Strong N-Gage Launch Claimed, Figures Disagree

Khyl'Dran writes "According to Gamesindustry.biz, "The first official statement from Finnish mobile phone giant Nokia on the launch of its N-Gage game deck has claimed that the device is sold out at many retailers following a 'very positive' consumer response." However, 1UP have posted US sales figures which reveal "...less than 5,000 units of Nokia N-Gage hardware were sold in the United States in the system's first week of release", after reported sales of 500 units in the UK following launch, and 1UP argue a "...rough comparison [point] would be to the Game Boy Advance, which sold 540,000 units in its first week of availability in the United States."

Comments

Re:*shock!*

[gl4ss]

it's not totally crap.

granted it's not totally awesome handheld gaming system, but that's not all it is.

but it's a nice 'connectivity device', for staying on irc while you're on move, reading slashdot & etc and the occasional game. i know few people who have bought it, but none who have bought it because of it's games! the reason they have bought it is that it is tha CHEAPEST series60 phone(gb/gbc/c64/spectrumzx emulators, irc, opera & etc make up a lot of it's usability), it's a whole lot cheaper than 3650 and only lacks the camera in utility department(which isn't that vital) has more mem and is more fresh. also it's the cheapest phone that has a mmc slot so it is practical to haul few tens of mbytes of stuff with you(books&etc). anyways, the irc&instant messaging aspect is something of a sleeper still.. once the teens start utilising it instead of sms messages these newer phones will start to fly(granted, these are available on almost any j2me capable phone, but believe me, they're much more usable on series60 phones than on the simpler phones that lack multitasking & etc).

Reflections on the N-Gage

[henben]

"...less than 5,000 units of Nokia N-Gage hardware were sold in the United States in the system's first week of release", after reported sales of 500 units in the UK following launch

Flawed though the N-Gage is, these figures don't mean very much. In the UK, cellphones are subsidised by the telecoms companies - it's much cheaper to buy one as part of a monthly contract than to own the hardware outright. People who want an N-Gage will mostly be upgrading from existing contract phones, so damning on the basis of purchase figures is a bit hasty.

Not that I think the N-Gage is going to be successful - sounds like it's doomed by the portrait screen, awkward cartridge changing and lack of usefulness as a phone. But at 49 quid on some contracts, a lot of people will be tempted to get one as a games console and keep their SIM card in an old handset. (Can you play games and use the Bluetooth without a SIM?)

I love the idea of Bluetooth multiplayer. If Nokia have screwed it up this time, it's not going to be long before somebody gets it right.

Well now we know...

[Terminal Saint]

...just what Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf is up to. Looks like the ex-iraqi information minister is working for the nokia PR departemnt.