Early next year, Nokia will release a mobile phone it says will deliver console-quality video games. The surprising announcement came at Nokia's annual Mobile Internet Conference.
The Nokia N-Gage, which will be released in February 2003, is based on the company's Series 60 software platform and the Symbian OS. The device will have a color screen and is the first in a series of planned "mobile game decks" from Nokia. Games for the N-Gage will be distributed on memory cards and will be available from both Nokia and third-party publishers. Nokia has also announced it would be collaborating with Sega to provide games for the device.
In addition to stand-alone gaming, the N-Gage will allow gamers to play across short-range Bluetooth connections as well as across long distances via a cellular network. Widespread use of cellular-based online gaming could be a boon to service providers who charge fees based on the amount of time spent online or the volume of data transferred.
While games of various kinds are often available on mobile phones, this marks the first attempt by a phone maker to expressly court the game player. With the N-Gage launch, Nokia has its sights firmly set on Nintendo's Game Boy Advance, which dominates the portable games market. The Game Boy Advance currently lacks any online gaming capabilities, and none have been announced thus far.
SOURCE: Game MarketWatch
www.gamemarketwatch.com
