PSX Extreme & Xbox Nerds Forums - View Single Post - N-Gage?!?!?! What the heck.........

NoEffects · 02-08-2003, 07:13 AM

Article was too long for one post so heres the rest.

PRICE & AVAILABILITY:
The big two questions, and the two that Nokia were vague on. The release date is the more solid of the two, with late Q3/early Q4 given as the launch timeframe, with Nokia insisting that it must be released before the holidays. Price was somewhat less reassuring. All that would be said was that it would be competitive; pushing further for an answer didn't help, as Nokia specified that it would be "under 500 euros" ($540) -- somewhat obvious, you'd think. There's also no word whatsoever on whether the phone will be subsidised (ie, you get a discount if you sign up to a contract with a phone company), or whether it'd be available as a stand-alone. The only confirmed detail was that T-Mobile is the first company to jump on the N-Gage bandwagon. Although the phone is expected to be available on all networks, T-Mobile will also have additional services for N-Gage owners, like tournaments and downloadable goodies.

The games, however, will be available everywhere. Again Nokia were evasive on a price, but stated that they would be sold at both game retailers and mobile phone shops, as well as major retail chains like Virgin Megastore. Again, no word on whether you'll be able to pick up the N-Gage itself at an EB, but that likely depends on whether it'll be subsidised.

WIRELESS FUNCTIONS:
The most exciting part of N-Gage by far, but still mostly theoretical right now. Bluetooth multiplayer is up and running, but Bluetooth's range is 10 metres. The promise of N-Gage lies in long-distance multiplayer action. Nokia promises that even Massive Multiplayer Online games (think EverQuest) are possible with the phone. Tournaments are also possible, as are high-score rankings. And the communication aspect is naturally well-done -- this is a phone, after all. Challenges can be sent to friends, as can screengrabs to prove your high score, and you can always call after games to gloat about victories. Still, we've yet to see anything other than Bluetooth multiplayer, and none of the big titles will support it... as Eidos' representative amusingly put it, it doesn't work in Tomb Raider. "You can't have two Laras, and nobody wants to be the dog that gets shot." However, games like Tomb Raider will have downloadable extras like new stages.

One exciting new function Nokia talked about -- but again, didn't show -- was your location affecting your game. One example cited was a version of Crazy Taxi that changes depending on what city (or part of the city) you're in. And certainly Nokia -- who pioneered a mobile game that blurs the lines between playing on the phone and in real life with their annual Nokia Game -- can come up with more imaginative uses for it.

There is, naturally, a dark side to all this... which is that it'll cost you. Though no price has been set for online gaming (multiplayer over Bluetooth will be free), don't expect downloadable extras to be free. In fact, that's one of the main motivations behind the N-Gage project -- another way for mobile operators and game publishers to have a continuing revenue stream. Nokia even mentioned having cheats downloadable for 2 euros ($2.15), which seems a bit excessive...

OUTLOOK:
It's hard to say just how N-Gage will do. The unit definitely looks promising and it should gain a lot of buzz, but ultimately, it's a phone. It's not a GBA competitor. It'll be pricey, and in all likelyhood you'll need a contract to buy it. Will people be willing to use this as their main phone? Although N-Gage is a good phone -- look at the feature list! -- I've had trouble finding people who'd replace their current phones with N-Gage. And you know what? Despite being impressed by the games, and the feature set, at this point I'd probably agree.

There's also the question of just how long N-Gage will be around for. A normal console lifespan is under 5 years, but a mobile phone goes stale after one year. Nokia were mum on the details, though they did say that the hardware platform would remain stable over N-Gage's lifespan, again they never specified how long that'll be. And despite other current and many future Nokia phones being based on the same hardware and software platform as N-Gage and some even sporting MMC card slots... they won't be compatible with N-Gage games. Surely getting more compatible models will grow Nokia's mobile gaming market share faster?

But it is heartening to see someone taking mobile gaming seriously. If nothing else, Nokia's N-Gage isn't just bringing more advanced gaming to mobile phones -- it should show what is possible when mobility is combined with portable consoles. And it's an exciting prospect, especially when (or rather, if) location-dependent games and MMO titles hit. But until then...

02-08-2003, 07:13 AM	#5
NoEffects Here, kitty, kitty! Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 191	Article was too long for one post so heres the rest. PRICE & AVAILABILITY: The big two questions, and the two that Nokia were vague on. The release date is the more solid of the two, with late Q3/early Q4 given as the launch timeframe, with Nokia insisting that it must be released before the holidays. Price was somewhat less reassuring. All that would be said was that it would be competitive; pushing further for an answer didn't help, as Nokia specified that it would be "under 500 euros" ($540) -- somewhat obvious, you'd think. There's also no word whatsoever on whether the phone will be subsidised (ie, you get a discount if you sign up to a contract with a phone company), or whether it'd be available as a stand-alone. The only confirmed detail was that T-Mobile is the first company to jump on the N-Gage bandwagon. Although the phone is expected to be available on all networks, T-Mobile will also have additional services for N-Gage owners, like tournaments and downloadable goodies. The games, however, will be available everywhere. Again Nokia were evasive on a price, but stated that they would be sold at both game retailers and mobile phone shops, as well as major retail chains like Virgin Megastore. Again, no word on whether you'll be able to pick up the N-Gage itself at an EB, but that likely depends on whether it'll be subsidised. WIRELESS FUNCTIONS: The most exciting part of N-Gage by far, but still mostly theoretical right now. Bluetooth multiplayer is up and running, but Bluetooth's range is 10 metres. The promise of N-Gage lies in long-distance multiplayer action. Nokia promises that even Massive Multiplayer Online games (think EverQuest) are possible with the phone. Tournaments are also possible, as are high-score rankings. And the communication aspect is naturally well-done -- this is a phone, after all. Challenges can be sent to friends, as can screengrabs to prove your high score, and you can always call after games to gloat about victories. Still, we've yet to see anything other than Bluetooth multiplayer, and none of the big titles will support it... as Eidos' representative amusingly put it, it doesn't work in Tomb Raider. "You can't have two Laras, and nobody wants to be the dog that gets shot." However, games like Tomb Raider will have downloadable extras like new stages. One exciting new function Nokia talked about -- but again, didn't show -- was your location affecting your game. One example cited was a version of Crazy Taxi that changes depending on what city (or part of the city) you're in. And certainly Nokia -- who pioneered a mobile game that blurs the lines between playing on the phone and in real life with their annual Nokia Game -- can come up with more imaginative uses for it. There is, naturally, a dark side to all this... which is that it'll cost you. Though no price has been set for online gaming (multiplayer over Bluetooth will be free), don't expect downloadable extras to be free. In fact, that's one of the main motivations behind the N-Gage project -- another way for mobile operators and game publishers to have a continuing revenue stream. Nokia even mentioned having cheats downloadable for 2 euros ($2.15), which seems a bit excessive... OUTLOOK: It's hard to say just how N-Gage will do. The unit definitely looks promising and it should gain a lot of buzz, but ultimately, it's a phone. It's not a GBA competitor. It'll be pricey, and in all likelyhood you'll need a contract to buy it. Will people be willing to use this as their main phone? Although N-Gage is a good phone -- look at the feature list! -- I've had trouble finding people who'd replace their current phones with N-Gage. And you know what? Despite being impressed by the games, and the feature set, at this point I'd probably agree. There's also the question of just how long N-Gage will be around for. A normal console lifespan is under 5 years, but a mobile phone goes stale after one year. Nokia were mum on the details, though they did say that the hardware platform would remain stable over N-Gage's lifespan, again they never specified how long that'll be. And despite other current and many future Nokia phones being based on the same hardware and software platform as N-Gage and some even sporting MMC card slots... they won't be compatible with N-Gage games. Surely getting more compatible models will grow Nokia's mobile gaming market share faster? But it is heartening to see someone taking mobile gaming seriously. If nothing else, Nokia's N-Gage isn't just bringing more advanced gaming to mobile phones -- it should show what is possible when mobility is combined with portable consoles. And it's an exciting prospect, especially when (or rather, if) location-dependent games and MMO titles hit. But until then... __________________ I\'m so romantic I\'m considering marrying myself.