That was quick: Dwango today announced they will close Nicoga, a casual gaming service built on top of their super-popular video sharing platform Nico Nico Douga. Nicoga was started in September 2010 and will cease to exist on April 27 this year.
Nicoga is still accessible through Nico Nico Douga’s top menu (even though the service has it own URL). Users can create and upload games (instead of videos) on the platform, which now boasts close to 15,000 titles (mostly simple Flash-based games that can be played directly in the browser).
Players can purchase in-game virtual items with Nico points, Dwango’s virtual currency. It’s also possible to access a few social networking features, for example profiles, messaging etc.
Nico Nico Applications, however, the site’s social game section that went live in December 10 is not affected.
