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N-Gage returns from the ashes

By John Chan, CNET Asia
Aug 29, 2007

Nokia's game-centric mobile phone never quite caught on, but this time the mobile phone giant has a new approach to rope in the video game generation.

Mention "N-Gage" to gamers and you will probably elicit a few snickers. The discontinued mobile phone from Nokia was intended to perform as a mobile gaming device as well as a smart phone--it did neither particularly well. The original N-Gage is best remembered as the "taco phone" because of the shape and that it required the user to hold its edge against the face awkwardly. The second phone in the range, the N-Gage QD, was smaller and more conventional in use, but it was not enough to save the series.

Critics of the N-Gage cited a poor games library and certain design flaws (portrait mode-oriented screen, clunky form factor) in the devices as reasons for its demise. This time around, Nokia will not be launching another device to compete with Nintendo and Sony, but is reviving the N-Gage name for a gaming service instead that will support many different Nokia Series 60 mobile phones.

Reusing the name of the ill-fated handset, the N-Gage mobile gaming service will be part of Ovi, Nokia's online portal to its suite of Internet services. A free N-Gage application for PCs or compatible devices will be made available from the official Web site, N-Gage.com. From there, users will be able to browse, try and buy games for selected Series 60 devices as well as connect with other gamers through the N-Gage Arena.

The library of games is what makes or breaks a platform, and this time Nokia has quite a few publishers onboard to support its service. Titles that will be available include The Sims 2 Pets from Electronic Arts, Asphalt 3 from Gameloft and Crash Bandicoot from Vivendi Games Mobile. Aside from those, the Finnish company will be publishing some of its own titles like Snakes Subsonic and System Rush: Evolution.

Currently, the mobile phones that have been announced to be compatible with the N-Gage service are the newer Nseries devices, as follows:


These are all Series 60 devices, although Nokia has yet to reveal what minimum requirements are needed for the new titles. The list includes only high-end ones for now, and they may be priced beyond what younger gamers can afford. This may limit the reach of the N-Gage service.

Though not hailed specifically as a gaming phone, the just-announced N81 caters to gamers more so than the other new models. It can be held in landscape mode for gaming, similar to a traditional portable handheld console like the Nintendo Game Boy Advance.

The N-Gage service will be available globally from November and each game will cost between 6 and 10 euros. Charges can be paid using credit card or through the user's mobile phone bill depending on operator support.

 

 

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