What the heck is Nokia up to with N-Gage?

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We're a bit puzzled by what Nokia is trying to do with its gaming strategy, because they don't seem to have one right now. They're sending out so many mixed signals at the moment, it begs the question as to whether there is any kind of method in the madness. More details below.

Amid all the fuss over the Nokia N900, Booklet 3G, Maemo 5, Nokia World, Ovi Store and all the rest, Nokia's N-Gage gaming platform has been somewhat forgotten.

We don't just mean forgotten by others, Nokia themselves seem to have decided to send N-Gage to Coventry:

  • The Official N-Gage Blog isn't updated any more, the last posting was in mid-August.
  • The Official N-Gage sales charts haven't been updated since July.
  • Ikona, the main blog author and one of the main driving forces behind N-Gage Arena hasn't been posting since mid-July.
  • Scott Foe, the producer of Reset Generation and possibly N-Gage's most famous figure, has confirmed he's left Nokia.

...all of which led many people to conclude that the N-Gage brand's time was over, that it would be entirely replaced by Ovi Store or perhaps some other dedicated brand like "Ovi Games". As we've pointed out on here before, the URL games.ovi.com seems to be cropping up more and more on Ovi shortcuts, as if they intend to put something there, though currently it just redirects to N-Gage.com.

But the following behaviour seems to go in the opposite direction:

  • Guitar Hero Mobile, a title which wasn't even announced for N-Gage, has recently been released on the platform.
  • Dirk Dagger 2, an N-Gage-exclusive title, was announced at Nokia World.
  • Mega Monsters, another exclusive, is apparently on the way soon.

What's the point of releasing more games on a platform while simultaneously ceasing promotion of it?

Ovi Store presentation slide

This is what Nokia told the world at their Developer Summit in April 2009

So what is Nokia up to?

Whatever Nokia wants to do with their gaming division, it ought to be part of some kind of consistent strategy. It is difficult to see any kind of consistency in Nokia's recent behaviour with regard to games:

If they are going to launch a new gaming platform... then why are they carrying on with releases for N-Gage including exclusive games? Wouldn't it make more sense to hold back new releases for the new platform?

If they are going to carry on supporting N-Gage... then why are they winding down their official N-Gage news channels?

If they are merging N-Gage into Ovi Store... then why can't the full versions of N-Gage games be purchased through Ovi Store?

Does anyone know what Nokia has in mind? Suggestions welcome in the comments section below.