Will Nokia make a better stab at the market with N-Gage 2?

[Fraser]

It is a bit of a burning issue right now what with the delays and the muted promotion of the new service.

Will Google's Android and Apple's iPhone compete for the same territory as Nokia's new N-Gage platform?

Will the games bring mobiles into the ring with the DS and the PSP?

Will Nokia tailor new N-Gage games to it's hotly anticipated S60 Touchscreen interface?

Will N-Gage die-hards bemoan the permanent loss of the taco/pastie?

We provide the questions, you provide the discussion. 1, 2, 3 go!

[SetsFireToPoshHammer]

Good grief what a lot of questions.

In answer to the title of the post, I bloody hope so!

If you ask me, the whole Google Android/Apple iPhone thing is a bit iffy just now, yes the potential is there but it is really hard to say what portion of the market each will go after.

As far as the new N-Gage competing against the PSP and DS goes, I don't think that will happen. That is the mistake that Nokia made last time and so for the new N-Gage I think the focus will be on pushing mobile games forward as opposed to aping handheld console efforts.

I have been really impressed with what I have seen so far, particularly with Force Unleashed. I hope some sort of touchscreen interface is introduced at some point as the control aspect is the one thing that the old N-Gage seems to have over the new service. Maybe that's just because I have potato-like thumbs though.

[splat]

I would have said it couldn't make a less successful stab but in terms of the launch, it certainly seems to be having a good attempt.

All I'd want is some reasonable communication about what's going to happen and some reasonable 3D and connected games- ie the sort of stuff that we're not currently getting with Java.

Nokia's problem however is that it's trying to muscle in on the operators space so it won't get much support from most of them.

As for iPhone and Android, I don't think they're really designed as gaming platforms whereas that's the entire point of N-Gage, so N-Gage is actually quite important to pushign the future of mobile games.

[chris_pg]

Well I have to say the jury is still decidedly out at the moment isn't it!

I think actually launching the thing might be a start, but the struggles with that suggest that there are issues to be ironed out.

The games I've seen so far are certainly of a high quality and are taking mobile gaming on a step both visually and in terms of some nifty control features.

Yes Android and iPhone are direct challengers as are Qualcomm's BREW and even Symbian itself in some ways, as they are all platforms aiming to offer something extra.

In terms of DS and PSP, I think that mobile is already in the same ring in many respects in that it's a portable gaming device that offers to consume your time and is already has some very competitive casual titles.
The key differences otherwise are graphics, controls and the benefits of a stable platform that guarantees all users a similar experience. Again I think N-Gage could help with some of this (visual improvements certainly and a modicum of stability), but the control issue will obviously remain...until the touchscreen becomes standard at least.

[Mandark]

Yes this N-Gage thing is all started to go a bit flat. Only the fanboys on n-gage arena are still keen.

[daab.orion]

Before I answer, does anyone actually know sales numbers for the N-Gage. I'm not sure about Europe, but there seems to be absolutely no type of publicity for the new N-Gage service here state side. I'm just curious if there is actually any software being developed for it by larger 3rd parties or not? To be honest, if it wasn't for forums, I don't think hardly anyone over here would even know it launched already. There have been no commercials or printed ads of any kind that I've seen, even in gamer magazines.

Anywho, I guess that answers your question in a way. It's probably not going to make a dent in Nintendo, Sony, Apple, or Google's sales.

Honestly, I think it would have been much better for them to make a game service (like what they have now, to compete against Apple), but just call it something other than N-Gage. I personally know a couple of people who have phones that support these N-Gage games, but they refuse to even try it because of the horrid experience they had with the first handheld.

It's almost like Sega coming out with a new handheld/phone and calling it the Gamegear Mobile. Dumb idea.

[gonny]

you can do it better