Mochi Media

About Mochi Media

Mochi Media, founded in 2005 by Jameson Hsu and Bob Ippolito, operated a significant network for browser-based games, ultimately becoming a casualty of shifting technological tides. The company was established to provide tools and services for Flash game developers, a market that was burgeoning in the mid-2000s. Co-founder Jameson Hsu brought experience from the interactive advertising agency WDDG, which he had co-established in 1998, producing campaigns for major brands like HP and Kraft Foods. This background in brand marketing and casual games was foundational to Mochi Media's strategy.

The firm's core business was a three-sided platform connecting game developers, publishers (websites that aggregated games), and advertisers. For developers, Mochi Media offered a suite of products to monetize and distribute their Flash-based games. A key product, MochiAds, allowed developers to embed in-game advertising, which could be displayed as pre-loaders or within the game itself. The company also provided tools for tracking usage analytics, managing leaderboards (MochiScores), and integrating social features (MochiSocial). This allowed developers to concentrate on game creation while Mochi handled monetization and distribution logistics.

Revenue was generated through a share of the income from these services. For website publishers, Mochi Media provided access to a large library of games and a share of the revenue generated from them. At its peak, the network boasted over 140 million monthly active users, with 15,000 games on nearly 40,000 publisher websites. In 2009, the company introduced MochiCoins, a micro-transaction system that allowed users to purchase virtual goods and additional content within games, though this service was later discontinued in 2012. A significant milestone occurred in 2010 when the Chinese online game developer Shanda Games acquired Mochi Media for approximately $80 million in cash and equity. This acquisition was intended to merge Mochi's content and platform with Shanda's extensive portfolio of online games.

Despite its initial success and acquisition, Mochi Media's heavy reliance on Adobe Flash technology proved to be its undoing. As the gaming industry migrated towards mobile platforms like iOS and Android, the market for Flash games declined sharply. The company struggled to find a meaningful position beyond Flash. Ultimately, Shanda Games dissolved Mochi Media, and all services were shut down on March 31, 2014. Co-founder Bob Ippolito reportedly attempted to re-acquire the company to prevent its closure but was unsuccessful.