Nokia N-Gage, the little handheld that never was.
Entry posted by Austin
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Because of a thread that was posted about the N-Gage earlier today, it made me look for a writeup I did in January 2010.. I was pretty sure I posted it in my blog here, but it's nowhere to be found (the farthest my AA blog goes is February 2010). I can't find it anywhere in the forum either, although I know for certain I originally wrote it for this site. Fortunately, I was able to retrieve it from a thread I made at the 3DO Zero forums. With that, here's a brief history on the N-Gage, with a retrospective afterwards from someone who owned and used it as their primary device for several years. Some tweaks have been made to represent the current day (2011), despite it originally being written in 2010:
During October of 2003, Nokia was poised to take over the handheld gaming market with the launch of their N-Gage system. At the time, their only competition came in the form of Nintendo's Game Boy Advance line of units. The N-Gage was clearly the superior platform from a technical standpoint with its cell phone capabilities, MP3 and video playback options, internet functionality, bluetooth wireless multiplayer gaming and a 100+ megahertz CPU that was able to provide fully 3D games without much of a hitch. With the tech behind them, it naturally seemed like an exceptional time for Nokia to take a stab at the handheld videogame market. As we all have come to know however, Nokia's plan for domination didn't quite work out in their favor.
When the N-Gage launched, it carried a hefty $299 price tag. While that may have reasonable as a high-end cellular unit, reviews were lukewarm at best and the price point alienated anyone wanting to buy it solely as a portable gaming system, the market Nokia was specifically trying to target. The system's poor design choices also quickly spread like wildfire in the gaming world, with the most prominent being the misplacement of its speaker, requiring the user to talk in an odd manner. This fault became a phenomenon itself, known as "side-talking", with full-on websites created to ridicule the system and its faulty design. Another highly criticized design choice was placing the MMC slot underneath the system battery. This required the user to shut down their system, remove the back cover and battery in order to change the game.
Design problems aside, the N-Gage also had one of the most inconsistent launch lineups ever. Reviews were mixed, ranging from good to bad depending on the press, with nothing really nearing an "A" status. The PlayStation ports of Tomb Raider and Pandemonium were solid, for sure, but both lacked their original full motion video, and--even worse--their soundtracks, two aspects of these games that really gave them their edge (or in Pandemonium's case, charm). Super Monkey Ball was often the most well-received, but it was relatively short and had its own framerate issues. Thoughts on Sonic-N, a port of Sonic's first outing on the GBA, were also mixed, as well as Sega's Puyo Pop (Puyo Puyo). The rest of the titles in the initial batch were downright atrocious, and it showed in the press: Puzzle Bobble VS, a popular 2D puzzler of the past, shockingly ran at a handful of frames per second, and even Nokia's own Baseball game ran so poorly it was nearly unplayable. One game that may have possibly been a saving grace, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, wasn't released until a week after launch, at which point the system's popularity was very quickly waning. It was by far the most "complete" package available, featuring the soundtrack, smooth framerate, and 3D visuals as its Playstation counterpart.
For those that actually purchased a unit near launch and stuck with it, software releases came at a slow, painful trickle through the holidays. Many of these games shared similar qualities as the initial launch lineup and the reviews were also mixed overall. Ports of Game Boy Advance games, including Splinter Cell and Rayman 3, made up the better of the bunch, and EA brought over their popular sports games in a decent manner as well. Other strong franchises of the time that saw release on the N-Gage during this period--Red Faction, The Elder Scrolls, and Moto GP--were severely hindered by bugs, slow framerates and sluggish controls. The later especially was more of a tech demo than anything, and even Sega's port of Virtua Tennis around the same time, another game that should have translated well to the N-Gage, was another mess that was nearly impossible to play. None of these did much to sway customers to Nokia's expensive phone, and with only one or two titles released in the first few months of 2004, the N-Gage had been deemed a failure by the press at large.
With Nokia's handheld being all but dead, something interesting happened halfway through 2004. Seemingly out of nowhere, the vastly enhanced N-Gage QD became available. This new model featured an external, hot-swappable cartridge slot, a speaker on the front of the unit for "normal" talking, a sexy hardware redesign, and a lower, $200 price point. With the promise of new, quality titles, and with solid unit reviews this time around, things were certainly looking up for Nokia. However, the impending releases of the Nintendo DS and the Sony PlayStation portable loomed over the QD's head, and all the while gamers still had a difficult time finding above-average software. Its exclusives that hit the shelves later that year were often panned by the press and did little to push system sales, and even the multi-platform titles brought over to it were again found better represented on other systems. Bomberman, for instance, looked like it was developed as a Java or Symbian 60 game that was quickly slapped onto a N-Gage MMC--It couldn't hold a candle next to its counterparts released ten years prior. Ashen, a N-Gage exclusive that Nokia hyped to be a heavy-hitter--a fully-3D first person shooter in the vein of Quake--also received mild reviews and also did little to push sales. Even with an excellent hardware redesign available, the stream of average titles with no heavy-hitters in sight did little to entice others who simply wanted a gaming machine. It also wasn't enough to subdue the people who preferred to remain ignorant about the platform, still considering it a side-talking fiasco despite the design corrections. By the end of 2004, the N-Gage was dead in the water... again.
Despite failure seeming imminent, Nokia continued to support the system all the way through the beginning of 2006. Those that stuck by the handheld were able to experience the best games on the system during this period, and finally, a good reason to own one. During the holiday season of 2004, the N-Gage's "killer-app" had finally arrived in the form of "Pathway to Glory"--a deep, realistic turn-based strategy game that offered online multiplayer. Colin McRae Rally 2004 was also released, showing off the system's 3D capabilities with a fast framerate, smooth visuals, and all-around excellent gameplay. It even received solid reviews across the board. Requiem of Hell, a Diablo-esque hack 'n slash developed by a Korean studio, was an excellent take on the Diablo formula that unfortunately went mostly-unnoticed. Pocket Kingdom, a strategy-role-playing game by Sega, was another title to show that unique games can be had on the system. In gameplay terms, it can be best described as being along similar lines of the cult Saturn classic, "Dragon Force". Lastly, Asphalt: Urban GT was shown in excellent form on the N-Gage, with fast and furious gameplay. Despite not being as smooth as the DS version released around the same time, it was a blast to play and showed off what the N-Gage was capable of.
In 2005, the N-Gage would see several other excellent titles that it was in desperate need of: Pathway to Glory received a sequel, "Ikusa Islands"; The well-received Asphalt got a follow-up; Snakes, a remake of the classic computer and cell phone game, would be released as a free download for N-Gage users (To some--and by some, I mean me--it would be regarded as one of the greatest classic-remakes since Tempest 2000 graced the Jaguar); The Roots and the X-Men Legends games with their American-styled action-RPG gameplay; Mile High Pinball, a truly unique twist on the pinball formula with colorful graphics, fun, addictive gameplay mechanics and a well-done soundtrack; Glimmerati, another exclusive that meshed top-down, lap-based arcade and smooth 3D visuals with a unique story; The Atari Masterpieces Collection: Volume I, a collection of near-perfect Atari arcade classics with a few 2600 ports as unlockables for good measure; System Rush, a 3D futuristic racer with a smooth framerate and solid gameplay; High Seize, another strategy title created the Pathway to Glory developers; Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, that showed well-done 3D action games could be crafted on the system; The Rifts, a solid role-playing game based on the pen & paper game of the same name; and even "Catan", a board-game-esque title published by Capcom; Nokia even released an add-on for the QD that replaced the back battery cover, giving users the ability to plug in two games at one time.
In early 2006, Nokia decided to finally drop support for the N-Gage as gamers up to that point would know it. A handful of final games would be released, including the Atari Masterpieces Volume II, and a port of the PC game Civilization, among a few others. By this time the DS and the PlayStation Portable were both in full force, and the N-Gage died a quiet death. Since then, it's interesting to note that Nokia re-launched the N-Gage brand a game distribution platform for their line of N-series phones. Unfortunately, yet again, it was too little, too late, as Apple's iPhone had already been dominating the market with its cheap, quality games in its ever-popular AppStore. The N-Gage line would be put to rest for good at the end of 2010, with the on-demand service shutdown completely and its website removed around the same time.
To many, the N-Gage will be forever remembered as the flawed handheld that offered little outside of talking into a "taco". For me, it will always be remembered as my first cell phone, and the first that successfully doubled as a fully-fledged gaming machine.. one that simply had a rocky history. With some decent ports I still like to go back to and some outstanding exclusives that simply came a little too late in its lifecycle, the Nokia N-Gage is a solid handheld that is likely to forever be a truly misunderstood experiment in the large sea that is the history of gaming.
--austin
So, if you managed to make it this far, I'd like to say that what got me to do this write-up was re-discovering my N-Gage unit. I was one of the few that bought it on launch day, and I stuck with it until recently when I finally made the switch to the iPhone in 2009. While I love my iPhone as a general multimedia device, despite all the games I have on it, it just doesn't feel the same. I enjoyed playing console-style games with a d-pad an real buttons on my phone. With that in mind, I eventually brought the N-Gage back out to use it as a game machine. While it was considered a disaster, for those that owned it and stuck around with it, it was a solid gaming platform with a lot of unique capabilities at the time--Java apps could be downloaded, programs and games could be multi-tasked and closed at-will, and even Game Boy and Atari emulators could run at decent speeds, adding for a lot of capability in the device.
Another reason I wanted to post this is because I know there are a lot of collectors and curious gamers here. I thought I should point out some some tips for using the system for anyone curious in picking one up, and some thoughts for you collectors here:
For you curious gamers, you can actually boost performance in certain games (usually the 3D-heavy ones) by booting the system into "offline" mode. This essentially turns off the cell phone capabilities and frees up some resources. In certain games as well, turning off sound frees up resources, like on a PC. You may notice a small performance boost in these cases. With the original N-Gage, you can connect it directly to your PC via USB. If you buy a blank MMC card, you can install emulators and so forth. Standard home consoles don't work well like on a PSP, but if you stick with the Atari 2600, the original Game Boy, and light MAME roms, it works pretty well. The QD requires a bluetooth wireless adaptor on your PC to connect--there's no USB port on the device itself, making configuring PC connectivity a little more difficult (I've never been able to get mine to work properly, but apparently I'm just unlucky). Also, the QD doesn't play MP3s--not right out of the box, anyway. You can download an external Java program that will do it for you though (although there isn't much point these days, with iPods and iPhones out there). If you get a QD, you may run into the MMC expander. Like I said earlier, it replaces the battery cover and enables you to house two MMC games in the system at one time. Nokia only had these available via mail-order (at least here in the US), and since they no longer offer original N-Gage items anymore, they will most-likely be very difficult to come by (No, you cannot have mine. 
).
One other thing I wanted to note (that I don't think that even the gaming press has talked about in the past) is that there are little plastic holders that come bundled in each mini-DVD-esque N-Gage game casing. These can actually house four games, and can then be folded in half. Each case a N-Gage came comes in can house two of these when folded up, allowing you to carry eight games in one case. Also, three games can be held in the clip-tray portion on the right side of the case. This is very convenient if you want to bring a lot of games with you for a trip on the bus or at work, but don't want the bulky carrying cases of other portable platforms. Lastly, you can also change the casing of both systems if you want. There are cheap replacements in various colors on eBay. For the QD, you can also buy replacement rubber rings that wrap around the system, as with heavy use they may get loose or wear out.
For you collectors, I highly recommend keeping an eye out for N-Gage goods, particularly the stuff that was released in 2005 and onward. 2003 and most 2004 releases can be had on the cheap (as in $5 or $6 cheap). However, late '05 releases (and the two releases in '06) have been damn-near impossible to find. They also happen to be some of the best titles on the system. Putting two and two together, this usually equates out to something being pretty collectible down the road. The fact that many of them towards the end were only offered via mail order as well makes me think that Nokia only manufactured a few thousand copies of each, if that. So with that said.. Watch out for those!! I have also never recently seen the MMC expander on the web for sale. Units themselves don't seem to come up as often as you would think, either (Maybe they didn't really sell as many as Nokia claimed). They seem to go between $50 and $100, loose, I want to say at least partially because you can still pop in a sim card and use it as a phone.
Anyways, I hope this little (or big) write-up was interesting. I'm going to leave you with that, so.. thanks for reading.
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