GDC08: Nokia talks N-Gage, First Access, release date, N95
by Christopher Grant 
{ Feb 18th 2008 at 8:45PM }
Roughly 30K users have downloaded the client to date – far more than the 2K or so Scott anticipated – and those early adopters have purchased "thousands" of games, a conversion rate that also impressed Scott (though he did admit these consumers are particularly passionate about games). The largest challenge: getting out of the mobile industry's "landfill stage" and prove to consumers (and skeptical game bloggers!) that quality gaming is possible on a mobile handset, while proving to third-party publishers that investing in developing quality games can be a lucrative endeavor. Yikes, best of luck!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Moorio || peacebyanymeans @ Feb 18th 2008 8:48PM
You hear that?
...
That's the sound of no one giving a shit.
Mr.ESC @ Feb 18th 2008 8:52PM
I do.
I want to see a Gizmondo powered by the Ngage serivce!!
StevenRafael @ Feb 18th 2008 9:11PM
I give a shit. Playing games on my phone has been a great way to kill time for me for years... Be it boring classes back in highschool, bus rides, train rides, car rides, and even work from time to time. Also oil changes and waiting rooms and stuff like that.
Laggy @ Feb 19th 2008 12:57AM
uh, just buy a DS or PSP and play some real games.
Platinum_Skeet @ Feb 19th 2008 2:01AM
Wow classic first post...
ThornedVenom (Ludwig Defense Force) @ Feb 19th 2008 4:06AM
I do have a DS, but there's the image thing about portable gaming:
Which attracts more attention in the subway? Someone fiddling with his phone, or someone with a DS/PSP. Whose screen would you want to try to peek at?
Bringing out your phone doesn't look out of the ordinary: bringing out your DS/PSP does.
PSN: KillaKornbread @ Feb 19th 2008 5:32AM
yea whenever i whip out my PSP or DS between classes it always attracts alot of attention from my fellow students in the lounge. cellphone gaming does give you that perk but i would rather play PSP or DS games than games on my cellphone.
ApolloIV @ Feb 18th 2008 9:10PM
Hahahahaha "landfill stage", oh sir you are clever. I wounder who has contributed to that landfill more so than Nokia? I doubt that this will change my mind on Nokia either. Oh well back to playing my DS on long commutes and carrying a cell phone in my pocket, is that really too much for people?
Blunt @ Feb 18th 2008 9:12PM
IMHO, "mobile gaming" will never take off because, well, it already exists. A cell phone is not a gaming machine, and vice versa (no matter what the PSP might want you to think. Did you hear the quality of the PSP's Skype? It's horritastic).
Eliot @ Feb 18th 2008 9:31PM
I tried out the client on my N95. It's missing some key features http://www.flickr.com/photos/hackaday/2276219712/
Kujel @ Feb 18th 2008 9:32PM
My only real problem with mobile gaming is the controls lick ass on cell phones. Graphics aren't a huge deal, nor sounds, just as long as the style is nice. I mean Doom RPG looked and sounded pretty decent on my old phone from 2004 but the controls were really quite offal.
ThornedVenom (Ludwig Defense Force) @ Feb 19th 2008 4:08AM
Completely agreed, since cellphone keyboards are usually designed for fashion style, not gameplay ergonomics.
HalcyonGT @ Feb 19th 2008 12:49AM
The main problem is Nokia is now trying to establish a mobile gaming "standard" in the form of its own platform that only works on its own phones.
So not only does it exclude people who already have a phone...but in addition...aren't the N-Gage phones only on GSM networks? So now you're targeting an extremely small niche market.
I give Nokia credit for pouring millions of dollars into something that other companies would've walked away from long ago. Maybe when Android becomes a widely used cell phone OS...the N-Gage platform can work like any game you install in Windows.
ThornedVenom (Ludwig Defense Force) @ Feb 19th 2008 4:09AM
I thought that GSM was the standard everywhere else in the world?
I heard somewhere that they were planning on developing non-propriety exclusive cellphone games, it's just that the Ngage offers a standard of specialized hardware.
el serpiente @ Feb 19th 2008 12:32PM
US market is not the world market.
NGage Blogger @ Feb 19th 2008 3:21AM
As always, there are a lot of skeptics. I bet Nokia will make a splash with the new N-Gage platform...
http://ngageinsider.blogspot.com/
ThornedVenom (Ludwig Defense Force) @ Feb 19th 2008 4:10AM
I wish them the best of luck: they've been trying really hard since forever.
t_m @ Feb 19th 2008 9:38AM
I'm guessing touchscreen controls will be what finally makes mobile gaming decent.
there have been phones out for ages that can match or exceed the DS in terms of graphics and power... but almost every game is hobbled by sucky controls.
Once all phones are touchscreen (either iphone style or DS style) then its gonna blow up hugely.
Except all the mobile games I've tried in the west all were horribly ovrpriced for the amount of contrnt you got. Over here in japan mobile games are VERY popular... I probably see more people playing mobile games than DS and PSP combined (and there are a heck of a lot of DSs).
But most people here have a kind of monthly "all you can play" mobile game subscription.
Esat @ Feb 19th 2008 12:45PM
I've played NES games and PSX games on my jailbroken iPod Touch and let me tell you this:
Touch screen for games sucks.
hvnlysoldr @ Feb 22nd 2008 12:25AM
Half the users are hackers and less than that bought a game each going by what he said.