E3: N-Gage Then and Now
When I think “N-Gage”, I think “Nice concept, poor execution”. Nokia showed signs of their strengths (a good thing) last year and this year is starting to capitalize on them. Now, instead of trying to beat out the PSP and DS in the “handheld” market, they are going for global domination in the “mobile” gaming market. The difference is that dedicated game systems like the DS, PSP and Gameboy are tag-alongs. They come with you if you feel like playing games during your day. Mobile phones, however, are not tag-alongs. They’ll go with you whether you feel like playing games or not, simply because you have become accustomed to being reachable wherever you are. I’ve met many a person who is more attached to their celly than they are their own kids. Mobile Gaming is a huge market, and Nokia realizes that its ok to not have a dedicated handheld “system” to win a market in gaming. Let’s review:
The old N-Gage:
“It’s a phone.”
“No it’s a handheld.”
“It’s neither!”
“It’s both!”
The NEW N-Gage:
“It’s a phone?”
“Nope.”
“It’s a handheld?”
“Nope.”
“What is it?”
“Software.”
The N-Gage is no longer a single system. It is essentially any Nokia Nseries phone. All you RAZR buffs out there are now helpless fashion victims after a quick ass kicking from the next generation Nokia N90 or N93. The N-Series phones handle all the media that most smartphones do, but also will play some serious N-Gage and N-Gage Arena games.
With all the noise from Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo, few “not attending E3″ gamers realize that Nokia has a large booth at E3 this year. Sure it may not be Metal Gear Solid in your palm, but what they are doing is is showcasing the next generation of mobile gaming to a bunch of hard core gamers who realize they are also cell phone addicts. Seems that Nokia is starting to mix their kool-aid just right.
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