When we last left the N-Gage, the QD had started to gain a modicum of respect, the games were gathering critical acclaim (Pocket Kingdom, lest we forget, was described as the 'Sleeper Hit' by notoriously opinionated Penny Arcade), but it was winding down.
Actually that’s the wrong way to describe it. This was more a mix of hibernation to wait while the mobile gaming world caught up with Nokia’s innovation, and also a chance to reflect on the feedback of close to three million users, and countless focus groups, to find out what could make it better.
Emerging from the chrysalis is the N-Gage platform, a reference design that will run over multiple phones, provide a huge user base, and be tightly focused on the advantages a mobile platform can deliver to the end-user. While they might have been quiet, Nokia have been rather busy, almost running in stealth mode.
I caught up with Simon Etchells, the Head of Platform Marketing, in downtown San Francisco. Safely wrapped up in the arms of Nokia USA, I asked him what lessons had been learned from the N-Gage Classic and QD devices. "That the concept was good, but our execution was poor." There’s also a hint of realizing just how much influence parts of the gaming world have.
A Bit of Device History
"All our studies showed that the general public raised their eyebrows at the idea of what would be come known as side-talking on the original N-Gage game deck, but that wouldn’t stop them using it. So we carried on. And then, a web site thought that it just looked wrong." And the internet caught the meme, and the original device became a running joke for many.
No matter that it was one of the most powerful S60 devices at the time, and one of the cheapest as well, it failed to gain traction. The expected redesign in the QD followed a short six months after the initial launch.
While it cured the major design flaws (side talking and hot swappable gaming cards) the perception from the general public was the device was a bit too "toy-like. It wasn’t something they could be proud of when out and about".
Into the Fallow Years
So Nokia took everything that it had learned, and decided to rework the concept. What we now know as the "N-Gage Platform" was the result. Not only the ability to run over a number of smartphones, but a unified approach to online gaming, discovery, purchase and community. This integration of service, across the entire life of a user, or even a game title, is impressive.
But in that time, upwards of 50 million Nseries devices have been sold, and over 100 million S60 devices in total. Many of these will be part of the N-Gage platform; even before the platform launches, that already leapfrogs Nokia over the combined sales of the PSP, and in the same region as the Nintendo DS and DS Lite family. That’s not to be sneezed at. Not every S60 device will run the platform though. Some N devices (such as the N91) aren’t in the initial list, and according to Etchells "there are a number of architectural reasons the Eseries devices won’t be running the platform". Neither is a specific "handheld like smartphone design" in the immediate plans.
What is being stressed is the idea that the smartphone is always with you, and if you want to play a game, then the "N-Gage platform makes it as easy as possible to try a game one day, purchase it over the air the next day, and then share your experiences online with friends and family (and then beat them in a deathmatch)".
The American Question
One of the largest countries on the planet both for gamers and web sites, is America. And let’s be honest here, Nokia’s profile in America does not match up with the rest of the world, and this is a tough gaming market to break. Part of me wonders if the strategy of using regular smartphones (as opposed to gaming smartphones) is to avoid a direct comparision to powerhouses like the Sony PSP.
I also don’t think Nokia are going to make the same mistakes as last time. The concept of the N-Gage platform has been seeded over the last year, and there’s a big push on journalist education before even beginning to consider user education. The blogger outreach program for the Nseries devices is surely going to be heavily involved in promoting the platform when it arrives in mid-November.
The launch lineup: The N95 8GB, N81, N81 8GB, N93i, N95, N93 and N73
The Launch
Due at some point in November, in time for the Christmas market, one thing that I find interesting is that, because it is almost completely electronic, there is much less lead time required on the titles – coding can happen right up to the day before, if required. Nokia now don’t have to deal with a supply chain to get plastic in stores, and in part I think that’s why a lower cost of 6 to 10 euros per title is the price range. They’re also being cagey about the exact number of launch titles, but Etchells did confirm it "would be in double digits." (about 23 titles have been confirmed so far, with four other N-Gage publishers yet to announce their titles).
The hardest part for Nokia, as with any software on S60, is getting the N-Gage client installed on the millions of compatible phones already out there. Over time, firmware updates and being bundled with new devices (such as the N81) will see more penetration, but there’s going to need to be a pig push in November and December – the lure of free demo levels of each title, on popular devices like the N95 could well be the biggest and most useful carrot. Add in even a 5% conversion rate for one title, and the new N-Gage platform becomes a very nice income stream for the Finnish company.
Summary
Since the announcement of the N-Gage platform at the Go:Play event, there’s been an upswing of interest from many of the third party game developers that are familiar in the console world, in addition to those already signed up to the platform. When the professionals are beating a path to your door, you must be doing something right.
As it stands, with maybe eight weeks until launch, Nokia are bringing everything to the boil nicely. The hardware is in place. The software developers are in place (and have already been coding since last year, or are coding now, or are eager to start). All that remains is to see if the third side of the triangle – the end users – are ready (this time) to join in Nokia’s vision of a connected, made for mobile gaming platform.
We’ll find out soon enough.
Ewan Spence, All About N-Gage
Nokia's headquarters in Espoo, Finland