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Mame on the Nokia N-Gage
wraggster writes "The Nokia N-Gage has now joined the club of consoles for whom the excellent MAME (Multi Arcade Machine Emulator) was ported to. Staffan Ulfberg has ported EMame over to the N-Gage - the emulator supports a mass of games."
You guys bashing the N-Gage are missing the point. I have a Nokia Series 60 3650 phone. It's based on the same Symbian OS that the N-Gage uses. I can use this on my phone. The 3650 is very widely deployed in the US and Europe. This is a great thing not just for the N-Gage folks, but regular guys like me who happen to own one of the Series 60 phones.
I can't wait to try it. My phone has a 128mb MMC that can store a ton of games. Should be a lot of fun.
Did you miss the article? Thanks to this port of MAME, there are now many good games for N-Gage! :)
Besides, what games for a dinky little screen like the N-Gage's would anyone want other than Tetris? Well, maybe Pac-Man.
I find it amusing the 'screenshots' on this project page aren't even FROM an N-Gage.
a search on google for "windows mame" returns MAME32, a beautiful windows port of mame.
http://www.classicgaming.com/mame32/
It is the only tax-deductible gaming system.
Seriously... in European high-tax countries this means that the state gives a discount of 40-50% on the item (plus VAT back!).
Even grown men like to play games now and then. And the N-Gage is surprisingly snappy, not like playing Java games on other GSMs, which is slow and boring.
MAME on N-Gage is a great addition, Nokia should try to license these arcade games since many of their potential clients (men aged 30+) are probably more familiar with some of them than with the "real" games actually available on the thing.
Ceci n'est pas une signature
Actually it's not, I can tell you've never been near one for at least three reasons:
1. If you use it traditional phone style, you really don't have to hold it in the exagerated sidetalkin' style, it's fine held more discretely and a hell of a lot more comfortable in the hand.
2. It comes with a wired headset, which has a few uses, it's the antennae for the built in FM radio, it means you get to hear our MP3s in stereo, and you can use it for non taco-stylee phone calls.
3. Oh yeah, it's got Bluetooth too, and Bluetooth headsets are great, you keep the phone in your pocket and your hands are free for driving or whatever.
The only possible reason I can see for sidetalkin' with the N-Gage is that it does look pretty funny and maybe it's a good way for spotty teens to visually shout out "LOOK AT MY NEW TOY".
The NGage is an open system, so anyone can write games for it. That's why it costs so much*; Nokia has already got enough profit when you buy the device and they don't care if you never buy an official game. The hack simply means that cartrige games can be pirated and run on other Series 60 phones. It's always been the case that anyone can go out and write software for the NGage without paying Nokia a penny. (There's a special games SDK that comes with some games libraries or somesuch that costs money, but this won't use it)
*Actually, it's now available for free with a contract here in the UK, but the network is subsidising that, not Nokia.
In soviet russia stale jokes recycle you!
Actually it's not, I can tell you've never been near one for at least three reasons:
I have to disagree, it's still dead on arrival for one main reason: changing games.
Those three positives you mentioned (and bluetooth is a big one, in my opinion) don't outweigh the fact that to change games on an N-Gage, you have to do the following:
1) Turn the unit off (which means, turn your *phone* off).
2) Flip it over, and remove the battery cover & battery.
3) Take out the very tiny game chip, replace it with a new game.
4) Replace battery & battery cover.
5) Turn unit back on, wait for system to load, go to the right menu, and then start your game.
Compare this to a GBA, where the steps are turning it off, removing the game cart, putting in a new one, and turning it back on. Especially compare this to a GBA if you're on a train, bus, streetcar, or any other form of public transit. Try easily changing a game on the N-Gage while crammed into a seat on a subway.
This flaw in their design absolutely kills any of the positives of the system, and makes it, at least to me and many other people, D.O.A. Not to mention that I personally really don't want to turn off my phone when I swap games.
Actually, Nokia is promoting the use of MAME on its N-Gage site.
-Russ
Me