Topic: Nokia to announce NGage2 @ E3

[BlackNMild2k1]

I guess some people just don't know when to quit....

CNN/Money

Quote
Despite rumors it planned to exit the business altogether, the company behind the N-gage gaming phone said it is gearing up for a second round.

"We will be making a significant announcement at E3 regarding our next generation," said Gerard Wiener, general manager of Nokia's games business program.

I can't wait for the new NGage!!!!! its gonna own PSP and DS!!!! /sarcasm

[Caillan]

After the redesign, I thought that perhaps Nokia would be a progesssive manufacturer who learned form its mistakes. A company I could expect more from in the future. Well, instead it looks like they're just stupid. They better have a bloody good trump if they're to show something at E3. Not an ace but a joker. Something that will do better than the PSP and not suffer from a crappy design.

Even then, they'll have no support after the failure of the first generation. Especially as they're cutting it just as it's going to get its 'big' games and a major price drop. On top of all that, this E3 is going to be a biggie, one where all the next genreation consoles are shown. Nobody's going to give them any attention.

This really is very stupid.  

[darknight06]

Any company that would've supported it is already with the DS and PSP.  Seriously though, do we really need ANOTHER handheld contender?  This is getting to be just as bad as the so-called console wars.

[RickPowers]

The N-Gage QD is actually a pretty nice cell phone, a bona-fide smartphone.  The games aren't stellar (funny enough, the best games are free from Nokia), but if you're using the QD for a phone first, and a game device second, it's really not bad.  For $99, it's a FANTASTIC value.  I've been debating upgrading my Nokia 3650 to the QD, and if it weren't for the lack of a camera, I just might do that.

[SgtShiversBen]

I'm with Rick on this one.  I think that the QD as a phone is great.  I want to upgrade my Nokia 3300 to it (the one that looks like an N-Gage, but isn't), but since they took out the MP3 feature it really isn't on the top of my list anymore.  Another reason why I want it is because you can play NES roms on it, and it'd be great to go around school playing that (ROMS are illegal though, so ).

Don't bash the N-Gage for it's a great phone, bash it because it has no MP3 support.

[Ian Sane]

The N-Gage is easily one of the biggest bombs in game history.  A lot of times a system won't do well commercially but will be respected to some extent by hardcore gamers.  The 3DO, Jaguar and CD-i may have bombed but even those have a few games that have gained a cult following.  The N-Gage however not only was a commercially flop but it also was completely rejected by hardcore gamers.  That's a rarity.  When you have a system that even hardcore fans won't buy to play one or two games you've failed.

Nokia clearly doesn't get it.  There's no demand, no fanbase, and no interest.  So why bother?  There's not even a good brand name.  Why go with "N-Gage 2" when no one liked the N-Gage 1?  Nokia thought they could waltz into the game market without any research beforehand and failed.  If they still want to make a go at it they have to start over from scratch with a new plan.  Since they're busting out N-Gage 2 so quickly I doubt they've done that.

[RickPowers]

The problem with the original N-Gage was that not only was it not a great game "deck", Nokia managed to fumble their core competency, and didn't make it a very good phone.  The QD fixed many of the phone issues, and it ended up being a much better phone.  The problem is that Nokia reuses parts from their phone line (for cost-cutting reasons), so the QD will always be hampered by that limitation to a degree.  You'll notice that following the N-Gage launch, several other Nokia phones with similar designs were released.  That's not a coincidence.

The problem is that the QD had a big hurdle to surmount because of the flawed first launch.  While that still might cause problems with N-Gage 2 (or whatever they're going to call it), Nokia is constantly learning, and I think that the N-Gage failure caused the company to take a good hard look at what worked, what didn't, and to assess what needs to be done.

As for N-Gage as a brand name, I have to disagree.  The name is fine, there really isn't that much negativity associated with the name, so a launch with a new machine would basically allow Nokia to pretend the past never happened.

By the way, not that anyone cares about my opinion, but I think Nintendo and Sony need to watch out.  I have a feeling that people are going to start reducing the number of gadgets they're carrying around as things get bigger, and technology gets faster, and being able to play simple (or "casual", as they're called in the industry) games on a cell phone is becoming a HUGE market.  I read recently that by 2007, there will be over 400 Million game-capable cell phones in the market (compared to a tenth of that for portable consoles).  Porting games to different cell phone standards is actually fairly trivial, and I think if Nintendo and Sony don't take notice, they may find that the portable game market might shrink dramatically as people realize that they can get as much gaming as they need with their phone.  We're probably a few years off yet, but you can't wait too long.

[nickmitch]

I care about your opinion, even though I don't agree with it.
I'd like to have an N-Gage but only just to say that I have one.
I porbably would never use it for playing.

[RickPowers]

Most people never use their N-Gage for playing.  http://www.howardforums.com/forumdisplay.php?s=37f2d28ae47afa590dec1137e4eaf1fc&forumid=267

[Savior]

I almost bought an NGage when i wanted a new Cell Phone but realistically the controls are clunky and i question how much Nokia suported it. Now they are already announcing a new one? thank goodness i didnt buy one. i did want to play that Rifts game though

[Ian Sane]

"Porting games to different cell phone standards is actually fairly trivial, and I think if Nintendo and Sony don't take notice, they may find that the portable game market might shrink dramatically as people realize that they can get as much gaming as they need with their phone. We're probably a few years off yet, but you can't wait too long."

I think that's possible but there's always going to be a hardcore gaming market that doesn't feel that cell phone gaming is good enough so they'll always have them.  I think however in the future the portable market won't even exist.  Video and audio don't have different formats for home and portable use.  In the future I figure we'll reach a point where games are like that.  Portable hardware will eventually catch up to console hardware where, like now with arcades, the differences will be minor.  At that point they'll just release one system that either acts as both console and portable or they'll offer different models to suit individual people's needs but play the exact same games.

[slingshot]

Kids are the future of portable gaming.  How many parents have loaded a suitcase with batteries so that the kids are
entertained on the trips- from long sojournes to a family picnic.  Not saying that kids are the only ones that love portables,
just that they are more satisfied with gaming everywhere, and older gamers want the blazing graphics and in depth plots.

[darknight06]

"I think that's possible but there's always going to be a hardcore gaming market that doesn't feel that cell phone gaming is good enough so they'll always have them."

Yeah.  I remember not that long ago hearing about all these old classics being revived on cell-phones and stuff so I actually went over to a Verizon dealer once and using their phones decided to check some of them out.  If handhelds die it won't be because of these.  When Galaga and Gradius run at sub 15fps, something's really wrong.  However I did get to try out some of their new V-Cast games, the main one that stood out being Ashpalt Urban GT 3D.  Wasn't bad given what it was, just don't play the DS version afterwards the framerate and overall visual difference is shocking.  I dunno, phones still have to catch up in numerous ways before it ever gets to that point, especially with 2D cuz right now from what I've seen the GBA runs circles around them in that respect.  

[Infernal Monkey]

Well, Sega seem to have a thing for Nokia. Maybe they can work out an EXCLUSIVE version of Puyo Puyo or something for N-Gage 2's launch. That'll destroy PSP, DS and Sega at the same time. It's gotta be true, I just posted it on the Internet.

[couchmonkey]

Good luck to those crazy guys at Nokia.  No, seriously!  I think it's kind of admirable to see them continuing on this path and offering an alternative to Nintendo and Sony.  I'm not buying one, though.

[pitbull]

I think they are even dumb for making the first one let alone a second one. The first bombed and so will the second. Period!