Nokia's Cellular GBA - The N-Gage

An anonymous reader writes "Hold on to your Game Boys, folks! It appears that the Finland cell phone manufacturer, Nokia, will be throwing in its lot in the handheld gaming industry with its N-Gage. Not only is this critter capable of playing games, but other noticeable features include a cell phone, radio, and MP3 player. Game companies such as Sega, Taito, and Eidos have already expressed support for it."

Comments

3 Games announced?

[stratjakt]

And all from Sega. Puyo Puyo, Tennis and Sega Rally.

I cant find any specs, but this sounds like a cellular phone with a lame-o processor in it that will play very weak game-n-watch type stuff, like the T-Mobile, and not a serious competitor for GBA.

I'm assuming I cant find specs because they're thoroughly unimpressive.

I mean I might choose it over another cell-phone, but I doubt it will compete seriously with nintendo in the handheld gaming arena.

all-in-one technology

[minionman]

I dont understand why everyone is trying to jump on the all-in-one unit bandwagon. If I want a cell phone, I want a cell phone, not a bulky handheld that has 50 other functions and is 10 times the price of a standard cell phone. If I want something to play games on, Im going to choose something like a gameboy that has a large game base. I just dont think the mass markets are going to support and hold on to this type of all-in-one technology.

On the bright side, I guess these make cell phones less likely to be discarded - repair prices would probably be under the cost of a new phone unlike most standard cell phones today.

Re:all-in-one technology

[n1ywb]

What do all these devices have in common?

• handheld game system
• pocket pc/palm/etc
• MP3 player

Thats right, they all have a microprocessor, some buttons, and an LCD, and take batteries! Whats the real difference between an iPod and a pocket PC with a big microdrive? Not a lot.

And furthermore, what do all of THESE devices have in common?

• Cell phone
• GPS receiver
• Ham radio
• 2 way text pager
• FM radio
• Scanner
• CB radio

Thats right, they have ALL of the same traits as the aforementioned devices, with the addition of an RF DSP chip. Again, a lot of overlap

So whats my point? Sure you could carry one of each of these devices, but do you have enough pocket room? Or room on your belt? Do you want to fuck around with all those batteries and no convenient way to interface the devices to each other? You COULD merge all of these devices into one single SUPER DEVICE.

Sound crazy? It's not. A PocketPC already can do most of this stuff. MP3s (DiVx to boot), games, PIM, whatever other software you want. They've already squeezed cell phones into pocket pc's without adding any (significant) bulk. There's no reason why the same DSP chip that is used to modem the cellphone signal couldn't be used to also demodulate FM broadcast, GPS signals, etc, all just by running a different program. That is the beauty of DSP. Yeah you might need to switch in and out some final amplifier or mixer stages but thats easy enough and it can all be integrated into a single chip with only a few external components. SHit they already have ham radios that are smaller than some cellphones that operate on 50mhz, 144mhz, 440mhz, and 1.2ghz. If THAT isn't a wide frequency range then I don't know what is.

So my point is there is no TECHNICAL reason NOT to integrate the HELL out of devices. There are many practical reasons why integrated devices rule.

Will this ever happen? Of course not. Well then again, insert $10M and I'll make it. Does anyone want to fund my startup?

Re:It will fail.

[prell]

1) nokia will probably not make any games. perhaps they agree with you ;-) As far as their APIs for gaming.. that has yet to be seen. You may be right. I have had no problems with their phone software however (using a 3360 and an 8890).

2) the n-gage can offer wireless internet play to any game, if it wants to. If it does this, it really has a chance. I do read, though, that it only uses local bluetooth multiplay! come ON, this is Nokia. Give me nationwide multiplayer or give me nothing.

However, I am concerned about the screen. Its square. If it were 1987 maybe this would be proper competition

ps, dont make fun of people with mental disabilities.

Re:Likes and dislikes

[illusion_2K]

In fairness to Nokia, the fact that you can run MIDP apps on this device does provide a certain level of compatibility between this and Palms. So, for a java developer such as myself, once you write the game logic you just have to customize the interface to whatever device you're working with. Sure it's not 100%, but it's also not nothing.

The thing that does suck though is that MIDP is only availble by way of an 'add-on' to Palms. So you can't expect a palm device to have it (unless you load it yourself). But, bearing in mind that this is a very different device than a palm, Nokias approach seems kind of reasonable.

Re:I was lucky enough to have a play with one

[rcs1000]

OK; I'm not a technical expert, I'm a finance guy who like to play with tech, so don't expect perfection.

1. Buttons. I played for two minutes, the buttons seemed fine. Using the keypad to "do stuff" felt a little odd, but the directional controller felt just like the GBA.

2. The game I saw (called Pandamonium - or something like that) was not in real 3D, it was more of a side-scroller. (Indeed, it could probably be desribed as Super Mario-esque.) So, I can't comment on its 3D rendering capabilities.

3. Yes, the screen size is a little strange but it didn't feel any narrower than the original GB.