M-Gage Shows Imitation Sincerest Form Of Flattery

Thanks to Lik-Sang for their news story showcasing the M-Gage bootleg handheld game, which contains "11 games, [a] calculator and alarm clock built-in", as found in Hong Kong's videogame district recently. Although Lik-Sang "doesn't really think about selling" the rudimentary device, taking a side-by-side comparison with Nokia's much-criticized N-Gage 'portable gaming deck' reveals unmistakable similarities, from the shape and button layout all the way down to the vertical screen orientation and the logo. Were the bootleggers ahead of the game on this incredibly basic handheld knockoff, or will they be Side Talkin' their way to bankruptcy?

I'm surprised any pirate wasted their time

[shadowxtc]

That thing looks like a major joke of a piece of technology. I had better-looking Tiger handheld games 10 years ago. Would've been a far more appropriate article on April 1st...

Re:I'm surprised any pirate wasted their time

[rsmith-mac]

Agreed. I mean, it's not even a real comparison; the "M-Gage" looks like the N-Gage, and that's about it, they aren't even close in features. Is it a slow news day or something?

Re:I'm surprised any pirate wasted their time

[PhoenixOne]

That thing looks like a major joke of a piece of technology. I had better-looking Tiger handheld games 10 years ago.

Yes. But how do you feel about the M-Gage? ;)

not uncommon

[gl4ss]

it's not uncommon that such mockups appear, they appear all the time. however they're not sold outside the areas where piracy is at all controlled(devices that imitate some other real, better, useful device).

though heck, who buys a phone to speak nowadays anyways? opera and wireless irc are much more entertaining than the games(well, super monkeyball is kinda fun).

well.. i'm off to sidetalking.

and yes i did get myself a n-gage, traded my 3650 to it. it suits better for my needs(it has more ram for the programs to run in than the 3650 and i didn't use the camera too much anyways). talking to it isn't a chore and as i was already familiar with the ui i must say that it is great.

it's the cheapest series60 phone and at the same time it's one of the more useful series60 phones(because it has more ram than 3650/60), perhaps only rivalled by the 6600(and as wirelessirc and various other stuff don't work in 6600, and the gamepad like button layout in ngage is good for most of the activity) that is way much more expensive. ngage also has mp3 and fm radio(with headphones plug).

the things i think that are stupid about it are pretty much the inability to hotswap the mmc cards and the fact that the pcsuite software doesn't work with the usb cable(the usb cable shows the mmc card in the phone as a normal usb removable drive, handy for mp3's and *cough* games, roms and stuff *cough*).

Bootleg something popular

[Hackie_Chan]

If you're going to bootleg something, why not bootleg something popular? The N-Gage arguably isn't exactly the most popular thing on the market...

Re:Bootleg something popular

[Alkaiser]

Either they were hired by Nokia...or foolish enough to believe their marketing hype. Or hoping that people stupid enough to buy an N-Gage will buy an M-Gage because they really don't know what the hell they're doing. Honestly, if I found one, I'd probably buy it for $20 or so...just for the laughs.

Re:Bootleg something popular

[happylight]

You didn't RFTA, did you? That thing looks like it can only play tetris and its variants. No way it's sold for more than 5 bucks.

Re:Bootleg something popular

[Alkaiser]

I did. But thanks for the flaming couched in what seems to be a valid response. I don't think they're trying to sell it as a valid platform. I think they're trying to get people to go "Look! N-Gage!" and pick it up without knowing any better. If they sold it for $2.50 it wouldn't fool anyone. So it's probably just artificially priced high, as they aren't trying to actual sell it based on actual functionality.

You have obviously never been to a pirate market

[John Harrison]

These tetris games come in all shapes and sizes and cost almost nothing. Nobody buying it thinks it is a real N-Gage, but the novel packaging is just another way of selling the same old LCD tetris 9999-in-1 game!

Re:Bootleg something popular

[bugbread]

Hmm...Dunno where you got that logic. Check out this X-Box [tdcenterprise.com], this PS2 [tdcenterprise.com], and this PS1 [tdcenterprise.com], each selling for $6 US or less. Why you would assume that they're priced the M-Gage at a high price "to fool people" is beyond me.

strangely enough...

[t0ny]

Somebody in a game forum actually had praise for their N-Gage. Apparently, it can run MAME, and also has a GBA emulator out now.

Needless to say, I was highly surprised, since the only things ever said about it are negative.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...

[Frac]

... but plagiarizing an industrial design failure is the purest form of idiocy.

sidetalkin.com

[BTWR]

OK, I've never been to a "nerd convention" (star trek, comic book, anime, fantasy, etc), so I suspect those might actually be worse, but I do have to say...

The dudes on sidetalkin.com have got to be some of the dorkiest and nerdiest people I have ever seen before. I'm not talking about the average "nerd," I'm talking Saved-By-The-Bell type nerds! (Like the ones on that show who cheered for more homework and were always stuck in lockers...). Oh my oh my...

hey!

[mekkab]

Those are my friends you jerk.
Watch your back, or we might sidetalk you into next week! ;)

Re:hey!

[BTWR]

i'm sure they're good people, but like we all learned in Revenge of the Nerds... embrace it, don't hide from it :)

Attack of the Clones

[BackwardEngineer]

There are lots of pirated consoles out there in Hong Kong.

From the Treamcast, a portable DreamCast with screen and travel bag. To the countless Famicom/NES clones that look like GBAs, PSXs, and N64 controllers. They make them look like products people will recognize.

Now, excuse me, I have to go play with my Game Axe.

Re:Attack of the Clones

[Tsuzuki]

Damn [tdcenterprise.com] right [tdcenterprise.com].

HK companies and the government purport to take copyright seriously, but some of those products scream otherwise... :D

N-Gage

[Thrymm]

I know a tad off topic, but is it me, or those commercials and screenshots of games from this hand held look worse than Super Ninteno graphics? For $199, I wouldnt be getting one, and would be tempted to take a peek at these counterfiet M-Gage ones.

Re:N-Gage

[oberondarksoul]

Or at least you would be, if you could play anything more advanced than Tetris on it...

Order now!

[Torgo's Pizza]

It's the new M-Gage! Brought to you by the same people who gave you the Fedsel car, New Doke cola and the 4DO game console.

Re:Order now!

[Kris_J]

Don't be silly, I know a genuine Panaphonics when I see one.

Re:Order now!

[Luigi30]

Lisa: I think these are fakes. Homer: But look at these great brands, like Sorny, or Magnetbox!

Re:Order now!

[prockcore]

Homer: "Look at these low, low prices on famous brand-name electronics! "
Bart: "Don't be a sap dad. These are just crappy knockoffs."
Homer:" I know a genuine 'Panaphonics' when I see one. And look! There's 'Magnet Box' and 'Sorny!' "

O_o

[SuperMo0]

If I wanted a calculator that could play a limited selection of games, I'd go grab my TI-83.