Nokia unveils N-Gage gaming platform

why bother?

Simpson’s did it, I mean Microsoft did it.

I don’t know but naming a whole new project after a failure isn’t bad luck?.

That phone pictured has an insane pricetag.

interesting. Will sidetalking come back as a gameplay mechanic?

This is going to be the new problem, these handsets are all atleast $350 or more.

They should have done this from the start. I think it's a good idea. I don't mind playing a game or two on a cellphone and most cellphone games aren't nearly as good as the nGage. If I owned a Nokia phone that happens to have the nGage platform built in I'd probably consider buying a few games for it. Why not?

I just don't want to buy a cellphone that is designed as a portable game machine and isn't all that good of a phone OR game machine. If it's a great phone with a decent game platform built in I have no problem with that.

To be honest, I think they would make more money by developing for DS (though guessing on the quality of their "games", it could be dastardly dealings).

Gotta hand it to Nokia. They refuse to let this crap die. That takes determination.

Ick.

I'm so beyond caring about this. Why is Nokia trying this? I think Round 2 of N-Gage will fail, too.

Makes you wonder what phones will be compatible with this thing. Seeing as you just can't upgrade it like a PC and I know some people still using phones with black and white screens that look like calculators.
And to be honest, what makes them different from all the current mobile game providers, besides being more expensive?

Not only is the N-Gage platform back, but 2-D shumps are back too!!!! Check out the screen, yeah baby!

$8-14?! What a rip.

Nokia still keeps trying...and I keep smelling failure.

Well, at least it doesn't have those thirty buttons that last model I saw had.

Wow, you guys are harsh. I like to make fun of the first N-Gage as much as the next person (sidetalking, taking out the battery to play games, etc.) but this actually seems to make sense, especially with this phone. It looks like a Game Boy micro in this configuration and for once, it's a cell phone with good controls for gaming. Finally! You've got a control pad on the left and two buttons on the right (not a sea of buttons like the original N-Gage and other phones).

While I own a DS Lite and a Game Boy micro, I would love to be able to play games whereever I am (waiting at the mechanic, etc.), even if I didn't bring a game system. The only reason I haven't been able to get into cell phone gaming is the controls, and this sews it up quite nicely without the mistakes of the previous N-Gage.

[start sarcasm]Oh and now it looks like EA can put Madden 08 on another system since it obviously doesn't have it on enough systems *cough 10 systems cough*. [/end sarcasm] I swear, they'd still make it for Super Nintendo if there was money in it and they could.

I loved my n-gage qd. It's great being able to have handheld system around just in case. I still keep it and my charger in my car just in case I need a game fix.

why would people buy crappy games for their phones? just get a gameboy if you want good portable games

I just have a shitty $20 phone i got with my service renewal. I just use my phone for *gasp* calls.

blooh - see my above post for why. I have a Game Boy micro actually (as well as a Game Boy Advance SP and a DS Lite).

This is excellent news. Given the existing N-gage download function that already exists in the EU region, that means more people who get to experience exclusive titles like Pocket Kingdom and Rifts. On the other hand, it looks like Nokia is going with wholly digital distribution, which means no new software on MMC cards for users of the older hardware (or people who use the device for gaming only and not as a phone.) I also worry about software backward compatibility, given that there have been three revisions of the Symbian S60 operating system whose applications are not cross-compatible.

Do we have to pay for N-Gage Arena?


Anyways, I agree with what the other dude said: better controls do make the phone appealing. With that price tag, it doesn't really appeal the hardcore gamer, but it should make cell phone nuts think a bit before choosing another model (if they're into portable gaming without a second device).

I can't exactly see why Nokia decided to continue using the N-Gage name, considering the last iteration ended up a failure, but it'll be interesting to see what this will mean to the mobile game industry. There's little to no reason why games on mobile phones couldn't be as good or even better than on the "dedicated" gaming handhelds, and the additional possibility of online gaming wherever you go is a nice feature to have. There just seems to be a belief about the inferiority of games on mobile phones that feeds on itself, and a standardized, high-quality mobile game platform with strong marketing could be just the thing to fix it. I remember some decent games even on the original N-Gage, so I hope people will eventually forget the side-talkin' fiasco and move on. Why have three or four different devices in my pockets when just one can do the job just fine?

Nintendo need to make a gameboy/ds platform before they get overtaken by the mobile market!

...or make their own phone like apple did to protect their mp3 player market from mobiles. I notice sony has figured this out and is working on a playstation platform/phone as well.