One of the greatest gaming magazines ever published had a special feature called "The Games That Time Forgot" all about cancelled Sinclair ZX Spectrum titles. We've decided to do something similar for N-Gage.
Here are some N-Gage titles which were announced or rumoured but never saw the light of day, some of them for the original gen N-Gage and others for the next gen platform.
Before we start though, one thing should be emphasised: most games are cancelled for very good reasons, such as quality or technical problems. Even if we don't fully know the reasons behind some of these cancellations, it's unlikely that any company would be eager to throw away the money it's invested in developing a game.
This article is meant entirely as a nostalgic and historical piece, and in general AAN believes in looking forward to the future rather than dwelling on the past.
Cancelled Next Generation N-Gage Platform Games
Habbo Islands
How official was it?
It actually had its own rather splendid trailer made for it at the E3 2006 games fair, and was on display at Nokia's booth there, but for some reason it never appeared.
What would it have been like?
It would have used the familiar Lego-like isometric graphics from the popular Habbo Hotel online community but as a single player game, in a similar style to Sims: Bustin' Out. There would have been some kind of method for communicating with members of the Habbo community too.
A shame it wasn't released?
Yes, a real shame. This could have been a very interesting Sims/Animal Crossing style game with very general appeal, exactly the kind of title that Nokia seems to want on the new N-Gage platform.
Pocket Aces: Texas Hold 'Em
How official was it?
It was shown as part of a next gen N-Gage trailer at Nokia's E3 2006 booth.
What would it have been like?
Essentially a straightforward poker simulator, but with 3D animated opponents. You could customise your own appearance too, presumably for the benefit of other people in an online multiplayer mode. The money you won in the game could be used to customise your character further.
A shame it wasn't released?
Probably not. From the screenshots it looks like just another poker game, and N-Gage already has one released (World Series Of Poker) and another on the way (DChoc Cafe Hold Em Poker).
Shadow-Born
How official was it?
It was shown as part of a next gen N-Gage trailer at Nokia's E3 2006 booth.
What would it have been like?
This is perhaps the most intriguing "lost" N-Gage game, it was intended for the next gen platform and would have taken the gameplay outside the game itself, using your phone's calendar, messaging application, to-do list etc. The main game itself would have been an isometric 3D RPG with a gothic feel, where you would have to train weird creatures. The game engine appeared to be the same as the one used for Nokia's Rifts RPG.
A shame it wasn't released?
Yes. It sounds like a very original game indeed, and it would have made use of its phone platform fully instead of pretending to be a console title. Rifts received excellent reviews and it would have been nice to see more done with the same game engine. It would also have given N-Gage something very distinctive that simply couldn't be done on any other format.
Cancelled First Generation N-Gage Games
Alien Front
How official was it?
Alien Front was officially announced by Nokia as an upcoming title on the original gen N-Gage, and apparently it was developed to quite an advanced stage before being cancelled.
What would it have been like?
A 3D shoot-em-up in the style of the old arcade classic Battlezone. You can read AAN's preview of the game from 2004 by clicking here, and at least one review copy was sent out to a Finnish gaming magazine before the cancellation, which gave it one star out of five and said it was extremely boring.
A shame it wasn't released?
No. From the sound of things it was a pretty awful single-player conversion of game that originally relied on multiplayer.
Driv3r (aka Driver 3)
How official was it?
Driv3r was announced for the original N-Gage in 2004, but it never appeared. No one knows why it was cancelled, but it may have had something to do with the critical roasting that the main Driv3r games had received on home consoles. Driver was no longer a popular franchise by the time the N-Gage version was due to come out.
What would it have been like?
Presumably an arcade driving simulator somewhat similar to the Asphalt games.
A shame it wasn't released?
Probably not. The original gen N-Gage already had lots of driving sims covering all major styles (Glimmerati, Colin McRae, Asphalt), one more wouldn't have made that much difference.
Elder Scrolls: Shadowkey 2
How official was it?
Some of the developers on the official Elder Scrolls forums did mention that they had agreed with Nokia to make a sequel to the N-Gage-exclusive role playing game "Elder Scrolls: Shadowkey". Nothing was ever heard about it again though, and no official announcements were made.
What would it have been like?
We're not sure as we don't know how much work was done on the game, but presumably it would have followed the same first person 3D graphical style of the original, with a fantasy world to explore and quests to complete.
A shame it wasn't released?
Yes. The original game received generally good reviews but there were complaints about the slowness of the graphics. The developers talked in quite some detail about how the sequel would be much smoother and faster.
Joe
How official was it?
Not official at all. Nokia never said anything about this title, and the only ones to claim it would appear on N-Gage were the developers Humansoft. They said Joe would also be released on the PlayStation Portable, but the game failed to appear on either format.
What would it have been like?
It was supposed to be a 3D combat game. There were two screenshots released by Humansoft, but both of them look suspiciously like pre-rendered 3D rather than in-game shots. You can see the screenshots in our preview of the game.
A shame it wasn't released?
No, because we don't really know anything about this game, we're not even sure if it even existed.
Leisure Suit Larry: Pocket Party
How official was it?
LSL:PP was announced by Nokia for the original gen N-Gage in 2004, and some screenshots were later leaked, but the actual game was eventually taken off the release schedule without any explanation.
What would it have been like?
Various mini-games involving rather obscene graphics. You can read AAN's original preview here and there's a page about it on the developer's website (warning, the screenshots are extremely immature).
A shame it wasn't released?
No, definitely not. The screenshots show a game that was so crude and charmless that it would have probably done serious harm to N-Gage's image. The original Leisure Suit Larry titles of the 1980s were amusing and intelligent adventures which parodied various film and TV genres, but since Vivendi took over the franchise it degenerated into "gross out" comedy aimed at the lowest common denominator.
Pocket Kingdom 2
How official was it?
Some of Nokia's N-Gage executives said in web chats that they were in ongoing negotiations with Sega for a sequel to the extremely successful Pocket Kingdom. We never heard anything more about it though, and the franchise hasn't appeared on any other platform either, so presumably the negotiations came to nothing.
What would it have been like?
If it was anything like the original PK, it would have had a weird mixture of fantasy and sci-fi creatures, upgrades, materials and weapons, with a Japanese anime look and Western "leet speak" dialogue. Hopefully they would have fixed the awful menu system that made the original game such a pain to play sometimes.
A shame it wasn't released?
Yes, a big shame. As well as being a very popular game with N-Gagers, PK also did more than anything else to improve the original gen N-Gage's reputation with the wider gaming community. Even the notoriously fickle Penny Arcade website started saying good things about N-Gage thanks to Pocket Kingdom.
Sega Rally Championship
How official was it?
Well, Nokia did actually release this game on the original gen N-Gage so you can't get more official than that, but at the last minute they chose to make it an Asia-only release.
What would it have been like?
A 3D rally driving simulator.
AAN got hold of a copy and reviewed it, click here to read more. It's not a pretty sight, and it's very clear why Nokia decided to bury this game.
A shame it wasn't released?
No shame at all, Nokia made the right decision.
Spirits
How official was it?
Nokia announced this as an upcoming game for the original gen N-Gage, and issued screenshots too. It then mysteriously disappeared, never to be mentioned again. It was supposed to be developed by Jadestone, who are currently developing Dirk Dagger for the next gen platform.
What would it have been like?
A sort of supernatural Pokemon, involving collectable monster cards and battles between them. You can read AAN's preview of Spirits here.
A shame it wasn't released?
Perhaps. The Pokemon-style gameplay could have appealed to new kinds of audiences, and this might have made a very interesting release on the next gen platform too.
Taito Memories
How official was it?
Nokia announced it as one of the original N-Gage's launch titles, and even distributed mock Taito Memories boxes to retailers as placeholders for the real thing. However, the game was never released.
What would it have been like?
It would have been an extreme example of dead horse flogging. There would have been three games in the compilation, all of which have seen better days: Space Invaders, Bubble Bobble and Qix. You can see screenshots of the game in AAN's preview.
A shame it wasn't released?
No. These games have already been released and re-released for twenty years, they're not really worth buying again, especially if there are only three of them.
Virtua Cop
How official was it?
Virtua Cop was announce by Nokia for the original gen N-Gage, and it remained on the upcoming games list for a very long time. When the game was finished, Nokia decided not to release it, apparently due to its low quality. It seems that practically all of Sega's games for the original gen N-Gage were rather poor, with the honourable exception of Pocket Kingdom.
What would it have been like?
A conversion of the popular arcade game, the camera would move along a prearranged route through a 3D environment and you would have to steer the cursor to shoot the baddies as they appear. You can read AAN's original preview for the game here.
A shame it wasn't released?
Probably not, this seems to have been yet another N-Gage title botched by Sega, and bad games don't do any games systems any good.