The Nokia N-Gage

The screen is so... vertical. Good for shooters or puzzle games (Puyo Puyo, Tetris...) but it's hard to imagine a Sonic on that screen
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If it gets some vert shooters, I'll be getting a new phone
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. The GBA screen makes anything other than horizontal shooters pretty much impossible.
 
One can only imagine how much this thing will cost. With all the extra features, it's pushing the outer limits of gaming value. Nokia's phones generally cost way more than they're worth, and this will definitely be no exception.

I forsee this thing running at least $350, with a service plan. It'll be that niche item that everyone wants but can't afford, a few games will come out for it, and then it'll go one backburner, like most of nokia's phones (except the affordable ones).

How do I know this? I used to sell cell phones. Everyone wanted the phone like the one in 'the Matrix'... it's hard to explain to people that a) that phone doesn't work in the US and
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the phone that was similar to it ran $300 w/ a plan. And it had no special features other than that manually sliding plate (which breaks off easy, I might add).
 
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Well, with this, I'll take back what I said. It seems Nokia's priority is to make a gaming handheld first and cell phone second. Interesting...

Nokia showcases its N-Gage game deck and a handful of games at a press event in London.

At a press event in London today, Nokia let selected members of the international press get some hands-on time with its N-Gage game deck, which, it's been announced today, will be released worldwide around September or October this year.

The first part of today's press event took the form of a presentation on board a boat on the river Thames. Members of Nokia's senior management were present to explain why gamers, developers, and publishers alike should be excited about the new handheld. Representatives of Activision, Eidos, Sega, Taito, and THQ were also on hand to explain why they are among the first publishers to commit to developing games for the new platform. Aside from the fact that the N-Gage is undoubtedly a powerful games machine, the main reasons given by each of the publishers for being keen to support it were that they very much believe in the idea of portable multiplayer gaming, and that the business model for the N-Gage is essentially identical to that of a conventional games console, so they already know it works.

Neither the representatives of Nokia nor of any of the publishers were willing to comment on pricing for N-Gage hardware and software, but the general view seemed to be that both will be priced in such a way as to be competitive with Nintendo's recently announced Game Boy Advance SP and its software. Given the wealth of features on the N-Gage, though, it's unlikely that it will be the cheaper of the two.

Nokia describes the N-Gage as a games platform first and a cell phone second, which is perhaps why, when we sat down on the London Eye observation wheel on the south bank of the Thames to try the device out for the first time, we found it very comfortable in the hands when playing games, but a little unwieldy when held up to the ear. The games we actually got play at the event were early versions of Sonic N, Super Monkey Ball, Tomb Raider, and the Nokia-developed Kart Racer, which was the only game at the event to support multiplayer gaming via Bluetooth.

The most impressive of the games that we played today was Tomb Raider, which seems to be a near-perfect conversion of the original PlayStation game and will actually boast additional features, according to Eidos. While most games on the N-Gage will use only the eight-way directional pad and two action buttons (keys 5 and 7), Tomb Raider uses almost every number on the keypad to give players access to Lara Croft's full range of acrobatic moves.

The only issue we have with the N-Gage right now is with its screen. The screen is well lit, but it's noticeably smaller than the GBA's screen, and it's taller than it is wide. This portrait format could well prove to be suitable for games such as Space Invaders and Puzzle Bubble--which have both been confirmed by Taito--but it felt a little restrictive when playing Tomb Raider, and it clearly wasn't considered a good option for Sonic N, as the game is played in something resembling a widescreen format, using only around half of the actual screen.

We'll have more information on the N-Gage for you soon, but in the meantime, here's a list of all the games that we've been able to confirm are in development for the platform at this time:

Eidos

Pandemonium

Tomb Raider

Nokia

Bounce

Kart Racing

Virtually Board Snowboarding II

Sega

Puyo Puyo

Sega Rally

Sonic N

Super Monkey Ball

Virtua Tennis

Taito

Puzzle Bobble

Space Invaders

THQ

Major League Baseball

Moto-GP

Red Faction
 
That thing seems to have a impressive 3D power, for a handheld.

But as said before, it WILL be darn expensive. On the other hand, I think it's games will be cheaper than usual console/handheld games, and there'll prolly be lotsa opportunities to even get some as freebies.
 
Usually things that are made for one thing (like GBA) do better at that thing than something that tries to do many things.

I'm sure it will be more expensive, and I'm sure it will drain batteries like mad.

I'll stick to my GBA -- especially after my Afterburner is installed.

I'd take the new GBA and a regualr phone any day.

GBA has way more support already that the NGage will have to catch up with. Look at the jump the PS2 got on the GC and XBox.
 
Originally posted by MTXBlau@Feb. 06 2003, 11:13 am

The only issue we have with the N-Gage right now is with its screen. The screen is well lit, but it's noticeably smaller than the GBA's screen, and it's taller than it is wide. This portrait format could well prove to be suitable for games such as Space Invaders and Puzzle Bubble--which have both been confirmed by Taito--but it felt a little restrictive when playing Tomb Raider, and it clearly wasn't considered a good option for Sonic N, as the game is played in something resembling a widescreen format, using only around half of the actual screen.

Actually, if you've tried playing puzzle bobble (bust a move) on a GBA, you know the game isn't as good on a handleld as on a console or arcade. It's harder to aim that bubble shooter in the right place since there is less screen and resolution to move around
 
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