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N-Gage QD - Worth It At $99?

Posted by simoniker on from the don't-fear-the-extended-service-contract dept.

Thanks to GameSpot for its article discussing the possible pricing for Nokia's enhanced N-Gage QD mobile phone/game deck combo, which "will arrive in the Western Hemisphere on June 29, where units will sell for a list price of $199." Although "Reports from Europe and Asia--by way of CNN--indicate that foreign mobile phone networks are heavily subsidizing the QD in exchange for extended service contracts", the U.S. price is not yet known - the article points out: "When the QD was initially unveiled, Nokia publicly stated that it expected a carrier-subsidized $99 price point to be common." What price would you consider picking up an N-Gage QD for?

2 of 69 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Not me, but why does everyone else hate them? by Alkaiser · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Here's the deal. I actually considered getting one when they were first announced. Not for gaming, but because they were making a cell phone that would go international.

    Then I found out it didn't work in Japan, or most of Asia, so it became useless to me as a cell phone.

    On the gaming end of things, when you insult the owners of 99% of the portables by saying their handheld of choice is "for 13 year olds" and "embarassing to pull out in public" you go from "upstart with potential", to "pointy haired boss with no clue" rather quickly.

    The controls on the thing suck, and the fact that they're trying to keep it a tiny cell phone, without making it a flip phone means that they don't a good game from a hole in the ground. Currently, there isn't a way to play a video game that is as uncomfortable as playing one on an NGage. The QD tried to rectify this but still failed.

    That's why people hate this thing.

    --
    Netjak.com independent reviews of domestic & import video ga
  2. Re:The remove-battery-for-game-switching was a mis by Lynxara · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm not sure a lack of experience is an excuse for a design flaw that severe. If Nokia lacked experience, why didn't they have an R&D team study the design of competing handhelds to get a feel for what gamers would expect? It smacks of a rushed product, and most consumers will feel insulted if offered an obviously rushed product. Why shouldn't gamers feel contempt and distrust for Nokia at this point?

    The intensity of the gamer-culture backlash is unwarranted, of course, but gamer-culture has never really had a reputation for being rational or mature.