Should Nokia help save Palladium Books?
(Please note: This editorial represents the personal opinions of its author. It does not necessarily represent the views of All About N-Gage or All About Symbian.)
Back in 2005
One of the original gen N-Gage's most acclaimed games was the first-party RPG Rifts: Promise Of Power, based on the cult pen-and-paper RPG Rifts.
N-Gage Rifts got good reviews and was well received by N-Gage fans, but by the time it came out in 2005 the gaming world's spotlight was elsewhere. Most games sites didn't bother covering N-Gage releases after its problematic launch in 2003, most games shops didn't stock the games any more, and most potential fans of the game probably never even knew it existed.
So, despite being an excellent game, N-Gage Rifts was "lost", like almost all original gen N-Gage titles.
Meanwhile, at Nokia...
Nokia is just about to go live with the Next Gen N-Gage platform, and starting in November 2007 the new generation of N-Gage games are going to be available for instant purchase and download on tens of millions of phones that have already been sold all over the world. The platform could possibly cover hundreds of millions of phones within a few years if sales continue at this pace. Even before it launches, the Next Gen N-Gage platform already has a userbase perhaps ten times bigger than the original gen N-Gage, and bigger than most games consoles.
At the same time, Nokia's general business is doing well, their market share has increased to 38% of global phone sales, and their profits are up too to record levels. They've announced Ovi, a general brand covering a portfolio of their new online services including satellite navigation maps, music download sales, and a gaming platform which is the Next Gen N-Gage. Nokia is clearly trying to diversify away from being just a manufacturer, and wants to also sell us content and services over the internet.
So, N-Gage is back, and it's more important to Nokia than ever as it's part of their drive towards becoming an online service company as well as a phone maker.
Meanwhile, at Palladium Books...
The creators, publishers and owners of the original paper Rifts RPG, a company called Palladium Books, is a well-respected part of the RPG community. Anyone who read Dragon Magazine in the early 90s would have regularly seen their stylish black-and-white adverts for some new game or add-on. They're a much-loved part of the RPG landscape.
Unfortunately they've also recently been the victim of dishonesty, which has cost them somewhere in the region of $1 million. The person responsible has been caught and dealt with, but the money has gone and there is no way to bring most of it back. The company made a very touching plea to their fans to help out, and the fans' enthusiastic purchases and donations have helped keep them alive, but (in Palladium's own words) the company isn't out of the woods yet.
Should Nokia help save Palladium Books?
According to Palladium Books, Nokia sank a lot of money into the 2005 N-Gage Rifts game. Kevin Siembieda, the founder and head of Palladium Books, said he had been treated well by Nokia, and that the deal with Nokia played no part in Palladium's problems. As far as one can tell from the outside, the two companies seem on good terms.
Would it be a good idea for Nokia (who are doing pretty well now) to step in and save the bacon of Palladium Books (who have run into a spot of trouble)?
One argument against this is that the N-Gage Rifts game flopped. But so did all other games released on the original gen N-Gage, especially in 2005. The platform itself was completely moribund by then, and even the best game in the world would have failed to become a hit. In short, N-Gage Rifts was never given a fair chance to prove itself. Most gamers didn't even know the game existed because at that point in time it was almost impossible to buy or even read about original gen N-Gage games.
Another argument is that it's a bad idea to help companies which are doing badly, on the grounds that they have to stand on their own two feet to be viable. But Palladium Books isn't doing badly, as a pure business they are apparently viable. The reason they're in trouble isn't due to business operations, but the actions of a dishonest employee who lost the company a vast sum of money. If that had never happened Palladium wouldn't need help.
A third argument is that Nokia would have nothing to gain from helping to save Palladium Books, as one is a phone maker and the other is a paper RPG publisher. But Nokia isn't just a phone maker any more. Now more than ever they're trying to establish themselves as a provider of online content, part of which includes establishing popular first party game franchises.
A fourth argument is that RPGs aren't popular with casual gamers. But RPGs have sold well on casual-oriented portable gaming platforms such the Nintendo DS, Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is one of the DS's biggest sellers at the moment. TibiaME is an online massively multiplayer online RPG accessed entirely through mobile phones (including the Next Gen N-Gage's S60 3rd Edition platform), and it has been running for four years now. RPGs can sell well to casual gamers and phone users, if they're designed to use the strengths of their platform, and if the platform itself has a large userbase.
Next Gen N-Gage needs games, and needs hooks for people to not just play its games but actively talk about them and spread the word. Palladium has spent years putting together rich, exciting game worlds and has gathered a very loyal following, as shown by the number of fans who have been supporting it in its current troubled times.
But more than this, the Next Gen N-Gage brand could use the help of something that money can't buy: respect.
Flashy expensive advertising campaigns and elaborate websites can only go so far, and generally don't engender a sense of affection or loyalty to a brand or company. Respect has to be won over time, through products and actions that cast the brand or company in a favourable light. Respect is better than advertising, it means people talk about you anyway, actively want to find out more information about you and your products, recommend your products to others, and (at its highest point) respect means that when you get into trouble your customers actually want to help you.
Palladium Books has something that the N-Gage brand desperately needs more of.
How Palladium Books could help N-Gage
One thing that might cast N-Gage in a favourable light is if the platform both helps to save Palladium Books, and gives some form of N-Gage Rifts a proper chance to shine on a platform that tens of millions of people already own.
If there's one thing that Palladium Books' products stand for, it's getting people to play together. Surely that's an ideal fit for the Next Gen N-Gage platform, with its always-on connectivity, friends lists and social gaming features?
