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N-Gage Debuts New Bundle, Vows Action Against Crackers

Posted by simoniker on from the is-it-enticing-yet? dept.

Thanks to GameSpot for pointing out that Nokia's N-Gage 'mobile game deck' has effectively descended in price further, since the company "is letting consumers pick three game titles to bundle with the N-Gage for $299, provided they order them at EBGames and GameStop", and "those two stores are offering their own instant rebate of $100", making the N-Gage $199 with 3 games. In other N-Gage news, following the cracking of N-Gage software, a Nokia spokesman indicated they would "aggressively pursue" the perpetrators, as well as those spreading the crack online, and "...noted that future N-Gage releases are more likely to take advantage of platform-specific features that will make cracked games either impossible to play on other Series 60 devices, or at least play with a very poor user experience."

35 comments

  1. Gamestop by gedanken · · Score: 2, Insightful

    At the local gamestop there is a huge stack of n-gages for $199 without rebates. This was last week. I don't think it is very popular with retailers :).

  2. Platform Specific Feature by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nokia's feature to get people to stop playing games on other systems is the same one that they use to stop people playing it on their own... crappy games.

    Hey, whatever works!

  3. Perpetrators? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "...they would 'aggressively pursue' the perpetrators..."

    I'd be more inclined to call them progressors.

  4. ngage games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "...noted that future N-Gage releases are more likely to take advantage of platform-specific features that will make cracked games either impossible to play on other Series 60 devices, or at least play with a very poor user experience."

    As opposed to the user experience on the actual N-Gage system?

  5. N-Gage fails from lack of hype. by gumbysworld · · Score: 2, Insightful

    N-Gage fails from lack of hype.

    It already has failed with little or no info told about it. Looks like another game boy clone with little to no games. But did you know you can

    mp3 player
    surf the net
    and its a phone

    Now that sound a tad better when you see the $300 price tag for what looks to be nothing but another GB. They should put out some better commercial fast if they want to sell them.

    People pay $300 for a reg phone that can do most of that but without the cool color games.

    But I think they failed big time by not making sure people know what all it can do. Besides play 2-3 games.

    I have seen so many commercials for it and not one word that it does anything but play 2-3 games. Most of them are really vauge. Its so strange like they think it looks so cool people will hunt down info about it.

    It seams as if they assume looks alone are gonna sell it. Looks like a big ass GB with to many dam buttons. Whats all them funky buttons for. How gay.

    Oh wait, its a phone, it a mp3 play, it can surf the web.
    Oh that makes sense. to bad N-Gage never told anyone that.

    G

    1. Re:N-Gage fails from lack of hype. by Jeff+Reed · · Score: 1

      Too bad it's also a crappy phone and you'll likely have to pay through the roof to browse the web on it's tiny screen.

      They hyped it plenty, it just isn't a good product.

    2. Re:N-Gage fails from lack of hype. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They hyped this game out the ass, man. It just couldn't live up to it.

      The problem they have is that, while it is also a phone, they priced it as a phone, but targetted the gamer crowd. Two things that don't match monetarily. Gamers are used to paying ~$100 for a portable system, and cell phoners(?) are used to getting better products.

    3. Re:N-Gage fails from lack of hype. by Babbster · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Everybody knows what the thing's capabilities are, and certainly anyone who actually considers buying one finds them out very quickly - at the very least, it's instantly identifiable as a cell phone.

      The one feature that intrigued me was the wireless multiplayer but with barely average games and the high pricetag, it just can't entice me...And considering I enjoy spending money on video gaming, don't have a cellular phone and don't have a portable MP3 player, this SHOULD be a device that sucks me in. It hasn't, and I'm thinkin' it won't...

    4. Re:N-Gage fails from lack of hype. by gumbysworld · · Score: 1, Interesting

      " Everybody knows what the thing's capabilities are,"

      I had no idea until my free monthly STUFF mag showed up and it had a blurb about what it could do.

      Nokia even has a nice big color add for it in the mag but no mention of what it can do. Every commercial I have seen just show it and the game splinter cell and thats it. No one knows what this sucker can do unless they look for it.

      That is a big big mistake that will hurt them in the end. Screw show casing the game splinter cell and bring up the hype/specs.

      It seams they think the funky looks and vauge commercials are enough to make [drive] people into diging up info about it. I never would have looked or known what it can do, if it wasn't for the small blurb in STUFF.

      I don't think anyone is gonna look up anything until they give them a better reason. Splinter Cell as the key markting point in all the adds, is not enough to make anyone do anything but go ho hum and ignore the N-Gage.

      G

    5. Re:N-Gage fails from lack of hype. by Guppy06 · · Score: 1

      "mp3 player
      surf the net
      and its a phone

      Now that sound a tad better when you see the $300 price tag"

      When I get my "technology assurance" check next month, I can get two out of three for $50. Now, I admit that $300 isn't all that bad for getting all three of those, except I'm really not interested in changing cellular service providers. Mine has yet to do anything to piss me off, and I'm not interested in a new provider having another 6 to 8 weeks before my opt-out request has any effect.

      If they expand the phone's functionality and/or the price comes down to $100, I'll think about it. But until then, unless Hell freezes over and the device gets some decent games, I'm really not interested.

    6. Re:N-Gage fails from lack of hype. by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 1

      N-Gage fails because it sucks.

      It tries to be everything to everybody and does none of them well. Between my cellphone and my PDA (which together didn't cost as much as an N-Gage) I can do everything it does only better. ...and I don't have to take the batteries out to switch games.

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
    7. Re:N-Gage fails from lack of hype. by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      what phone and pda are those, come with bluetooth or equivalent?

      btw.. if it's a subscription based phone.. count the real cost please.

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    8. Re:N-Gage fails from lack of hype. by MMaestro · · Score: 2, Insightful
      'Now that sound a tad better when you see the $300 price tag for what looks to be nothing but another GB.'

      Thats not the point. The argument we [gamers] are trying to make is that is sucks as a gaming system ITSELF. You can strip the mp3 player, the net surfing capabilities, and the phone capabilies and we still wouldn't like it! You can price it at $75 USD (cheaper than the GBA:SP) and we STILL wouldn't like it!! They can PAY US to simply own one and we STILL WOULDN'T LIKE IT!!!

    9. Re:N-Gage fails from lack of hype. by DarkZero · · Score: 2, Insightful

      N-Gage fails from lack of hype.

      It already has failed with little or no info told about it. Looks like another game boy clone with little to no games. But did you know you can

      mp3 player
      surf the net
      and its a phone

      Now that sound a tad better when you see the $300 price tag for what looks to be nothing but another GB. They should put out some better commercial fast if they want to sell them.

      People pay $300 for a reg phone that can do most of that but without the cool color games.

      Everyone already knows about all of this and it's certainly been pointed out in Nokia's larger print ads. The problem is that thanks to every video game magazine, TV show, web board, and chat room in North America, most gamers also know about all of its crippling problems. Taking the battery out just to swap games is annoying, the vertical screen ruins Sonic N and Pandemonium because sidescrollers don't work well on vertical screens, the small screen ruins Tomb Raider because you can't see very much around you (such as the secret passageways or exits that are hidden somewhere in the room), the screen's colors ruin Puyo Pop because you can't really differentiate between colors like light blue and light purple, "Sidetalkin'" looks stupid and is very uncomfortable, the buttons are poorly made and laid out, and those design flaws still cost $100 more than the GBA and much more than the average cellphone if you buy the N-Gage from EB or GameStop, because most people buy their phones with a fat discount provided by their cellphone service.

      In short, the problem with the N-Gage is that most gamers comparison shop when they're buying a game system, especially a very expensive niche system like this one, and the N-Gage just doesn't hold up to scrutiny. Almost every gaming magazine and review site will tell you to buy something -- ANYTHING -- else.

    10. Re:N-Gage fails from lack of hype. by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 1

      OK, I forgot about Bluetooth. It's a Toshiba e335 and a Samsung N400. Does what I need, and is quite flexible. And I've got the software development kits for both.

      Don't you pay a subscription for the N-Gage?

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
  6. makes you wonder by 33degrees · · Score: 1

    How did this thing ever get off the drawing board?

  7. Sounds like a disaster for Nokia by ReyTFox · · Score: 1

    Clearly they're going to be losing a lot of money on this package deal; and being heavy-handed with relatively innocent hackers has, AFAIK, rarely done any good.

    Upshot: Nokia stock falls following reports of huge losses on the N-Gage, Nintendo continues its handheld monopoly at least into the PSP's release. Not a bad thing in my opinion, since I've always liked what Nintendo does.

  8. Good Emulation by Andy_R · · Score: 3, Funny

    a very poor user experience

    sounds about right to me

    --
    A pizza of radius z and thickness a has a volume of pi z z a
  9. Seems to be selling okay in Oz by Kris_J · · Score: 1
    I've not seen any retailers drop prices or offer bundles here -- possibly because we're GSM friendly so getting connected it painless. One EB's said it was selling well and another had run out of two of the games I wanted when I bought six last night -- five of which I shoe-horned onto my 64MB MMC along with all my other data.

    I think perhaps it is only the US where the N-Gage has failed so completely.

    1. Re:Seems to be selling okay in Oz by metalmario · · Score: 1

      Groovy! So now we know who bought the third N-Gage in OZ!

    2. Re:Seems to be selling okay in Oz by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      well.. considering how poor the user experience with any phone seems to be in states it doesn't wonder me too much that ngage does so piss poorly there in public view(that's available to the net, that's not the full story ever though).

      though, 199$ for a series60 phone would be a frekkin good deal(now don't bitch that you can get phone x for free with plan y, you're getting ripped off _always_ in such deals unless you unlock the phone and get another provider with no lock in phone deal) and easy way to get and stay connected while on the move. irc and im is cheaper than sms too, even teens are figuring it out now, and quite frankly series60 allows the best interface for staying on irc from your phone, with working multitasking. they only need some sims equivalent and they're there with the teen girls(they also like puzzle bobble which they already have).

      however the game makers should raise the bar quite much because quite frankly there will be free alternatives quite soon for their offerings that are better than the commercial games(heck, puzzle bobble for example could be done on s60 with java without too much trouble by almost anyone).

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
  10. nokia and the lame n-gage by horcy · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Yeah it was cracked and people can play the game on other phones too now. And now nokia decided to follow those crackers to the end of the world to find them. costing a shit load of money. they better spend that money on user friendlyness of the the thing itself (battery has to be taken out first before you can switch games) and better games. Then they have the issue of exploding batteries. I would suggest to leave those crackers alone and spend that money on other FAR more important things. I wouldnt worry too much about those 2 people that play those very bad games now lol. They'll stop playing those game soon any way.

    --
    Check my site: http://pixel.pagina.nl
    1. Re:nokia and the lame n-gage by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      they're just staying so(that they'll go to the end of the world).

      like valve & hl2.

      of course they say they'll do anything to catch them.

      series60 isn't a bad phone system though(and ngage is still the cheapest series60 device). however i do think that it's a bit stupid for them to not officially support the games on all series60 devices as it's very unlikely for anyone who owns another series60 phone with mmc slot to buy the ngage(owners of 3660, 3650, 6600...)

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    2. Re:nokia and the lame n-gage by scrytch · · Score: 2, Insightful

      > Then they have the issue of exploding batteries

      Nokia does not have an issue with exploding batteries. All cell phones have issues with exploding cheap-ass third party batteries. Lithium Ion batteries are volatile suckers if you don't have the proper circuitry in them.

      Nokia has issues with designing a crappy handheld game system for their first try, then when they get called on it, rather than admit honest failure and trying again, they act like a cornered animal. Too bad, I really like the phones (mostly because they have no antenna to snag or flipout to break off), but I'm not sure how committed they'll be to making those continue to work well now -- they might just decide their customers whine too much to be worth listening to.

      --
      I've finally had it: until slashdot gets article moderation, I am not coming back.
    3. Re:nokia and the lame n-gage by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Register commented that there were additionally several reports on first-party Nokia batteries exploding as well.

  11. new copy protection? by Neuticle · · Score: 1

    "...[The spokesman] noted that future N-Gage releases are more likely to take advantage of platform-specific features ..."

    Ha ha ha, FUTURE releases! That's a good one. He he he! I laughed so hard I think I peed a little.

    Seriously, even if a publisher had something nearly finished, releasing it for the n-gage would probably bring the company more PR damage than profit.
    If you're still interested in the n-gage, check out some totaly awesome pictures at www.sidetalkin.com

    --
    "Cheeze it!" - Bender
  12. question by s33l3t · · Score: 0

    if someone calls you while your playing a game, does it automatically pause or will you fall to yer death attempting to beat a boss at the end of a level. i would be one pissed off person if someone called me right as i was about bout to beat a game.

  13. Forget N-Gage, here's something better! by Stormwatch · · Score: 1

    Try a portable console that doesn't suck:

    [ http://www.tapwave.com/ ]

    --
    Circumcision is child abuse.
  14. When in a hole, stop digging! by Andy_R · · Score: 1

    Hey Nokia, instead of annoying customers who bought other series 60 devices by deliberatley breaking compatibility, why not try to recoup some of your losses on the N-gage debacle by selling the games to them?

    --
    A pizza of radius z and thickness a has a volume of pi z z a
  15. Still a ripoff by Spleener12 · · Score: 1
    ...is letting consumers pick three game titles to bundle with the N-Gage...

    That would only work if there were three games worth buying for the damned thing. Or will they let you pick three games from any system? Then it'd only be worth it if they let you pick Steel Batallion (Costs $200 due to specialized controller.) Otherwise you're still wasting your money.

    or at least play with a very poor user experience.

    They don't do that already?

  16. Lack of reatiler interest by Aerion · · Score: 1

    Yesterday I was at a Gamestop, and I saw a demo N-Gage machine. I put my GBA into sleep mode so I could go make fun of the N-Gage. I tried to turn it on and play a game or do something, but the machine wasn't working.

    The guy at the counter said it hadn't worked for a couple weeks, and he knew what was wrong but there was really no point in fixing it. We had a good laugh.

    1. Re:Lack of reatiler interest by Firehawke · · Score: 1

      Funny, that's the same thing I've seen myself. I've been curious about the N-Gage in the same way most people are curious about a fatal car/train/plane/etc wreck, but every time I see a demo unit in a store-- and, I might add, I've checked about half to three quarters of the malls in the area of where I live-- the demo unit is DEAD. I have YET to see a functioning demo unit. Even on the launch day, I could not find a single working demo unit.

      Doesn't say much about the hardware reliability, does it?

      I'm definitely not impressed.

  17. Maybe... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    if they didn't show a bunch of preppy morons playing their game deck in their advertisments, maybe people would have bought it.

    The best adds were the ones that showed hot girls and handome guys in some swanky club setting all of them playing n-gage. What a crock of shit.

  18. No copy protection... by mabhatter654 · · Score: 1

    They don't need copy protection! They have an extremely unique combination of hardware...I believe they are one of the few cell phones or pdas to actually use ATI's imageon 3D pda processor. All they have to do is change the API to remove some of the 3D abstraction, just write to hardware...better games from developers, and the neat side effect of simply not working on other systems.

    1. Re:No copy protection... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nokia's public developer site states that the system uses pure software-rendering. They do claim the system has features not present in other S60 systems, but they're under NDA.