New Nseries N-Gage will probably be at E3

11 replies · 6,206 views · Started 12 May 2005

krisse 12 May 2005, 18:28

We heard rumours about it for some time. All About N-Gage has now heard from several sources at Nokia that a new phone which will belong to the recently unveiled Nseries will be putting in an appearance on the N-Gage stand at the E3 Games Expo in Los Angeles next week.

We don't have any details, but it's been implied that this will be a totally new addition to the N Series rather than one of the existing models. The new model is possibly already close to the production stage as one source referred to using it as their personal phone. Assuming they keep to the same schedule as the other Nseries models, it could be in the shops by this Autumn.

What remains to be seen is whether this will be a repackaged current generation N-Gage, a next generation N-Gage 2, or something in-between such as a current gen N-Gage with the ability to buy games online (and store them on a hard disk drive?) instead of using gamecards.

If it uses a conventional vertical phone layout, it could also be a particular boon to N-Gage as a whole by offering a choice for people who want a phone that can be operated with one hand. After all, think how often you've seen people texting while carrying a bag in their other hand, or even just answering it with one hand. It would remove the last barrier to getting an N-Gage for many people, as it really would have all the functionality of a normal Symbian smartphone with the added bonus of advanced N-Gage games on top.

Of course if this is a vertical-layout N-Gage, Nokia would be reluctant to price it lower than other Symbian phones, otherwise most people would buy it purely for the smartphone features and never buy a game. It would effectively be a luxury model with the QD remaining the standard model, which might be no bad thing as there's been a constant tension between creating a feature-packed phone and a low-priced games system. This way technophiles can get a luxury N-Gage, while those who just want a gaming phone can get a QD, and everyone is happy.

A vertical layout sounds difficult to use in games, but it's interesting to note that the N Series N90 phone has a small joystick built into its side. If the N-Gage N Series phone has a similar stick it would allow someone to comfortably operate the keypad while simultaneously selecting a direction, which is exactly what the horizontal orientation of the N-Gage was designed to do.

zainman 12 May 2005, 22:51

can't wait for another N-series phone to be out, do you think it'll be able to compete with the PSP?

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krisse 13 May 2005, 05:25

zainman wrote:can't wait for another N-series phone to be out, do you think it'll be able to compete with the PSP?

I've a feeling this N series phone will just be a current generation N-Gage, and it's not really meant to compete with the PSP because it's a phone, not a console. People need their phones with them all the time so it has to be small and light, whereas handheld consoles are only needed occasionally.

It's perfectly possible that someone would buy a PSP and an N-Gage as their phone.

Comparing an N-Gage and a PSP is like comparing a scooter and a car, they're meant to do slightly different things even if there is some overlap. If you say a scooter is too small compared to a car, you're missing the point of what a scooter is meant to be: something compact to get you round a crowded city.

However the head of N-Gage, Gerard Wiener, did imply that the N-Gage 2 (I don't think the N Series N-gage will be N-gage 2) would be as powerful as the PSP.

lakeywhite 14 May 2005, 01:32

No the N series phones are the N70, N90 etc. Multi media phones that are on the Nokia website, one is an mp3 player with hard disk, another is mainly a video camera and I cannot remember the other one.
They are not N-Gage type phones.

lakeywhite 14 May 2005, 01:34

Sorry just read the original post properly, my mistake, I am off to get some sleep now, obviously too tired 😃

badger 14 May 2005, 11:54

If there is an new N-Gage launched at E3 the chances are that the platform will be backwards compatible with the original N-Gage....They (nokia) have demo booths to showcase some of the new games for the current machine. It would be pointless to show a new device and also new games which are cannot be run on said device....

krisse 14 May 2005, 12:33

badger wrote:If there is an new N-Gage launched at E3 the chances are that the platform will be backwards compatible with the original N-Gage....They (nokia) have demo booths to showcase some of the new games for the current machine. It would be pointless to show a new device and also new games which are cannot be run on said device....

Just to make it clear, there are two types of new N-gage device:

1. New models of current gen N-Gage devices which would use current gen N-Gage games. It's possible Nokia will one day make all their new Symbian Series 60 smartphones N-Gage compatible. I think the Nseries N-Gage will be one of these, a luxury current gen N-Gage.

2. Next gen N-Gage 2 devices, possibly based on the Nokia 7710, possibly 3G. Nokia hasn't decided on which N-gage 2 prototype to go with yet, they have several to choose from. I doubt whether we'll see an N-Gage 2 at E3.

badger 14 May 2005, 12:49

the head of N-Gage, Gerard Wiener, did imply that the N-Gage 2 (I don't think the N Series N-gage will be N-gage 2) would be as powerful as the PSP

Do you have a link?

krisse 15 May 2005, 06:45

badger wrote:Do you have a link?

Here you go:

Gerard Wiener webchat on N-Gage.com

It's quite a long chat, search for "psp" to find the relevant phrases.

Here's one:

"pyrrhus: Yes - we have new devices in R&D as we speak. It is interesting to note however, that the performance and chipsets have been increasing in power and versatility exponentially, so where we thought that maybe one or two devices in Nokia's portfolio could match PSP in terms or performance - innovation is happening so quickly that it could be that many match PSP by 2007"

He's keeping his cards very close to his chest, he talks in vague terms about "many devices" and "by 2007" instead of "in 2007". But that was his response to a direct question about N-gage 2, so clearly in his mind there's some connection with "many devices" to N-gage 2.

badger 15 May 2005, 17:25

2007 is a very long way off..... Technology moves very very fast....

OK, yet another device on the same lines as original ngage.....

What is the nseries all about?

Its about convergence with top quality materials & high end multimedia features, Nokia could quite easily release a supercharged QD with bells and whistles but this would still not be a real nseries device.....They would have to produce a completely new device for that....Sales are still not what they have been expecting for QD.....There is no point in Nokia releasing a lamb in sheep�s clothing....The nseries is to protected and cherised for a poor selling device.

A new device at E3 would also be very dangerous, Nokia always like to be one everyone else is looking at....announcing a device at E3 would not allow them to do this. Unless they do have a next gen ngage ready to show....That would be a different story all together, especially if the next gen version of arena was on show as well....(They would get a lot of help from the publicity of xbox360 and the new live!, people would make comparisons, that is a very good thing)

krisse 15 May 2005, 19:26

badger wrote:2007 is a very long way off..... Technology moves very very fast....

He didn't say "in 2007", he said "by 2007". That means it could be released any time before them.

Technology does move fast, that's why the PSP might not be quite as impressive in 2 years time as it is now. Sony may be caught out, somewhat.

OK, yet another device on the same lines as original ngage.....

I think people who see it as a dedicated games system are missing the point of what Nokia wants to do.

At the moment mobile games are a HUGE business worth billions. Are they high tech? No, the vast majority of mobile games are primitive Java concoctions which would look more at home on a Game Boy Color.

N-Gage games are a huge leap up from Java games in both graphics and gameplay, so if they managed to get mass market phones to be N-Gage compatible that could become a big market exactly like Java is now.

They use the dedicated N-Gage to build up a catalogue of N-Gage games, then use those games to sell mass market phones just like Java games. At the same time they move on to a dedicated N-Gage 2 to build up a new catalogue of games for future mass market phones.

What is the nseries all about?

It's about making really whizz-bang phones that will sell very poorly because of their high prices but will showcase technology that will make its way into mass market phones.

Take the music phone the N91, there's no real need to put such a high quality camera into it along with 3G etc, it's pushing the price up hugely. If Nokia really want to kill the iPod they need to sell a stripped down version that ordinary people can actually afford to buy, and I'm sure they'll do this at some point. But the N91 gets people to notice a hard disk music phone and makes it desirable.

Nseries is a bit like a fashion show or a concept car, it's not really meant to be that mass market or practical, but bits of them will find their way into phones that are.

They would have to produce a completely new device for that....

You said Nseries is about having the best of everything. Well, can you name any mobile phone games that are better than N-gage ones? As far as mobile phone games go, N-gage is top of the range.

Yes, there are separate things like the PSP with better games, but I could just as easily say there are much better separate cameras, much better separate iPods, much better separate camcorders.

Separates are ALWAYS superior technologically, and it's unfair for you to compare N-gage to PSP while not comparing Nseries to separate cameras, iPods or camdorders.

Nseries is meant to be the best that you can get IN A PHONE. N-gage games, whatever you think of them, are definitely the best you can get on any phone.

Sales are still not what they have been expecting for QD.....

1.6 million or so isn't bad. They've sold 100,000 a month solidly and that was before the recent price cut.

They're far better than what they were for the original, something like two or three times better.

I personally think people are put off by buying a separate gaming phone, they'd rather have high quality games on a "normal" smartphone. The entire basis of the Symbian operating system that this site is devoted to is that you can use it with one hand. N-gage was the first Symbian phone to break that rule, so that must have done some damage to its credibility as an everyday phone.

If there was something that looked more like the 6600 but played N-gage games, I think it'd be far more popular than N-gage. Maybe even N-gage models, like "6600n".

A new device at E3 would also be very dangerous, Nokia always like to be one everyone else is looking at....announcing a device at E3 would not allow them to do this.

We don't know what they're going to announce at E3 for sure, but it's probably something along these lines:

-a new QD

-a more normal smartphone compatible with n-gage

-downloadable sales for certain n-gage games

Unless they do have a next gen ngage ready to show....

That's what I think is happening, use current gen N-gage to sell current gen smartphones which are going mass market, and at the same time move on to N-gage 2 to start building up the next generation of games, which will sell the next generation of smartphones when they go mass market.

I think people have to stop seeing N-gage as a console and start seeing it as a games franchise for Nokia smartphones, just like Java or Symbian games. After all, there is no real N-gage hardware, just a repackaged Nokia smartphone, so why not open the standard up?

We know people are buying Nokia smartphones in large numbers, so if you quietly made them N-gage compatible with downloadable games you could piggy-back your way to a huge huge userbase.