N Gage -- Engadget Mobile

n-gage posts

Nokia announces the end of its N-Gage gaming platform

by Laura June posted Oct 30th 2009 @ 1:31PM

Nokia has officially announced that it will put an end to its problem-plagued N-Gage gaming service, integrating it into its Ovi Store. The move isn't really a shocker, and while Nokia has confirmed that no further games will be published, it's also said that it will continue to sell currently available games in the Ovi Store (as of today) until the end of September 2010. The N-Gage website, which holds the Arena and community boards, will also continue until that time. Nokia says that any already purchased games will continue to run on the mobile device, but that any connected community features will be non-functional come 2010.

[Via Pocket Lint]

Nokia shutters Vancouver-based N-Gage Design Studio

by Chris Ziegler posted Jul 14th 2009 @ 4:33AM

It's probably a bit premature to sound the death knell for Nokia's current generation of the N-Gage platform, but it certainly doesn't bode well that they've wound down operations at the Vancouver, British Columbia-based studio responsible for many games stretching back to N-Gage's origins. At this point, it could simply mean that Nokia no longer wishes to be tied up in the hard-knock world of game development, admitting that other operations like EA are probably better off fighting that fight -- but ultimately, with the Ovi Store calling into question N-Gage's very reason for being, this could be the beginning of yet another fundamental shift in Espoo's gaming strategy. Time will tell, but in the meantime, there are 100 Nokia staffers up in Canada whose reassignments to other posts remain to be settled.

[Via Joystiq]

Sony investigating PSP phone?

by Paul Miller posted Jun 28th 2009 @ 4:03AM

As recently as May Sony has itself stated that a PSP phone "could happen," and now a report from Nikkei business daily states that Sony is planning on putting together a team as early as next month to build product that would act as a combination of a PSP and a Sony Ericsson handset. It makes plenty of sense, both as a differentiation from Nintendo and as a confrontation of the looming iPhone threat -- and hey, it might also act as a decent salve over the lukewarm reception of the pricey PSPgo. Unfortunately, if Sony is just about to get started on this, we likely wouldn't be looking at any resulting product for a while to come. Sony declined comment according to Reuters, which doesn't mean a whole lot, but it's worth keeping in mind that we've been hearing this sort of rumoring since back when the N-Gage (as a product) was still almost relevant.

[Via Mac Rumors]

Nokia N97, N86 8MP, E52 all get N-Gage compatibility

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 23rd 2009 @ 5:09PM

Quick, what's easier to find: an E52 or a game that'll run on it? You'd think this is an egregious case of putting the cart before the horse, but you've got to give the N-Gage team credit for being well-prepared -- they're already listing Nokia's new mega-thin business candybar as being compatible with the service. Also on board is the just-released (and still hard to find in many parts of the world) N86 8MP and -- perhaps most notably -- the N97, making the beastly handset Nokia's first S60 5th Edition phone with N-Gage support. How's the experience sans keys? Let us know your thoughts in comments.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

N-Gage trials make the leap to the Ovi Store

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 19th 2009 @ 6:32AM

Nokia's Ovi Store duplicates one of N-Gage's main lots in life -- to serve as an over-the-air distribution channel of paid and trial apps -- and in the long term, it certainly seems to make sense that Espoo would be looking to merge the two initiatives into one. The company hasn't announced anything to the effect just yet (and even if it did, it'd have to find some creative way to duplicate N-Gage's social aspect), but it's now taken one small step by porting game trials over to the Ovi Store. If you want the full game you'll still need to buy it using the N-Gage app, so the maddening duality of Nokia's software strategy still basically continues as-is for the time being -- let's just hope this is a promising sign of things to come.

[Via Phone Arena and ZOMG its CJ]

Nokia says N73, N93 and N93i won't be N-Gage compatible

by Darren Murph posted Mar 27th 2009 @ 5:26AM

Tough news for N73, N93 and N93i owners -- a respected N-Gage Arena Forum moderator has just stepped forward to let the world know that the aforesaid phones will not be N-Gage compatible. For folks who've moved on to newer, more powerful handsets, we're sure this tidbit means nothing; for those who've held tight to prior promises to bring the N-Gage experience to this trio, it's far more detrimental. We're told that Nokia tried for months on end to make it all work, but in the end they simply weren't satisfied with the experience on these aged devices. No need to tear up though, it's just the perfect excuse to line up for that N97 you've been eying.

[Via All About Symbian]

"One transfer policy" still in place for N-Gage games

by Darren Murph posted Nov 14th 2008 @ 11:27AM

Whoa, boy. Cue the second wave firestorm in 3, 2, 1.... After Nokia responded to outcries from N-Gage users who were infuriated at the idea of not being able to transfer their titles between handsets, all seemed to be well. Now, however, we're finding that there's still a "one transfer policy" in effect, meaning that your games can only be ported from one handset to another one time before your world implodes. It should be noted, though, that a recent report at All About N-Gage asserts that said policy is only temporary, and that Nokia is currently working towards "a more permanent transfer method." Of course, there's no set time line for when we'll see such a thing, and it's not like the N-Gage niche as a whole is growing in leaps and bounds; in other words, you N-Gage fanatics may want to pick a handset and stay content -- you might be relying on it for awhile.

[Via All About Symbian]

Nokia expects "challenging times" for handset gaming to continue

by Darren Murph posted Oct 29th 2008 @ 8:40PM

It shouldn't come as any huge surprise that the handset gaming market isn't exactly thriving, and with these curious economic times surrounding us, we have all ideas that folks have better things to worry over than what their N-Gage buddies are doing. And so does Nokia. According to Jaakko Kaidesoja, head of Nokia's gaming operations, he "expects challenging times to continue," noting that the "overall gaming market is likely not growing." Predictably, he was fairly bullish on the eventual success of the N-Gage platform and the iPhone, but he did confess that pre-loading the N-Gage software onto mobiles would greatly help adoption (you think?). In related news, EA Mobile's Peter Parmenter thrashed Nokia by calling N-Gage "not quite polished yet" and referring to it as a soft launch. It's okay Nokia -- we still have to find something to do on the can, so surely gaming fits in there somewhere.

[Via mocoNews]

Read - Nokia's take
Read - EA Mobile's take

Rogers embraces N-Gage, Nokia Maps

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 16th 2008 @ 5:58PM

Rogers has gained the notable distinction of becoming just the first carrier in North America to partner with Nokia to distribute its N-Gage and Maps clients, an unprecedented move that could lead to tighter (dare we say, more Europe-like?) relationships in the future. Both products are initially available on the N95 8GB -- a phone that Rogers officially offers through its own channels -- and will presumably see wider launch as other S60 handsets are brought into the fold. What's next, Rogers, full-on Ovi support?

[Thanks, James]

Nokia looking to bring N-Gage empire to consoles?

by Chris Ziegler posted Jul 31st 2008 @ 2:06PM

Perhaps one of the largest barriers to a massive, all-out, unqualified success for Nokia's latest incarnation of N-Gage is that it takes two to tango -- yes, it's as much a single-player gaming platform as it is a multi-player one, but the community features are its crown jewel and it's pretty tough to find another N-Gager in some parts of the world. Nokia's Aki Jarvilehto told attendees of the Develop 2008 conference that it's looking at using N-Gage's "assets" on Xbox Live or PlayStation Online, though it's not clear whether there'd be any interactivity between console players and their mobile equivalents, or if Nokia's just looking for another revenue stream to augment on-phone sales. Either way, Creatures of the Deep on the big screen without having to jack into our N95's TV-out? Bring it on.

[Via The Nokia Blog]

Nokia adds trio of recent models to N-Gage compatibility list

by Chris Ziegler posted Jul 23rd 2008 @ 9:42AM

If you've been desperately seeking some Snakes Subsonic gaming partners on that N82 of yours, your pool of potential playmates just got a little (emphasis on "little") wider. The N78, N96, and XpressMusic 5320 have now been added into the N-Gage client compatibility mix -- though of the three, the N78 is the only one that's really widely available at this point. The 5320's just now starting to trickle into distribution around the world, and if you happen to end up playing System Rush with an N96 owner in the next few weeks... well, you're playing with a very special individual, indeed.

[Via All About Symbian]

Nokia promises to let N-Gage users transfer games

by Donald Melanson posted May 23rd 2008 @ 1:01PM

Well, that didn't take long. Just as the mini-brouhaha over N-Gage games being tied to handsets was starting to percolate, Nokia has now come out and said that users will be able to take their games with them to a new handset after all, eventually. According to Nokia communications manager Oskar Södergren, some "miscommunication" on Nokia's part is apparently to blame for users being left up in the air on the matter, something that apparently led to some "mixed messages" being passed around inside Nokia as well. He went on to add that Nokia has in fact "been working on a way for this to work since the relaunch, but it is taking some time for everything to fall into place."

N-Gage users N-Raged by Nokia handset lock-in

by Thomas Ricker posted May 22nd 2008 @ 6:06AM

N-Raged... see what we did there? Sigh. Anyway, Nokia's strategy of handset lock-in has its N-Gage subscribers in a fit. Seems somebody didn't read the EULA and now is upset that they must re-purchase N-Gage titles when they switch Nokia handsets. The terms and conditions do state that, "Content shall be... limited to one private installation on one N-Gage compatible Nokia device only." Forever. Come on Nokia, we're all for reading, but purchased games should at least be transferrable to newly purchased, substitute Nokia devices. After all, that's what you claim for music downloaded from your forthcoming Comes with Music service. Don't turn N-Gage v2 into another sidetalkin' fiasco.

Nokia outs HSDPA 5320 and 5220 XpressMusic candybars, wake us when it's the Tube

by Thomas Ricker posted Apr 22nd 2008 @ 3:18AM

While we patiently wait for Nokia's current, "no major new products" fiscal quarter to expire, we'll have to trudge through releases like these 5320 (left) and 5220 (your other left) candybars. As members of the XpressMusic range the devices themselves are fine. Unfortunately, fine isn't going to win back that 1% lost market share. The 3G HSDPA 5320 (€220 / $351) features dedicated music and N-Gage gaming keys, a 3.5-mm headphone jack, up to 24-hours of play time, up to 8GB of expandable storage, and a "Say and Play" voice controlled playlist; speak the name of the artist or song you want and the phone will play it. The (€160 / $255) 5220 removes the HSDPA but adds a lanyard... hoorah!? Expect both to land in Europe sometime in Q3 2008.

Nokia's new N-Gage gaming service goes live

by Donald Melanson posted Apr 3rd 2008 @ 2:37PM

It's apparently saving the full, official announcement until Monday, but Nokia just dropped word on its N-Gage blog that the final version of its new N-Gage gaming service / application is now live and ready for your taking. To take advantage of that right now, however, you'll need an N81, N81 8GB, N82, N95, or N95 8GB handset, although Nokia says that support for additional N-Gage compatible devices is "coming soon," including the N73, N93, and N93i. If that doesn't preclude you, you can download the application straight to your device from Nokia's mobile site (n-gage.mobi/d), or you can hit up the link below to download it the old fashioned way.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]