E3 2005: Nokia reveals the future of the N-Gage

News - "Bleak", in a word..

In the few short years of its life their N-Gage has promised a lot while never being able to keep to its word of offering irresistible gaming on the go. After the debacle that was the 'taco', Nokia tried to claw back last year with the QD but, as many feared, it was too little too late. And while the N-Gage is still loved by many retro gamers for its excellence as a portable emulation platform it has failed to deliver the kind of profits to ensure that Nokia continues to support the line. And while there's nothing explicit in today's press release, it certainly seems that Nokia has given up on the N-Gage idea, even if they are far from ready to give up on mobile gaming as a concept.

The increased availability and power of smartphones means that Nokia can move the valuable experience they have gained about offering mobile and consistent gaming across mobile networks away from specialised devices and onto the kind of handsets that may appeal to all kinds of consumers. To support this decision, Nokia will be releasing improved smartphones that will offer improved 3D graphics and a smooth service for acquiring new games and content. The first Nokia smartphones to support the new Nokia mobile gaming solution are expected to be in the market during the first half of 2006. Additional information on the title launch portfolio is expected to be available in September 2005. The goal is to have a broad spectrum of games to suit all tastes - from casual 'quick fix' gaming to more in-depth multi-user games.

"Over the past two years, we've seen the mobile gaming market grow by leaps and bounds both in terms of market interest and customer expectations," said Gerard Wiener, Director and General Manager, Games, Nokia. "With the N-Gage platform, we've been able to deliver a superior gaming experience to mobile gamers, but only on a small range of devices. Now we want to expand rich, connected mobile gaming across the Nokia smartphone range. In 2005, we expect to sell 25 million smartphones and we see the global smartphone market exceeding 250 million devices in 2008. We can continue with our N-Gage offering while helping to drive the adoption of mobile connected gaming at a broader level."

Wiener continues, "Due in part to the advent of the smartphone and the rapid development of other enabling technologies, the industry is now at a turning point where mobile game quality will increase exponentially, providing incredible experiences for consumers and tremendous opportunities for operators, publishers and developers. The N-Gage has led this movement to rich mobile games and the next logical step is for us to provide a simple solution based on the N-Gage experience that will deliver a rich, consistent, mobile games offering to millions of smartphones."

While Nokia are tight-lipped about whether they will continue to support the N-Gage it now seem certain that the forlorn little phone will be yet another dead-end on the evolutionary tree of mobile gaming.