Give The NGage And Phantom A Chance?

Thanks to GameSpy for their 'Sole Food editorial urging gamers to take another look at the NGage and Phantom games hardware. Regarding Nokia's NGage game/phone hybrid, the piece suggests: "Gamers should be excited by what Nokia is bringing to the table. Mobile multiplayer gaming via Bluetooth and GSM/GPRS is a wonderful idea and definitely the future of portable gaming." As for Infinium Labs' Phantom console, the author is cautious but optimistic: "I'm not advocating the Phantom, but I'm very much fascinated by what Infinium purports it will introduce to console gaming: digital distribution. This is definitely the way gamers will buy games in the future." Reason enough to think again?

Re:Has anyone played the N-Gage. It's Terrible.

[Anonymous Coward]

Why would it surprise you that GameSpy would have something nice to say about it?

GameSpy Editor: "Nokia just paid us money to write about how cool their system is. Who wants to write about it?"

GameSpy Writers: (all put heads down and look at floor).

GameSpy Editor: "OK... well, Raymond Padilla; since you're playing Britney's Dance Beat [gamespy.com] you clearly have the lowest standards... write something nice."

Please, Somebody Buy This System!

[Etone]

It's almost as if Nokia tossed Gamespot a little treat and their salivating editors all leapt for it at the same time. I've read way too many reviews from people who aren't on anyone's payroll that said this thing is a total piece of crap. Maybe if Nokia had purchased some better reviews earlier it could have saved them. I'm sorry, but Cool Tech + Shitty Implementation will never equal a sale for me. I'll wait until someone puts together a less hamfisted prototype. It's really funny how much EB/Gamestop is pushing this thing, too. I've had two register biscuits try to tell me how awesome the N-Gage is. My favorite part was when they told me the "battery problem" would be solved with an automatic software upgrade. That would be one hell of a trick. -etone-

Credibility

[wynterwynd]

You know, I should be surprised by the tone this article takes, but somehow I'm not. More and more major game review sites are taking the corporate marketing juice and injecting it into articles. GameSpy's been teetering on the brink of corporate lapdog status for a while, looks like they're taking the final plunge.

As far as the article's content goes:

Don't be hatin'???

What is there to love here, exactly?

The article goes on to talk about the new concepts that these 2 systems are introducing, and I agree that these concepts are the up-and-coming as far as gaming goes (wide-area wireless, downloaded content). But they're not there yet. All too often gaming systems that are on the cutting edge of technology rely solely on new technology to sell the system, forgetting the minor details of good games and playability. Turbografx, 3DO, Jaguar, all with the latest technology when they came out, all now a brief burp in gaming history.

Also, just because these consoles have good innovations is NO REASON to buy the system. It IS a good reason to use this technology to make an system that's actually good. I believe the best thing to come out of this will be to break some ground for the next-gen systems to build on. But the systems themselves are likely to fall and fall hard.

On a side note, I'll believe the Phantom exists when I see a picture that's not CG.

Re:In a word, no.

[Babbster]

Then we have the Phantom...which "unveiled"itself to show...nothing. No actual console, no nothing. What should we be giving a shot, exactly? The wholesale shunning of product in exchange for an all-hype, no-substance world? Gimme a break GameSpy. You guys are right up there with InsertCredit now.

Good point. I would only add that the main drawback to my mind is the fact that it's just supposed to be a mildly inexpensive PC which will apparently play PC games, which also requires a monthly subscription fee. Unless companies like Blizzard, Id, Atari, etc. quit developing games for the general-purpose PC to only release games on the Phantom, I have zero interest in the device. And I'm not even entirely against paying subscription fees for online games/services - I've played Everquest, I have Xbox Live and I plan on jumping into Star Wars Galaxies once I upgrade my current computer. I can only imagine what the people who balk at fees for Xbox Live (a pretty cheap $4+ a month) will think of Infinium's "console."

I'd be surprised if the Phantom ever got distributed on anything like the scale of the other consoles...even if it does, I think it will have a spectacularly short lifespan - it will probably make the 3DO look like a rousing success.