Nokia’s new N-Gage platform is just as doomed as the first attempt. Yes, that’s right. That’s my honest opinion. However, that’s not to say it can’t still be saved. It’s early in the game (pun partially intended) and I think something can still be done.
There are two main reasons that I say it’s doomed, with one weighing a bit heavier than the other. The first reason is due to pricing. $11-13.50 is simply outrageous for a mobile game. I realize it’s different in other countries, but that’s still a handful of dollars over other mobile games. Yes, I know what you’re thinking, ‘but N-Gage is supposed to be better than other mobile games. It offers more.’
Which brings me to my second point – it doesn’t. There simply aren’t any benefits to buying an N-Gage game over any other game, as far as I can tell. This is the bigger reason, though, and so I want to camp out on this one for a moment. There are several reasons that N-Gage says its better than other mobile games, and I think there’s some real potential here.
Discovery/availability – the ability to download games right to your phone is negated by the 8-9 different icons in my Download! application under ‘Games’ (and the rather glaring lack of the N-Gage icon – I had to hunt down the mobile site) on my N95-3. So Nokia themselves have made it just as simple to get a non-N-Gage game directly on your device. Add to this that most consumers likely hit up their carriers’ deck, and you’ve lost that completely.
So, where are non-N-Gage games and N-Gage games similar or the same? Well, currently, both are limited to being used on the specific device that you buy the game for – based on IMEI. Sure, Nokia says this will change for N-Gage, but why should it take so long? Obviously it’s important to consumers, why doesn’t it feel important to Nokia? Also, with both platforms, once you format your phone or update the firmware, you’re back at Level 1. There’s no way to save your progress and store it online or anything.
The experience is also the same when you consider multiplayer/online aspects. With all of its current N-Gage-capable handsets sporting WiFi or 3G connectivity, it’s a bit embarrassing that the only online interaction you get from N-Gage is basically global rankings, with one or two exceptions. There’s no mobile access to the N-Gage forums through the application, which would at least offer *some* sort of online community.
So, thus far, the only benefit of N-Gage vs non-N-Gage gaming is what? The supposed quality of the games? Is that really worth an extra $4 per game, or more? Is it really all that apparent to most mobile gamers?
Right, so here are my suggestions for saving the second iteration of N-Gage from certain doom (in order of importance):
1. Pricing – either drop the price a bit, or prove to us that the price difference is justifiable.
2. Enhance the online – with WiFi and 3G connections, there *has* to be some better online uses than simple rankings. At least customise the rankings so that they’re relevant to me (among just my friends, for instance). Use the online to backup gaming records, or to change my currently registered device, by IMEI.
3. Enhance the interactivity – mobilize the entire N-Gage experience – blog, forums, everything. Anything related to N-Gage should be available on my phone, directly through the app. Also, use the online feature to alert me to tournaments and the like. You already know what games I have installed, why not, when I connect to N-Gage, let me know when the next tournament for my games is coming, and allow me to easily add that to my phone’s calendar, so I can set a reminder to get back online. You need to be reaching out to me to encourage me to game, not just hoping I’ll remember to boot the app occasionally.
4. Enhance availability – Currently only a handful of Nseries handsets are supported. It’s high-time you add to the collection. Put any resources you can towards getting the N73 supported, and even a few *gasp* Eseries devices. More importantly, for the devices that are currently supported, remove that silly N-Gage preview and stick the new installer in the Download! app. And make it so that when I install the full N-Gage, it automatically removes the preview. I should be able to get the N-Gage installer *everywhere*.
5. Enhance the ‘cool’ factor – Get exclusive games, or at least an exclusive introductory period. I.e. ‘Gameloft’s new Dark Knight game is available now for Nokia N-Gage, with other platforms coming available in three months’. If you can’t get the entire thing exclusive, settle for the introduction period.
These are just a few suggestions. I have no doubt that there’s an entire team of N-Gage people out there working their backsides off to make this one stick, and they’re doing ok. I wish I could say better than that, but I can’t. I bought the new Snakes (against my better judgement of paying for Snakes) for my N82, and it’s now useless to me cause I’m back on my N95-3.
With games making a huge splash on……other platforms…….it’s high time that N-Gage gets shifted into high gear, to avoid getting overshadowed and falling back into taco-talk territory.
Krisse from AllAboutSymbian stated in a previous comment here on Symbian-Guru:
I know people talk about N-Gage games helping to sell S60 phones, but I honestly don’t think many people buy a phone for its games. IMHO phone games are the equivalent of a hotel minibar, there to tempt you to spend a little more after you’ve already booked the room. For most people, games are part of a package rather than a main feature.
Is that how Nokia really wanted N-Gage to be seen?
