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The 'N-Gage' is a mobile telephone and handheld game system based on the Nokia Series 60 platform. It started selling on October 7, 2003. It attempted to lure gamers away from the Game Boy Advance by including cellphone functionality. This was unsuccessful, partly because the buttons, designed for a phone, were not well-suited for gaming and when used as a phone the original N-Gage was described as resembling a "taco"[1].
In 2005, Nokia announced that it would move its N-Gage games capabilities onto a series of smartphones. These devices are available since early 2007, and games will be ready for download from the official web site starting from November. See Future section for more details.
History
In the late 1990s, gamers increasingly carried both mobile phones and handheld game systems. Nokia spotted an opportunity to combine these devices into one unit. They developed the N-Gage, a device that integrated these two devices. Instead of using cables, multiplayer gaming was accomplished with Bluetooth or the Internet (via the N-Gage Arena service). The N-Gage also included MP3 and Real Audio/Video playback and PDA-like features into the system.
The N-Gage was not as commercially popular as Nokia estimated. In its first weeks of availability in the United States, it was outsold by the Game Boy Advance by two orders of magnitude (500,000 units vs 5000).[2][3] Within 17 days of the deck's release, popular retailers GameStop and Electronics Boutique began offering $100 rebates on the deck's price.[4]
The poor sales performance can be attributed to the poor selection of games compared to its competitors and its cost at launch; it was more than twice as expensive as a Game Boy Advance SP on release day. Poor sales were also amplified by game media being standard MMC memory cards and as with most consoles piracy did become an issue.
Besides its gaming capabilities, the N-Gage was a Series 60 smartphone, running Symbian OS 6.1, with features similar to those of the Nokia 3650 (it does not have an integrated camera, however). It was able to run all Series 60 software, and Java MIDP applications as well. Its main CPU was an ARM Integrated (ARMI) compatible chip (ARM4T architecture) running at 104 MHz, the same as the Nokia 7650 and 3650 phones.
As of August 2007, it was estimated that Nokia had shipped more than two million N-Gage game decks. [5] The "N-Gage" brand name still had a poor reputation within the gaming media and the few consumers who recognized the N-Gage brand, due to the weakness of the system's first games and the original model's limitations. Many gamers were unaware of the later QD redesign and still consider the N-Gage as a joke. The situation has not improved either with the arrival of the PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS handhelds. As of September 2005, Nokia had more than 50 games available for the system.
While the N-Gage didn't have any significant financial successes, it did have a handful of critical successes. received a handful of glowing reviews when it was released, and Pathway to Glory was Nokia's first self-published success. These games came perhaps too late to have much effect in improving the perception of the N-Gage hardware itself in the eyes of consumers or press.
In January 2005, UK sales-tracking firm ChartTrack dropped the N-Gage from its regular ELSPA chart, commenting that "The N-Gage chart, though still produced, is of little interest to anyone. Sales of the machine and its software have failed to make any impact on the market at all." Although only directly reflective of the UK market, this was interpreted by some as a serious blow to the N-Gage as a viable gaming platform. Despite this, Nokia reaffirmed their commitment to the N-Gage as a platform, to the point where a new version of the hardware was rumored after GDC 2005.
February 2005 saw Nokia appoint Gerard Wiener, formerly of Sega Europe, to the post of Director and General Manager for Games at Nokia. Wiener steered Nokia away from looking at the N-Gage as primarily being a games console to "this is a mobile phone that is great for playing games on." This strategy, along with targeting niche franchises such as the table-top Warhammer 40,000 series, the ''Rifts'' RPG series, and the Settlers of Catan board game, has kept sales of the N-Gage healthy and gotten the platform a modicum of respect from some quarters of the media. It should be noted that this change coincided with the initial releases of the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS.
The last game to be released in the US for the system was Civilization on March 2006 according to Metacritic.com. In November 2006 Nokia released its last game for the N-Gage QD. Combat racer Payload is still available to download for $19.65 from the Nokia Game Shop.
The system continues to be sold in the Chinese and Indian markets.
Sales
There is some disagreement in sources about the actual number of N-Gage decks sold. Nokia initially claimed 400,000 sales in the first two weeks the deck was available. However, independent market research firms Chart-Track and Arcadia Research claimed that the N-Gage had sold only 5000 decks in the United States in that time, and 800 decks in the UK. Critics suggested Nokia was counting the number of decks shipped to retailers, not the number actually purchased by consumers.[6] Nokia later admitted this was the truth.
In 2004, Nokia claimed in a press release that it had shipped its millionth deck, represented as a company milestone despite falling short of the company's initial projection of six million decks by the end of 2004.[7] However, this number shipped doesn't give a reliable picture of the actual sales of the deck. Nokia ultimately shipped 2 million N-Gage decks by 2007.
In all cases, sales of the N-Gage and N-Gage QD have been counted together.
White Screen of Death
The N-gage also suffered from a software bug problem known as the White Screen of Death, a memory management issue that rendered the phone inoperational if the main memory was used beyond a certain capacity. This prevented the phone from booting and could only be solved by flashing its firmware. Nokia also had a support contract exclusively for the N-Gage that enabled them to reimburse users with such problems for less than the phone cost, disregarding any responsibilities as to this particular problem, due to the phone no longer being supported (although still marketable).
Future
At E3 2005[8], Nokia announced their intention to make it possible to play games on their next wave of smartphones. (At E3, games were demonstrated on the Nokia 3230, 6680, Nokia 6630, and N90, but Nokia has not yet announced what phones will be compatible with this as-of-yet unnamed service). These phones won't be compatible with the games sold on MMC in stores, but will be able to download games over the cellular network, or play games downloaded on your computer. All of the details of this scheme have not yet been stated, but this network/scheme is expected for mid 2007.
During E3 2006[9] there were a number of announcements related to Nokia’s next generation mobile games strategy which continued to stress gameplay across a range of Nokia cellphones, rather than one particular 'gaming handheld', as before.
The company explained the core of the service as "...a pre-installed application which allows consumers to easily find, buy and play rich and immersive games on a range of Nokia Nseries multimedia computers and other Nokia S60 devices."
Nokia also announced that gaming communities, in a similar vein to Xbox Live, are another key element of the company's mobile gaming strategy. At the base of this it cited its already existing N-Gage Arena.
Nokia also announced deals with Electronic Arts and Gameloft and six new titles including,[10] fishing sim Creatures of the Deep a follow up to its first party fighting game ONE, with ONE: Who’s Next? and System Rush: Evolution.
System Rush Evolution is now included as standard on the Nokia N93 and a version of ONE: Who’s Next? was demonstrated on the Nokia N93 during E3 2006 as well, both games demonstrate improved graphics.
Since E3 2006 Nokia has been relatively quiet. However, recently it announced findings of a study on mobile gaming behavior carried out by Nielsen research[11].
In December 2006, Nokia launched the Future Watch website to track the evolution of the next generation of the N-Gage platform. According to the site, the launch date for the next generation of the N-Gage is mid 2007.
On January 30th 2007, mobile games specialist website reported that Pocket Gamer was briefing leading games developers and publishers in secret workshops ahead of the launch of the next gen N-Gage. [12]
On 29 August Nokia unveiled N-Gage as its new download portal for games, compatible with a number of smartphones starting from November 2007. Initial line-up of smartphones comprehend: Nokia N73, N81, N81 8GB, N93, N93i, N95, N95 8GB.[13]
Devices
N-Gage Classic
The original phone's taco-shaped design was considered clumsy: to insert a game, users had to remove the phone's plastic cover and remove the battery compartment as the game slot was next to it. Another clumsy feature was the speaker and microphone being located on the side edge of the phone. This often resulted in many to describe it as if one was talking into a "taco phone"[14] or "Sidetalking", where the user held the edge of the phone against the cheek in order to talk into it. The comfort factor of lengthy calls was also called into question. Despite the criticism, it is thought that the Sidetalking was there for a practical reason: if placed elsewhere, the screen would get in contact with the cheek and become smudged. However, almost all other cell phones have the screen against the cheek when the user is talking. Despite the questionable practicality, gamers were still unwilling to talk in such an awkward manner.
When considered from a video game point of view, the N-Gage was known for its unique screen orientation, a vertical one as opposed to a horizontal one (which is more popular with other handhelds). The reason for this was that the underlying operating system, Series 60, did not support horizontal orientations at that time (only supported since S60v3 ). Some felt this to be a negative feature, feeling that 'unconventional' does not necessarily mean improvement. Possibly due to this screen feature, as well as the public's luke-warm reception to the device, the game library was far from extensive. Despite this, the N-Gage did manage to garner some well known franchises such as Tomb Raider, Sonic, Rayman, Red Faction, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, among others.
From a cell phone standpoint, the N-Gage also faced problems. Besides the unusual form factor, in the US it was initially sold primarily through specialty game outlets instead of through cell phone providers, which only called attention to its high pre-subsidy price, lack of games, and curious interface compared to other gaming devices (thanks to the Series 60 interface and unusual face button layout). Once cellphone retail outlets started carrying the phone, which didn't become a widespread practice in the US until well after the release of the N-Gage QD, it still faced problems. The N-Gage and its successor, the N-Gage QD, worked only on GSM networks, meaning that it was incompatible with the then-largest US cell service provider, Verizon Wireless, as well as all of Japan's cell networks. Where N-Gage was compatible with major cell phone networks its popularity varied. It was not well received in Canada and the UK for instance but received a much warmer reception in mainland Europe and in particular Asia where games on mobile phones were seen as much more desirable.
The original N-Gage, though, still had many benefits to developers and end-users. It had a large amount of executable RAM memory compared to Series 60 devices (the 66xx series); it had MP3 decoding in a dedicated hardware chip as Nokia 3300 (other Series 60 devices, including the N-Gage QD, rely on software decoding); it had stereo output from a mini headphone jack plug; and it could be mounted as a USB Mass Storage device on any compatible computer without requiring the Nokia PC Connect software.
Hardware specifications: Weight: 137 g, dimensions: 134 x 70 x 20 mm.
N-Gage QD
Nokia N-Gage QD phone
The 'N-Gage QD' was Nokia's successor to the N-Gage and was released six months after the first N-Gage, replacing it in 2004. It revised the device's physical design, being smaller and rounder. It corrected the previous perceived 'flaw' of the cartridge slot with a more convenient one on the bottom of the device. This design also moved the earpiece to the face of the device, rather than on the side, as in the previous model.
Despite the revision, many were quick to criticize the unit, just as they did the original N-Gage. Some noted that the rubber fitting side that closed the gap between the device top and bottom casing could be easily loosened over a few months if it were dropped regularly, although this was hardly a recommended practice in taking care of the unit. Once the rubber piece was removed, the device became more vulnerable to water or particles entering the internals unless the fitting was replaced. The fitting was available at Nokia's service centers, and was also available in a variety of colors through various third-party sellers via online electronics suppliers or eBay.
The device retailed at a lower price, further aided by the fact that it was generally sold with a pre-paid cell phone service contract and the corresponding subsidy. In the United States, the N-Gage QD was available as a prepaid phone offered by Cingular for $99.99 at retail games stores such as Electronics Boutique and GameStop. This is no longer the case as the device has reached the end of its lifespan and the above mentioned stores have discontinued carrying the QD.
Some of the 'bulky' features of the system such as MP3 playback, FM radio reception, and USB connectivity were removed from the device, presumably to cut size and cost. The QD did not support MP3 internally; however, it could still play MP3s with third-party software, albeit only in 16 kHz mono.
Instead of using the N-Gage with generic USB removable drive drivers, a user would use either Bluetooth or a separate MMC card reader to transfer files onto the device memory or an MMC card for use in the N-Gage QD.
Another change from the original unit was the "Orange-and-grey" theme of the face of the unit as well as the GUI. Some felt this was an unwanted change from the 'more colorful' GUI of the original N-Gage. Even then there were some third-party applications that enhanced the interface or replaced the system shell.
As for the telephone portion, it no longer supported the three GSM frequency bands 900/1800/1900; instead it came in two dualband variants, one for the American market and one for the European and Asian markets.
The rest of the N-Gage QD hardware specifications were otherwise the same as the original N-Gage; same vertical screen layout, button configuration, etc.
Hardware specifications: Weight: 143 g, dimensions: 118 x 68 x 22 mm.
N-Gage QD Silver Edition
Announced in August 2005[15], the N-Gage QD Silver Edition could be seen as an exercise in extending the life of the N-Gage product range while new N-Gage devices were developed and the N-Gage gaming range was integrated into the mainstream Series 60 product range. Apart from cosmetic changes and the replacement of the two specialist gaming buttons (5 and 7) with standard keys, there was no difference in the N-Gage QD Silver Edition to the regular N-Gage QD.
It was made available in the European, Middle Eastern, and African markets on September 1, 2005.
Second generation N-Gage
New N-Gage platform is part of Nokia's Ovi initiative. The second generation N-Gage capabilities are built into several Nokia Smartphones. The new N-Gage platform is not backward compatible with first generation MMC games. Similarly, the next generation N-Gage experience is not compatible with the original N-Gage game deck or N-Gage QD devices.[16] However some games are making a comeback in form of a sequel (e.g. or Snakes Subsonic) or a remake/port (e.g. Mile High Pinball).
N-Gage in its new form is an application that is either downloaded to or already present in a supported device. This application functions as the central hub for all N-Gage related functionalities - the user has an overview of his/her currently owned games, friends list, profile details and has the ability to download and try demo versions of games that have not yet been purchased.[17]
N-Gage games, when purchased, are tied to user's account and can be re downloaded at any time if accidentally deleted. Users can store his/her games either in an N-Gage compatible device or any other storage media like USB flash drives or computer HDD's.
This system has many similarities with the already existing Xbox LIVE.
Currently announced devices that will support N-Gage when released: Nokia N73, Nokia N81, Nokia N81 8GB, Nokia N93, Nokia N93i, Nokia N95, Nokia N95 8GB[18]
Nokia will continue to announce N-Gage compatibility with a wide range of S60 Nokia devices on an ongoing basis.[19]
Demos and games (first generation)
Main articles: List of N-Gage games
Before the launch of Nokia's first in-house N-Gage title, Pathway to Glory, a one level demo of the game was released to journalists to allow them to sample the game, and understand the concepts behind the turn based wargame. This demo was subsequently placed on the N-Gage.com website as a free download. Undaunted by the 16mb download size, fans jumped on the Pathway to Glory demo. The success of this demo probably led to both the sales success of Pathway to Glory, and proved to Nokia that this was a valid marketing route for future titles.
There are fifty-seven full titles available for N-Gage, however only 54 of these saw North American releases. The titles that were released in Europe but not North America are : Flo Boarding, Sega rally and Snakes (as a full retail game on MMC). All but two of these titles (Snakes and Payload) were available on MMC. A selection can now be downloaded via the Nokia Game Shop. These are:
Snakes
Hailed as one of the best games on the N-Gage when released in January 2005, Snakes saw Nokia take an innovative route to promoting the N-Gage platform. Likely spurred on by the success of the demonstration versions, the full version of Snakes was made available online. It also featured an option that allowed the game to copy itself to another N-Gage unit using bluetooth as the carrier.
Second generation N-Gage games
As of September 7, 2007 there have currently been announced 17 games for the second generation N-Gage platform.[20] Many more are in production for the N-Gage experience.[16]
Currently announced titles are:
★ ''
★ ''Block Breaker Deluxe''
★ ''Bounce Boing Voyage''
★ ''Brain Challenge''
★ ''Brothers in Arms''
★ ''Dogz''
★ ''FIFA 08''
★ ''
★ ''Midnight Pool 3D''
★ ''Mile High Pinball''
★ ''ONE''
★ ''Pro Series Golf''
★ ''Snakes Subsonic''
★ ''Space Impact Kappa Base''
★ ''
★ ''The Sims 2 Pets''
★ ''World Series of Poker''
Some of these games are sequels or remakes/ports of the first generation N-Gage MMC games.
Other games that are in development but are not yet on the official N-Gage games list[22]:
★ ''Crash Bandicoot (exact game unknown)''
★ ''Midnight Poker''
★ ''Super Mah Jong''
★ ''Tetris''
★ ''Tiger Woods PGA Tour''
★ ''World Rally Championship (FIA WRC official licence)''
Trivia
★ The Original N-Gage was used in the movie ''Silver Hawk'' starring Michelle Yeoh.
★ On the G4 television show, ''X-Play'' A parody of the famous British actor, Patrick Stewart, will make his views known with his opinion that all video games should be exclusive for the N-Gage (this is a play on words of Stewart's catchphrase "Engage!" from his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation).
References
1. "Hold On, My Taco is Ringing Nokia says it has the phone for Gen Y", "CNN.com" 8 December 2003
2. "The N-Gage Doesn't" ''Game Now'', January 2004. Retrieved May 5, 2007.
3. Smith, David. "N-Gage Moves Under 5,000 Units" ''1UP'', October 2003. Retrieved May 5, 2007
4. Smith, David. "US Retailers Cut N-Gage Price". ''1UP'', October 2003. Retrieved May 5, 2007.
5. "Play It Again, Nokia. For the 3rd Time.". 27 August 2007. 'The New York Times'. Retrieved August 27, 2007.
6. "Nokia figures claim massive N-Gage sales". October 2003. 'The Register UK'. Retrieved May 5, 2007.
7. "Nokia ships one million N-Gage game decks", "Nokia.com", 1 September 2004
8. "Nokia expands N-Gage quality gaming across smartphone portfolio", "Nokia.com", 18 May 2005
9. "Nokia showcases consumer experience of new mobile gaming platform", "Nokia.com", 9 May 2006
10. "E3: Nokia Showcases Next-Gen Mobile Gaming Platform", "Gamasutra.com", 10 May 2006
11. "Nokia games study reveals changing mobile gaming habits worldwide", "Nokia.com", 27 November 2006
12. "EXCLUSIVE: It's all systems go for next-gen Nokia N-Gage", "Pocket Gamer", 30 January 2007
13. "[
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/UKW01829082007-1.htm Get out and Play - With N-Gage Games in Your Nokia Device]", "CNN Money", 29 August 2007
14. "The 7 Deadly Sins of N-Gage", ''GameSpy.com'', 16 February 2004
15. "Nokia Releases N-Gage QD Silver Edition To European, Middle Eastern and African Markets", "Nokia.com", 3 August 2005
16. N-Gage FAQ
17. N-Gage Discover
18. N-Gage Compatible Devices
19. Learn about N-Gage compatible devices
20. N-Gage Game Showroom
21. N-Gage FAQ
22. Next Gen N-Gage games revealed
See also
★ List of N-Gage games
★ Mylo
★ Ogo
★ T-Mobile Sidekick
★ SNAP Mobile
★ Ovi
External links
★ Nokia's official N-Gage site
★ All About N-Gage - All About Symbian's excellent unofficial N-Gage site for the N-Gage community
★ Totally Sidetalkin' Nokia N-Gage a rather sarcastic website where people could send in pictures of themselves or others holding various objects in the "sidetalking" position.
★ The WoS complete N-Gage guide, A comprehensive overview of the device by veteran games journalist Stuart Campbell
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