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Nokia announces the death of the N-Gage

by David Hinkle { Oct 30th 2009 at 6:30PM }

This is going to come as a huge shock to you, but Nokia has announced that it's no longer supporting the N-Gage platform. It's just -- we never expected something like this to happen, to tell you the truth. For all intents and purposes, it seemed like the N-Gage would be around forever, a platform thriving in the portable space like no device has before it. Look at the iPhone, the DS, the PSP and even the fallen Gizmondo and it's quite apparent the N-Gage has always been the platform to beat.

Even though Nokia will halt all support for the N-Gage, it's still going to roll up all of its games into the Ovi Store, where N-Gage users will be able to access the content until September 2010. Just, uh, don't expect any new games over the next year, as Nokia will not be publishing anything for the device from here on out and any games that use community features will have those features disabled come September 2010. Anything you purchased is yours to keep, of course.

Now, if you'll excuse us, we're going to pour one out for the bounty of amazing games that we'll no longer get to play.

[Via Engadget]

Nokia closes up N-Gage dev studio

by Justin McElroy { Jul 13th 2009 at 6:30PM }

When you're writing your first post about a gaming platform in nine months, it's very rarely good news. For example, all it's taken for the N-Gage to get back on Joystiq's front page is the closure of Nokia's N-Gage development studio, which occurred on June 30. The group was responsible for porting major franchises to the system like Call of Duty, Tiger Woods and Tony Hawk.

The fate of the 100 or so employees at the Vancouver studio isn't clear at the moment, but we heard about some jobs opening up in their land -- if they don't mind traveling 4,374 km to get them.

Sony and Nintendo sued for wireless tech

by Justin McElroy { Feb 24th 2009 at 11:20AM }

There are two ways to get a slice of the delicious Nintendo money pie: (1) Release a collection of mini-games for the Wii (look for Non-Denominational Church Carnival Games coming from Joystiq Publishing in Q3 2009!); or (2) Sue Nintendo. This road less traveled (option 2) has just been taken by Wall Wireless LLC of Plano, Texas, which is also suing Sony and Nokia for allegedly infringing on its patent for "Method and Apparatus for Creating and Distributing Real-Time Interactive Media Content Through Wireless Communication Networks and the Internet."

Perhaps following the advice of some inspirational kitty poster, Wall Wireless refuses to limit its potential by naming an actual figure it's suing for; instead asking for "no less than a reasonable royalty." Good luck with the settlement, fellas!

Resident Evil: Degeneration game infecting N-Gage

by Jason Dobson { Sep 19th 2008 at 11:35PM }

Beware citizens, for it would appear that the T-Virus has mutated, and has now taken to resurrecting not only the recently deceased, but also mobile platforms thought long since dead. Or at the very least irrelevant. Gamasutra reports that Capcom is bringing a game based on its upcoming CGI flick, Resident Evil: Degeneration, to Nokia's N-Gage service, which (re)launched earlier this year and is available on multiple Nokia smartphones.

According to the report, the movie tie-in will feature two separate modes of play and 3D graphics designed to both show off the platform's capabilities and illustrate Capcom's "dedication to N-Gage," a fascination we imagine will blur the line between devotion and necrophilia when the title launches later this year.

N-Gage application finally launches

by Scott Jon Siegel { Apr 4th 2008 at 11:30AM }

After months of delays and agonizing, nail-biting anticipation, Nokia's N-Gage platform has finally launched, with a handful of games supported on five different Nokia phones.

The official announcement of the platform is due on Monday, but Nokia has gone ahead and flipped the switch before the weekend, in the interest of drumming up some early traffic. The application is compatible with Nokia's N81, N81 8GB, N82, N95, and N95 8GB phones, and at this time only five games are available, including Brain Challenge, System Rush: Evolution, and World Series of Poker. All games offer free trials, and can be purchased from directly from the computer once the N-Gage account is created on the mobile phone.

More games are listed as "coming soon," including Worms World Party, Sims 2 Pets, and the ever-ubiquitous Tetris. If any of you have had a chance to install and try out the N-Gage app on your Nokia handsets, let us know your thoughts in the comments. We're quite curious if it was all worth the wait.

Nokia isn't afraid of the non-existent PSP Phone

by Jem Alexander { Feb 29th 2008 at 5:00PM }

Whether the PSP Phone is in development or not, Nokia doesn't care. They're not afraid. When asked what he thought of the idea of the PSP Phone Jaakko Kaidesoja, head of Nokia Games, responded that he's "not scared about anybody." He goes on to say that "the real question is how do they [Sony Ericsson] do it? Can they create a link between the PSP games and a phone? Can they do the multiplayer and online stuff? We've been doing this for two years and it hasn't been easy."

Good questions! The N-Gage mobile gaming platform actually looks like it's shaping up and Sony hasn't even officially announced a PSP Phone. We'll be intrigued to see if anything comes of all these rumors but, in the end, we'll probably just stick to our PSPs. Nokia have nothing to be afraid about, and why should they with technology like Morph in the works?

[Via Gizmonews]

GDC08: Nokia talks N-Gage, First Access, release date, N95

by Christopher Grant { Feb 18th 2008 at 8:45PM }

Following a short overview on the state of the N-Gage platform, we had a chance to ask J. Dan Scott – the Global Head of Production for Nokia Game Publishing – a few questions about the platform and the nebulous launch date. First up, Scott said there's no solid release date for the service -- the First Access program is supposed to help iron out any kinks in the admittedly ambitious launch. Launched earlier this month, the First Access program was initially limited to just the Nokia N81 handset, to limit the testing concerns, Scott said. Nevertheless, the internet had other plans, quickly enabling functionality on the N95 handset which, curiously enough, Scott said accounted for more than half of the connections to the service.

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!

Nokia announces user-generated mini-games for new N-Gage

by Kyle Orland { Feb 14th 2008 at 4:45PM }

Personalization is all the rage in games these days, what with Miis, face-mapping and, er, laser-etched portables showing up all over the place. Now Nokia's jumping into the personalized gaming, uh, game with the Yamake initiative for the new N-Gage platform.

According to the announcement, Yamake mini-games (because "ya make" 'em ... get it?) will lets users add "personal content such as text, pictures, sound clips and movies from the mobile device or PC" to create picture puzzles, trivia quizzes and more. Sure, it doesn't sound like anything you can't already do online, but the ability to create and share these little personalized games easily on your phone might be cool. Trust us ... even if you don't get it, your little sister will love it.

[Via Engadget]

Nokia delays N-Gage service ... again

by Christopher Grant { Dec 28th 2007 at 9:20PM }

Nokia's new N-Gage-as-gaming-platform concept was originally supposed to blow our minds in September ... and then November ... and then December ... and now – according to a Reuters report published today – it will be delayed into "early 2008" due to "delays in software testing." Nokia spokesperson Karen Tuutti explained, "We found one more issue which had to be solved before we could open the service." We presume that would be the issue of convincing gamers to pay any attention to the now comically delayed service.

N-Gage platform nearing relaunch; pre-release available on Nokia N81

by Scott Jon Siegel { Dec 18th 2007 at 8:45PM }

They've certainly been taking their time with it, but Nokia is finally just about ready to re-launch the N-Gage gaming platform for mobile phones... kinda. This week, a pre-release version of the service will become available to owners of the Nokia N81 phone, along with at least one game title available for download.

The revamped N-Gage service offers a consistent platform for mobile gaming, with features like profiles, friends lists, achievements, play history, and others seemingly "appropriated" from Microsoft's Xbox Live service.

Nokia has not been more specific as to when the pre-release service will launch for the N81. The full service is also expected to start sometime this month, but Nokia has also not been more specific with this time-frame either.

N-Gage relaunch pushed back to December

by Kyle Orland { Nov 5th 2007 at 2:27PM }

Those of you clamoring for the glorious return of Nokia's N-Gage brand (both of you) will have to wait a little longer to enjoy the unified-cell-phone-gaming-platform goodness. Originally planned for a September launch, Nokia later announced a worldwide November launch for the platform, and now a Reuters story reveals the launch has been pushed back to December. "Software testing is taking a bit more time than what we had expected," Nokia spokesperson Kari Tuutti told the news agency. "We are talking about a couple of weeks."

While the N-Gage name has become a bit of a joke in gaming circles, the new focus on standardized games that can play on a variety of handsets has some potential. Here's hoping Nokia manages to make us care about cell phone gaming ~~again~~ for the first time when this thing finally sees the light of day.

Nokia unveils N-Gage gaming platform

by Ross Miller { Aug 29th 2007 at 1:55PM }

The N-Gage (hardware) is dead, long live the N-Gage (platform). While not a surprise, Nokia has officially unveiled its new mobile gaming incarnation.
The service will launch globally this November, where you can download the free client to your computer and subsequently installed onto compatible Nokia devices. According to the press release, all games will be free to demo, cost between six and 10 euros (approx. US $8 to $14) and feature online play against friends or random opponents via the N-Gage Arena.

Electronic Arts is currently showing the most support to the system, with Capcom and Vivendi also pledging to provide mobile titles.

According to the website, each player will have a their own profile with achievements and points. Most everything about the new service reeks of Xbox Live, in a very good way. The first phones to be compatible will be Nokia models N73, N81, N93 and N95, with more S60 models to be compatible at a later date.

[Via Engadget]

Promotional Consideration: Come As You Are

by Eric Caoili { Jul 15th 2007 at 3:20PM }

Promotional Consideration is a weekly feature about the Nintendo DS advertisements you usually flip past, change the channel on, or just tune out.

If you missed our spotlight on Leo Burnett's "Communion Day" ad last Sunday, make sure to give it a glance. Even if you've already skimmed through our words on the award-winning piece, we've updated our summation with some insight from art director Rosemary Collini Bosso.

This weekend's installment of Promotional Consideration takes a critical eye to an unconvincing ad that might actually drive away consumers. Read on for more details.

Continued →

New N-Gage game coming to mobile phones and PCs

by Scott Jon Siegel { Jul 2nd 2007 at 9:45PM }

Don't be confused: Nokia's N-Gage gaming platform isn't the same as its ill-fated hardware iterations of the same name. And while sidetalking might be a thing of the past, Nokia's still confident that the N-Gage name can live on in mobile phone games, especially as a client for facilitating online play.

That said, Pocket Gamer reports that Nokia is working on a new title for the N-Gage platform, which will be playable not just on mobile phones, but on PCs as well. The game, codenamed "Project White Rock," is being developed by RedLynx, makers of the well-received wartime strategy title Pathway to Glory. The team is also being led by Scott Foe, who previously worked on Pocket Kingdom: 0wn the the W0rld, notable for its equally positive press and for being the first ever mobile phone MMO.

Though little is known about "Project White Rock", Foe did inform Pocket Gamer that the title will feature over a thousand lines of recorded dialog, and will utilize unique technology purchased from Sega that will allow the mobile version to connect with the PC version. Details pertaining to the game's specific genre, multi-platform connectivity, and release date are as yet unknown, but will most likely come forth when the game is officially announced.

Nokia patent transforms stylus into joystick

by James Ransom-Wiley { Feb 22nd 2007 at 2:27PM }

Nokia's patent for a simple, but brilliant mobile joystick has been approved. As pictured, it's a stylus that, once secured into a central socket, is converted into a gaming backbone. Here's the patent mumbo jumbo:

"A method for integrating a pointing device into a handheld device, the method comprising the steps of: rotatably mounting a ball within a socket defined by said handheld device, said ball defining an orifice for receiving a stylus, said socket being configured for generating to a processor of said handheld device electrical signals indicative of movement of said ball in response to movement of said stylus; and imparting pointing device logic to said processor for responding to said signals." (Easier done than said...)

[Via CrunchGear]