N-gage

CoasterKing · Post by **CoasterKing** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 10:34 am

Well despite no marketing at all, the N-gage had it's Global release today.

Did any of you rush out to buy one or are you considering getting one?

Ian Micheal · Post by **Ian Micheal** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 11:20 am

Not seen a thing on it at all today. Did you buy one ?

Lunchbox · Post by **Lunchbox** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 11:23 am

i've seen a few commercials on tv, but i'm not interested in getting one

finite · Post by **finite** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 12:03 pm

Saw the first commercial for it today, showing off Tomb Raider. Pity it looks exactly like the original Tomb Raider for PC which came out... how many years ago? Hardly an impressive launch title.

I don't think I could possibly be LESS interested in getting one.

Vlad Tepes · Post by **Vlad Tepes** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 12:15 pm

Let's see...$300 for the system, and $70 for a memory card, and the $40 for a game. Do I REALLY feel like paying $410+tax to play Tomb Raider? Na...I'll pass. Sure, it's a cell phone, but it uses T-Mobile, which sucks horribly in my area. It'll flop. I give it a year to die and 3-6 months for a price drop.

az_bont · Post by **az_bont** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 12:23 pm

You can buy it without a SIM card in the UK if you want to.

And I'm curious. How will it's "mobile Web browser" work? Will it require you to be using BlueTooth, will it connect using normal mobile phone dial-up (and at what cost?), and whether it will actually let me visit sites I want to visit, not just a few 'Gage-specific sites.

Rand Linden · Post by **Rand Linden** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 2:53 pm

We're currently porting DRG 3D to N-Gage -- well, technically to Symbian Series 60, so N-Gage support is part of that.

Rand.

az_bont · Post by **az_bont** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 2:54 pm

Is DRG 3D your Quake engine?

Orange_Ribbon · Post by **Orange_Ribbon** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 4:19 pm

couldn't find a dimmer star to hitch your wagon to?

Rand Linden · Post by **Rand Linden** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 4:50 pm

With many millions of ARM-based mobile phones out there, I'd hardly call it dim.

We're now cross-compatible with GBA, many (many many) cell phones and a ton of other portables.

As I wrote, N-gage support comes as part of the Series 60 core.

Rand.

Post by **|darc|** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 5:02 pm

My friend went all N-Gage crazy but I'm not getting one.... I don't have the cash. It WILL flop. The main generation of gamers just doesn't have the cash to shell out for it...

Rand Linden · Post by **Rand Linden** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 5:08 pm

I agree completely -- we certainly wouldn't target N-Gage as our primary platform -- especially considering that ATM, there aren't ANY (to speak of) out there!

Rand.

CoasterKing · Post by **CoasterKing** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 6:29 pm

Ian Micheal wrote:Not seen a thing on it at all today. Did you buy one ?

No. The games don't really appeal to me at the moment and the price is a little too high for my liking. I'm also thinking of buying a PS2 tomorrow so I'm keeping my cash for that.

ian · Post by **ian** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 7:55 pm

i'd rather get a nice phone and portabel games machine seperatly...like a nokia 7210 ..and sony psp

BlackAura · Post by **BlackAura** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 8:23 pm

Rand Linden wrote:I agree completely -- we certainly wouldn't target N-Gage as our primary platform -- especially considering that ATM, there aren't ANY (to speak of) out there!

Of course, if you're targetting systems that are fairly similar to the N-Gage, and if it wouldn't take that much additional effort (compared to the effort put in so far) to get it working on the N-Gage, why not? Someone will probably be interested in it. And if they could make one game with your engine, and get it running on so many platforms, it'd generate more interest in your engine.

Nice plan.

WhtCastle · Post by **WhtCastle** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 9:07 pm

I predict this "system" is going to fail horribly, not just for games, but as a phone as well. "Side-talking" is the most moronic thing I have ever seen.

compacho · Post by **compacho** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 9:43 pm

Why the hell did Nokia decide to release ports as their first games? Yeah, I know Nintendo did that too with the GBA, but that's Nintendo. They CAN do it and people will buy it. Nokia has to go all out if they want any piece of the market. And does anyone really want a new phone and a new number to go with it? And why must we sign up with T-mobile to the N-gage? Don't their commercials suck as much as the gamecube commercials? Why aen't there any shoulder buttons? Why a vertical screen? Does anyone besides me rather play those simple ass java games than the N-gage's beginning line-up? And why does N-Gage remind me of a modern gamegear? So many whys and so much time too. How bout sum 1 else figure out a "why".

Wagh · Post by **Wagh** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 9:46 pm

Vlad Tepes wrote:Let's see...$300 for the system, and $70 for a memory card, and the $40 for a game. Do I REALLY feel like paying $410+tax to play Tomb Raider? Na...I'll pass. Sure, it's a cell phone, but it uses T-Mobile, which sucks horribly in my area. It'll flop. I give it a year to die and 3-6 months for a price drop.

don't live near an eb? the local one has ngages for 100$ if you buy two games.. so 180$ which is a hella lot better tahan 380...

MKE · Post by **MKE** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 9:52 pm

WhtCastle wrote:I predict this "system" is going to fail horribly, not just for games, but as a phone as well. "Side-talking" is the most moronic thing I have ever seen.

i agree, the "system" will have a short life-span, but as for the side-talking, i dont know if that would be a big prob with hands free sets being as cheap as they are now. but if you dont have on, then yeah, you wont want to use it as a phone.

Lartrak · Post by **Lartrak** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 11:13 pm

It's gonna flop. The way games work is also stupid - you have to take this latch and battery cover off. And proprietary headphones - WTF? How moronic can you be? They use two plugs, one for each ear. Lame, very lame.

The d-pad sucks. The button layout sucks. The screen is almost exactly half as big as a GBA's. There are load times (admittedly brief). The launch titles are all unimpressive.

The idea is a somewhat solid one, but the execution is bad. Probably the only thing I thought was really cool was what you get when you buy a game - it comes with a little case (smaller then a credit card) that holds 4 of the tiniest game cards I have seen - they're smaller then CompactFlash or SmartMedia.

It also doesn't appear to be a good phone - awkward to hold. My manager at work got one with Tomb Raider (for free mind you), and everyone who has seen it is singularly unimpressed. For those wondering, in the entire St. Louis area, just one or two people reserved it in all the GameStops. Failure is predicted by the end of spring by some. The GameStop chain itself also expects it to fail.

Sums it up.