Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) has acquired the remaining assets of Green Throttle Games and two of the company’s three co-founders, according to a report from Pando Daily. Google has not given any details on the acquisition of Green Throttle games, but the report suggest that Google has acquired the company to drive its set top box TV project.
Huang not joining Google
Charles Huang, co-creator of the Guitar Hero video game franchise, Matt Crowley, the former Palm and Nokia product lead, and Karl Townsend, who worked on the first Palm Pilot, came together to launch Green Throttle Games in 2012. The gaming firm introduced an Android app that allows a user to play Android games on the big screen by pairing a game controller to the phone. However, the app did not receive much fan following, and was closed four months ago.
“Stick around and we’ll keep you posted on the evolution of Green Throttle,” the company said at the time.
Crowley, as well as Townsend have updated their LinkedIn profiles to reflect the fact that they are now working for Google. On LinkedIn, Crowley and Townsend titled themselves as a ‘product guy’ and as ‘hardware guy’ respectively. According to some of the sources both the founders have joined Google since November, which indicates that acquisition was closed late last year.
Huang has not joined Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and retains his ownership of Green Throttle business. The strategy of Huang is not clear at this point of time and rumors suggest that he has joined another company. Some sources suggest that he has founded another company Singtrix the maker of Karaoke machines, which are able to auto tune a singer’s voice in real time.
Gaming, TV’s hot segment nowadays
Previously, there were reports indicating that Samsung was planning to take over the company, in October. These days, big tech companies are focusing more on gaming and televisions, as well. Google’s arch rival, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been interested in the area for some time. Apart from investing in the segment, the iPhone maker acquired PrimeSense in November, which designed sensors used by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) for its voice and motion based Kinect technology.
The concept from Green Throttle might be a bit ahead of time, as the mobile hardware required to power games that can stand to the level of modern console is now starting to appear. To support more complex games, such kind of hardware might be a solution. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), after acquiring Green Throttle Gaming, has made its stance clear that they are advancing in the area, as well.
