of that? The conclusion of a $10 million "series A" funding round for Ngame, a Chinese hardware startup that makes gaming PCs and sells them online. The round, which was led by Fortune Capital, reportedly makes Ngame the first online PC hardware start-up to receive VC funding.
Ngame was founded in 2007 with the goal of providing customers with custom PCs that offered a high quality-to-price ratio. The company nearly went under in 2011 when the floods in Thailand caused computer component prices to skyrocket. But Ngame managed to survive, and in 2012 it became the top seller of custom PCs on Taobao. Now, it sells its products via an official branded shop on Tmall.
According to Game Industry.biz, Ngame plans to use the $10 million investment to strengthen its supply chain and improve its customer experience as well as its employees' quality of life.
Fortune Capital CEO Liu Zhou said that his company chose to invest in Ngame primarily because they believe that as China's standard of living rises, people's demands for what their PCs can do will also rise, and Ngame seems poised to grab the high-power-at-low-cost sweet spot that has proved so popular in other markets (as in the smartphone market as well). Liu also said that he invested in the company based on its belief in Ngame's internet-focused business model and its talented, youthful team...their average age being 24-years-old.
