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Software Nokia Resurrects N-Gage
Wolfgang Hansson (Blog) - August 29, 2007 5:16 PM
Print E-mail del.icio.us 17 comment(s) - last by cheetah2k.. on Aug 30 at 11:25 PM

Nokia N-Gage Store  (Source: N-Gage.com)
Nokia announces the N-Gage store will be available in November with mobile games from big name publishers

Phones are the one device that most everyone tends to have on their person at all times. The ability to whip out a phone and play games while sitting on the bus or waiting on an appointment is appealing to many people.

Market intelligence firm iSuppli says that the mobile gaming market is set to reach a whopping 184 million users per month by 2010 up from 38 million users in 2005. iSuppli also says that mobile gaming revenues increased by a full 80 percent in 2005 so game developers and publishers are flocking to mobile phone game development to capture some of the lucrative market.

The original Nokia N-Gage didn’t exactly take off; however, Nokia is coming back with games and devices looking to grab a portion of the swiftly growing mobile gaming market. The new N-Gage mobile gaming service allows everyone with a compatible Nokia handset to try all N-Gage games for free.

If customers like the games they try, full versions can be downloaded on a Nokia handset or on a PC. Multiplayer gaming is also supported via the N-Gage Arena.

Nokia says the N-Gage service will be available globally in November and when the service launches users will be able to download the free N-Gage application. The N-Gage application will be embedded in future devices such as the Nokia N81 and the Nokia N95 8GB. N-Gage games sold through the N-Gage Store will retail for between EUR 6.00 and EUR 10.00, or $8 USD to about $14 USD.

A few of the game publishers that will be selling N-Gage games are EA SPORTS, Capcom and Vivendi. Nokia Publishing will also be making games for the N-Gage platform.

The Nokia N81 slider will be one of the first N-Gage devices and will support HSDPA, though Engadgetsays the N81 HSDPA won’t work in America. Other features include integrated speakers, a headphone jack and the phone has 8GB of storage that can be expanded with a microSD card. The N81 also supports video and music files as you would expect. The N81 will retail for about $585 USD.

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Speak of The Devil...
By JasonMick (blog) on 8/29/2007 6:29:28 PM , Rating: 2
Wow this article gave me deja vu!

Maybe the good folks at Nokia caught wind of my comment on the Sony phone topic earlier.

Or maybe they were worried by Sony's comments??

Anyhow, this iteration of "N Gage" does not have too much in common with the last, except that they are games on cell phones. These games will likely be mostly 2D, where "N Gage" previously was 3D. This change actually makes a lot more sense, and just goes to show you that Nokia has learned from their past experiences. A 3D processor is too power hungry to put in a small phone, and even a big phone will face difficult power issues. There is a reason why Nintendo DS's and PSP are slightly larger than even the large footprint PDA like phones like the iPhone. Between the extra electronics and extra batteries, you need extra room. And most people aren't going to want to be hauling around a cellphone that is as big a brick.




RE: Speak of The Devil...
By sxr7171 on 8/29/2007 6:38:57 PM , Rating: 3
Umm. The N93 and N95 have had 3D graphics acceleration for almost a year now. I've played the System Rush Evolution demo on my N93 and my N95 and I can tell you that this platform will not be lacking in 3D games for those that choose 3D games. Try it out sometime, it will surprise you with it's PSP level graphics and full AA. I don't ever see jaggies on it and it looks amazing for even a portable console (it can graphically beat the DS for sure).

BTW, Nokia announced this well before you posted your SE article.


RE: Speak of The Devil...
By JasonMick (blog) on 8/29/2007 6:48:53 PM , Rating: 2
The N81 looks like it won't be providing much in the way of 3d accel...its a slider phone and relatively small.

If it does 3d, it will be ala doom/gameboy advanced 3d, not PSP style 3d.

Perhaps they will offer different games for the N93/5??

I was just kidding about Nokia reading my comments, obviously. And I didn't post the SE article, just a comment mentioning the departed previous Ngage.

My point is you are still looking at a very different gaming experience on phones such as the N81. Whether the game is 3d or 2d is aside the point--the screen is tiny, and not what most people think of when they think modern 3d gaming. I think most people reading the Sony article would imagine something akin to the PSP. Maybe the N93/5 can better provide it, but I still doubt they have as complex polygon environments/as good particle effects, etc.


RE: Speak of The Devil...
By sxr7171 on 8/29/2007 7:19:53 PM , Rating: 2
The N95 8GB with it's 2.8" screen is pretty big. As for 3D, you'd be surprised. If you can't check out System Rush on an N95, at least check out the videos that have been on YouTube for almost a year now.

You are right about the N81. It will also be compatible with the N73 which has been out for a while. I think some games will run better on the 3D accelerated models and hopefully some games will be exclusive on the 3D accelerated models to take full advantage of it. The 3D acceleration is based on the tile-based rendering that served the Dreamcast so well. May it rest in peace.


RE: Speak of The Devil...
By KiDDGuY on 8/30/2007 5:54:28 AM , Rating: 2
Well u know what they say ..,

u can't teach an old do new tricks

or is it the other way around ... ? :D


RE: Speak of The Devil...
By KiDDGuY on 8/30/2007 5:57:21 AM , Rating: 1
typo mistake >.<

u can't teach an old *dog* new tricks

damn i really wish there was some edit button there :|


long live engage!!
By nerdye on 8/29/2007 5:42:41 PM , Rating: 2
Long live the product that never succeeded! Bring us back to the glory days of "side talking" and removing batteries to change games!




RE: long live engage!!
By sxr7171 on 8/29/2007 5:46:28 PM , Rating: 3
That won't be happening this time. A dedicated N-gage phone will be released but it will work on pretty much any new Nokia phone. Some of those have integrated 3D graphics acceleration already and I've seen some graphics rivaling a PSP and full anti-aliasing. It looks like they're doing it right this time.


RE: long live engage!!
By TheDoc9 on 8/29/2007 5:48:47 PM , Rating: 2
A phone with watered down exclusive games doesn't seem like a big deal does it. By the way, the picture in the headline is classic.


RE: long live engage!!
By sxr7171 on 8/29/2007 6:40:53 PM , Rating: 2
How about online capabilities that mirror that of XBox Live? It's all there.


gotta admit
By Quiksel on 8/29/2007 7:47:01 PM , Rating: 5
that pic is dead-on hilarious.

Props to DT for making these headlines even better with some great pics!

I click on each headline link regardless of whether I really read it, JUST to see the headline pic. I'm tellin ya, it's GOLD, Jerry, GOLD!




RE: gotta admit
By Durrr on 8/29/2007 9:33:12 PM , Rating: 2
Make it so, number 1.


RE: gotta admit
By Griswold on 8/30/2007 3:24:13 AM , Rating: 2
<performs the Picard maneuver>


they haven't learned
By Gul Westfale on 8/29/2007 10:24:57 PM , Rating: 2
the first thing that any gamer will tell you when looking at the ngage's picture is that the screen is STILL the wrong orientation. the controls still look to small for the average size hands. if nokia were smart they'd make it a gaming machine first and then integrate a phone into it; rather than making it a phone with a graphics chip.

and i love the captain. here is a quote from "Chain of Command", episodes 10 and 11(two parter), season 6. from memory, no less, so excuse me if i make a mistake:

"torture has never been a useful means of extracting information. it is ultimately self-defeating as a means of control. one wonders it is still practiced."




RE: they haven't learned
By AraH on 8/30/2007 9:03:07 AM , Rating: 2
yes, but then you have to walk around with a playstation or (heaven forbid) an xbox controller sized phone in your pocket... i used to have the QD, and while it got me used to a bigger then average phone, it was pretty comfortable in my pocket, any bigger (or thicker for playing comfort (which is where the major lack of comfort is with gaming on phones) is likely to become too much.


RE: they haven't learned
By cheetah2k on 8/30/2007 11:25:29 PM , Rating: 1
Putting a PSP sized phone to your head would look ridiculous!... Just like putting a Maxwell Smart shoe phone to your head.

Nokia have both the size and features right - this time


Yay?
By novacthall on 8/30/2007 9:21:14 AM , Rating: 2
I'm finding it's hard to get excited about this announcement. I like that they're moving towards digital content distribution instead of the wonderfully conceived "remove back, remove battery, insert game, replace battery, replace back" process and making the platform mostly hardware indifferent is a good thing, but I'm still seeing no compelling reasons to support this platform. Unless they find a way to make the system unbelievably simple - which is a trait the original NGage approach most definitely lacked - this concept is dead in the water. They'll have to convince me that they grasp this.

On the upside, the demo concept is a good one. Verizon used to do that, but nowadays it's near impossible to find games with free trials.

In the end, to me this is a bit much like Ford deciding to name their next sports car concept "Edsel". Sure, it's different, but why on Earth would you want to revive that? You're just putting lipstick on a pig.




"A politician stumbles over himself... Then they pick it out. They edit it. He runs the clip, and then he makes a funny face, and the whole audience has a Pavlovian response." -- Joe Scarborough on John Stewart over Jim Cramer











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