Slashdot Mirror
Nokia's N-Gage Officially Launches
Thanks to Reuters for their article summarizing the "mixed response" to today's launch of Nokia's N-Gage 'mobile game deck'/phone hybrid. According to the piece, "The Finnish firm said it aims to sell between six and nine million units between now and the end of 2004 as it seeks to break the grip on a market dominated by Nintendo's GameBoy", but many are less convinced, with CNN Money suggesting "N-Gage might sound great on paper, but it's a disaster in execution", an earlier San Jose Mercury News piece criticizing the N-Gage as "...a hopeless muddle - lacking in quality games, too confusing in regards to service plans, too expensive and crippled by a series of stunningly bad design decisions", and GameSpy advocating a "wait and see" approach, although they also have the inevitable contrarian view.
So far I've got " a slice of pizza sticking out of your head", "a taco surgically grafted to your head", and "like talking into a banana or Frisbee."
Any others?
You can see a picture of someone using the phone here.
I'm looking for a HEPA media filter for my TV. I'm alergic to reality shows.
Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
And another one gone, and another one gone
Another one bites the dust
Hey, I'm gonna get you too
Another one bites the dust
See subject.
They've covered the N-Gage in detail, making fun of it since it was announced, and this pretty much sums their position:
"I really wish that these media outlets would stop pretending the N-Gage is a real game system."
(that quote was in response to this article about the worldwide N-Gage launch and the 'parties' at different stores)
They also have this insightful comic.
-Trillian
I did. It sounded neat. It looked neat. It seemed like it was going be a lot of neat toys in one little package.
Instead, it's a covert plot to make gamers look like jackasses if they dare use this as a phone in public places or teach them there's better ways to spend $30 on a flimsy little memory card you're more likely to lose than figure out how to insert it in.
Jesus, this isn't Nokia - I think my dad might be behind this.
The Finnish firm said it aims to sell between six and nine million units
OK, who is the wise guy that inserted "millions" into their press release?
... they have missed the most important feature: Changing game
...
Changing a game in a GameBoy is a matter of changing cartridge. Sounds easy and natural, doesn't it ?
Changing game on a N-Gage a means removing a cover, opening the phone and changing some internal component. I think you even need a screwdriver to do this.
People have been complaining about this from the start and Nokia still doesn't seem to care. Good work
For Pete's sake, GameSpy's been pumping this as the Second Coming for a while now. They even have a section dedicated to the N-Gage--putting it on the same level as PCs and the various consoles!
That's the first article from them that I've heard that questions the feasibility of the N-Gage. I was beginning to think that Nokia offered them some lucrative package in return for pimping their product.
(Don't get me wrong--I like GameSpy. I just wanted to speak out against the injustice.)
This is the real signature
(Beats those shadows on the cave wall, don't it?)
... and crashes seconds after lift off.
While there's lots of problems with the Nnanang that have been beaten over repeatedly, none of them would matter so much if the processing/video capability were truly a break from that of the Game Boy Advance. If I could play modern-era games on a portable system with a reasonable screen/controller, that would be something.
Even if I did have to use a soldering iron to change games.
Who's giving me this? Snoy! Sony promises PS2 level power (and an analog stick, and a magnetic monopole) in the upcoming PSP. And that's the only way the GBA will be superseded - by a machine with compellingly more gaming power.
Let's not stir that bag of worms...
The apparent design flaws are, for the most part, inexcusable. God knows what posessed Nokia to use a vertical screen - I can't recall seeing any games, with the exception of arcade games, run on a vertically-aligned screen. Having to hold the phone's narrow edge to your head to talk is reason enough to ignore the phone function. Beyond that, that orientation means finger prints galore on the screen. And having to take the battery out to change games...that was just a horrible idea.
Nokia is also missing quality games. While the games they've remade or ported are good ones, I haven't heard anything about N-Gage games beyond the launch titles.
The N-Gage has nothing going for it and will probably fail very early on. Better luck next time, Nokia.
Goo goo g'joob.
GamersHell has a review of the N-Gage as well, but it's a pretty obvious shill. It reads like an advertisement, and they don't even review the gaming aspect of it, saying that it will be published in a forthcoming addition to the advert^H^H^H^H^H^Harticle.
"Mod, mod, mod...and another troll bites the dust."
I saw the TV ad for this thing last night. I thought it was an anti drug commercial or something. I kept expecting the text to say that he accidentally killed someone because of whatever drug he was on.
Some of you are forgetting who we're talking about here. This is a company that's got the money and technical resources to burn on this initial step into the gaming market.
They're going to shower developers with hardware, software, and cash bonuses to bring truly revolutionary games to their platform.
They're going to snap up all kinds of free talent to put together daring and innovative first-party games.
Their integrated online gaming is second-to-none, with the kind of features that Playstation2 and GameCube players only dream of.
And they've got a terribly impressive hardware platform, on which they're probably already building the next generation.
That first step made, they'll crush the competition with the momentum they're gaining every passing week, and then we'll see Sony weeping over poor sales of the Playstation3 and Nintendo having a going-out-of-business sale where they auction off Donkey Kong to the highest bidder.
Yes, just wait. Microsoft and the Xbox cannot be stopped. THEY ARE THE FUTURE OF...
What's that? Nokia, huh? A phone? YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE BATTERY OFF TO CHANGE GAMES?
Sorry, everyone. Wrong thread. Yeah, N-Gage is doomed.
Curmudgeon Gamer: Not happy
I am so getting one just to sit on a shelf and sell 20 years from now. I am sure very few people here in the states will actually buy one (~100,000 units) so it will become an instant collectors item.
The reality is that I am waiting for the PSP. The N-Gage could be cool if they fix the list of problems.
Maybe after these things die out I'll buy one to place next to my Atari Lynx and Turbo Express.
To make matters worse, Gamerankings shows that the games for N-Gage are simply disastrous. Who would want to buy a $300 console when the games suck so much?
N-Gage! Warp Factor 10!
It can't be done Captain! It's too lame!
This one is going to make the Atari Lynx look like a success.
That a so totally flawed idea can become a reality is astounding.
This article at the register has an interesting field trip with the N-Gage.
Hands-on: Nokia's N-Gage
IMntbHO....
I don't know about you all, but I don't want wireless gameplay in a portable. never have, never will.
When I play (gameboy SP) I am just killing a few minutes here and there, I don't plan on getting hooked up and fragging anybody.
I have though about this with regard to the GBA-SP and decided that the only good games on it are RPGs. Want to know why?
Because other game types like shooters or platformers require bigger screens and better graphics.
I know, I know, there are good non-rpg games on the SP, but of the people I know who play with these, they almost ONLY play RPGs. Indeed it becomes physically painful to hold and stare at a gameboy screen for a game like sonic or castlevania. RPGs at least afford you the opportunity to move and or look around.
Who knows, I might freak out if I see one in person and decide I must have one, but I sincerely doubt it. If I haven't bought a GP32 yet, I am most certainly not getting one of these...
The real discussion here is not to N-Gage or not to N-Gage, it is to TAPWAVE or wait for PSP.....anybody?
I am a bit surprised Sony didn't post some prototype shot of the psp just to take the steam (if it has any) out of the N-Gage launch. Maybe tomorrow...
SELL YOUR NOKIA STOCK NOW...
Sony probably didn't post a prototype because they didn't feel threatened by it at all.
Some people say Sony doesn't really know gaming... but they sure know it a whole hell of a lot better than Nokia does.
It's like sex, except I'm having it!
So Nokia's making model trains now? Is it going to be like the old sport's illustrated shoe phone, except it will be the Nokia train phone?
Good games follow good hardware. In a few years, someone will say "Nnannag failed because of poor game support". They'll be making the same mistake - the correct thing to say will be "Nobody made good games for the Nnnanag because it was a horrible console released at the wrong time. Thus nobody bought it.".
The PS2 survived an early dearth of good games because it was good hardware released at the right time. The Dreamcast wasn't bad hardware, but it wasn't good enough for its time - thus we see mediocre game support and poor sales.
Similarly, Game Gear and Lynx were both "not enough hardware" to beat the incumbent. The Game Gear failed despite game support that was really quite good early on.
If the Nnannang was great hardware, it would currently be getting great reviews, selling lots, and it would get great games. It isn't, so it won't (barring a miracle).
Let's not stir that bag of worms...
"The Finnish firm said it aims to sell between six and nine million units between now and the end of 2004 as it seeks to break the grip on a market dominated by Nintendo's GameBoy"
NOKIA
Special Guest Star
Dr. Evil as CEO
"Derp de derp."
Haven't seen any official launch sales figures for the ngage yet, but I was just at my local Electronics Boutique and I overheard the manager talking on the phone to someone or other... they had a huge launch party last night from 9pm to 2am or something, with all sorts of prizes and what-not... The first 100 customers to buy an ngage got 5 free games...
total sales yesterday: 25.
We've come a long way from buying PS2's on eBay for $1000.
ngage is going down faster than a drunk prom queen.
Wow, Penny Arcade is saying the exact same thing everyone and their uncle has been saying since E3! I MUST LINK TO THE COMEDY GENIUS (FOR THE 100,000TH TIME)!!!!!!!!!
Going up against Nintendo with this is like Trying to gut a bear with a Choco-Taco. Say "Hello" to the Atari Lynx Jr., ladies and gentlemen.
I have an AfterBurner-ed GBA - and I just went through Zelda and Yoshi's Island. Great games. Even though I botched the AB, it really is a great console - and I appreciate the 15 hour battery life (especially on long flights).
Still, I think the PSP could do very well if its hardware is solid. Its success will also depend on what Nintendo does, as any future GB is going to be big news as well. It'll be interesting to see their strategies going into next round.
I wonder if they could build a handheld around GameCube sized mini-discs....
Let's not stir that bag of worms...
I think Nokia is overlooking a BIG market for portables... the children, or rather, the parents who buy the stuff for the children. How many parents are gonna get their kids a mobile phone?
"But Dad, it's a game console!"
"Uh, yeah, but so's that one. And it's $200 cheaper, and it has some good games, and you won't break it while changing games."
"But it's a phone too!"
"Are you gonna pay for the 200-minute plan? Oh, I forgot, you're ten. You're getting a GBA. Shut up and play Pokemon Fuschia. That's what all your friends are playing anyway. And what do you need a cell phone for?"
Maybe the N-Gage will sell in big cities and among technophiles, but I don't think it's gonna fly among the Wal-mart crowd.
My stupid web site
...There's only one thing that really bugs me about the N-Gage, and that's the screen size.
I could excuse poor design choices like the battery compartment thing, and even the poor placement of the phone hardware, but honestly, the screen is what, 1.25" diagonal?
That and the level of promotion they're running in retail outlets. I've had multiple EB employees tell me "No, the N-Gage acutally has a bigger screen than the GBA," and "You don't really have to remove the battery cover to change games." Both statements were immediately followed by "Would you like to reserve one? If you don't, we probably won't be able to get one for you."
I realize that EB usually gives employees some level of compensation for pre-sales, but they're pushing to the point of overbearing.
Happiness is relative, Based upon the way we live.
Looks like the good games don't seem to follow the hardware
Yes they do. The PS2 has significantly more good games than the GameCube/XBox, according to your list. Of the 3, it was the one that had the right hardware at the right time. So it got more good games. If you delete first-party-titles (Nintendo), purchased exclusives (MS), and titles released for all consoles, then the numbers would be even more clear.
The XBox and GameCube are both good hardware, but released at the wrong time (ie. too late - the PS2 had too much lead, and the others couldn't distinguish themselves significantly).
There's a lot of strategy in timing. For example, the next round of portables will be interesing. When will Nintendo release the next GameBoy? When the PSP? The timing is as important as the hardware. Remember the Genesis/SNES fight? In this round of consoles, the PS2 won the timing fight handily (and it's hardware had other benefits too).
The Dreamcast had a couple problems. Despite the rather good hardware it had (which still wasn't PS2 level and needed to be), it didn't sell itself well enough on hardware merits (and yes, advertising is important). It also had a large problem which is external to what we've talked about so far - Sega had developed a horrible reputation in the hardware market (32X, Sega CD, Saturn...) that hurt DC sales.
Let's not stir that bag of worms...
"and GameSpy advocating a "wait and see" approach, although they also have the inevitable contrarian view."
What? They don't have a Top 25 Reasons Not to Get an N-Gage page yet?
I played today Super Monkey Ball and Tomb Raider... SMB isn't all evil, even if the field of view is too tight and controlling the ball is sometimes quite difficult, TR has quite massive control problems, so I can say it has bdeen ported with a good degree of fidelity...
I live in Switzerland where it retails for 99 francs (~70$) by signing up a new contract, so if I were to get a new cell phone I suppose I would possibly give N-Gage a chance, it still a cell phone after all, while keeping the GBA for the serious gaming stuffs.
I've been looking at the coverage of the N-Gage, and while it's obviously going to fail to gain any signigicant market share, will struggle to attract developers and doesn't actually have a 1st-party development team to compensate like Nintendo does with the GC... what was my point again? Anyway, I need a new phone. Well, need is a strong word. Want a new phone. Okay, I admit, I want to be able to use Firestarter as a ringtone. That there's a Sonic game available for it is a nice bonus.
I just wish it didn't look quite so stupid if you use it without a headset.
"There's no going back."
exactlly... nokia is going to lose money either way... might as well go forward with it.
MARIJUANA, SHROOMS, X: ONLINE?! - E
Has anybody noticed that the Neo Geo Pocket Color has "relaunched". Head on down to EB and ask them, you can get a new system with like 5 great games for about 50 bucks or a pack of 4 for about 30. And that's all you need as far as handheld gaming goes.
I support the way of talking into the device. It will urge people to use their cell-phones less. Peer to peer interaction is best when there aren't electronics involved.
Way to make a single thought
Look it's a joke about my sig IN MY SIG! LOL!
...might have had a chance if it had a little fancier hardware. Rudimentary hardware 3d would have been a good start - at least they could have made a reasonable THPS4 instead of the isometric style one they appear to have as a flagship game.
As it stands, it's not going to deliver compellingly more than a GBA in terms of game functionality. And at $300 (the price of a GBA and about 8 games) it's going to need to do something compellingly (besides non-starters like its media features).
Ever met someone with a GamePark32? It's great too, I'm told. Really. But it'll never really show up on the market radar, and will never attract wide developer support. Like Tapwave and the Nnnannnagn, it's too little improvement too late in the cycle.
Let's not stir that bag of worms...
This is where I was going to make a tasteless remark about the N-Gage and the Challenger explosion, yet I just can't bring myself to do it.
To sum up (paraphrasing) the atmosphere about it at EB (the only gaming store in the city):
'The N-Gage is coming in early, but we won't sell it before the street date because we'd get sued. We won't sell it after the street date either though, because then we'd get lynched.'
'The marketing and games for the N-Gage are right here, just so you know.'
'Yeah, in case anyone wants to buy one.'
*both laugh*
(Customer) 'What the heck is that thing?'
'That's the Nokia N-Gage. It's a game system, and a cell phone and- screw it, I don't care either.'
In short: No one knows, and no one cares. The local EB has a quota to fill: 24. Think about this. The only thing it has going for it is that you can play against other people. Except that even EB's district office only expects to sell one to every two thousand people. The store's expectations are different, however:
'Man, I can't believe we have to sell 24 N-Gages. We're not going to sell a single one.'
'That's not true, we'll sell one eventually.'
In other words, the (unnamed) employees know that it's not going to happen, and don't honestly care. I played with one (not the games, just the batteryless machine) at EB, and it was neat, and might make for a good 2D game system - but NOT a 3D system, and NOT a cellphone, and NOT a notebook, and NOT an MP3 player, and NOT for $450.
--Dan
...misses the single funniest disaster in this phone. Nokia are trying to promote just about every single feature on this phone above its ability to make phone calls, but mp3 playing is only just below game playing.
Anyone care to guess how much memory it has to store mp3s in? I'll give you a clue, its smaller than an iPod's 20Gb.
Try 3Mb. Yep, a whole song's worth. What is the effing point of that?
"I Know You Are But What Am I?"
Says who? Romero J.
Dont forget this dev is onboard the good ship N-Gage. No doubt he'll be trying to make people "his bitch".
The only thing that is strangly missing from the N-Gage travesty is Minter. Surely somewhere during R+D a protype crossed his hairy palms.
I work in an EB, and we figure we'll sell a couple, because there are always people out there who want to have one of each game system, and have more money than brains.
Beyond that, our expectations are nil. We got a phone call last night asking about an N-Gage release party, and immediately assumed it was a prank call.
But an issue that seems to not be addressed much is, what's the point of having your cellphone be your handheld? It seems like other combos - namely PDAs, music portables (I realize the N-Gage has a MP3 player but it doesn't sound like a great one), Pocket GPS, mini emailing device...
Your telephone becomes useless for anything else when you're using it. And it's use is sometimes mission critical. Therefore it would seem to me that what I want from a wireless phone is that #1 it's as small as is functionally useful and #2 that I can rely on its battery. Making it a handheld seems to go against both those principles.
If I went looking for a combo, I think I'd leave the telephone right out of the picture.
It Is the Nature of Information to Transgress Artificial Boundaries
I too work at an EB, about once every two or three months to keep the discount and free games.
We had a goal of a few dozen. We got two preorders... the highest in the district...
As near as I can tell, the cell phone feature (and Internet, and WAP, and...) only work with Cingular, AT&T, and T-Mobile. I have two cell phones (one personal, one work), and neither are through any of those providers.
There's Sprint and Verizon (at least), and a number of local cell carriers that haven't been bought out yet (Cricket, First Cellular, etc.) Those people are even more screwed than the rest of the N-Gage buyers...
I can't find any official mention of how hard it is to set up the cell phone features -- while I expect it's about as easy as "call your phone company, give 'em the new ESN, wait five minutes," I can only wonder.
If you're plugging your device as a cell phone, you should make sure it's compatible with damn near everyone. Omitting the mom'n'pop carriers (First Cellular, etc.) is excusable; omitting Sprint and Verizon isn't.
I was at EB the other day, and I saw the most disturbing peripheral for the GBA SP. It was a device that plugged into the cartridge slot, and allowed you to plug *3* GBA carts into it, with a hardswitch so you could select which game you wanted to play without having to swap cartridges. Cost? $10.
If there's a market for that, then the N-Gage is most certainly doomed.