N-Gage 2 Pictures Show Evolution Of Handheld?

Roger Ramjet writes "Fan site NGageGaming has reposted a couple of leaked images of what appears to be Nokia's N-Gage 2 phone/gaming handheld hybrid. While the device is similar to the original N-Gage, the keyboard and look has been redesigned, and on the flip side of the phone/gaming device may possibly be space for a camera." Apparently, Nokia "...is expected to have a major press event on April 14 to showcase the upgraded version", and the same fansite is also reporting on the woes of current N-Gage software support, mentioning that "Taito Memories and Marcel Desailly Pro Soccer have both been 'delayed' for N-Gage release."

Well that looks better

[Snowspinner]

Only, you know, not. Where are the buttons on the right? Am I still using phone buttons?

I don't see any evidence of a game slot. Still removing the battery?

I also don't see any evidence that Nokia has got a clue what they're doing, actually.

Nope, I'm guessing a bust.

A step in the right direction, but...

[pat_trick]

It looks like they put a SD card slot on the lower left of the back (look at the little grey plastic flap) and at least fixed the whole sidetalking thing. But will it be backwards compatable? (my guess is yes).

It'll still come down to whether or not they've got the developers, games, and draw to get the crowd onto their system.

Rugged up?

[Kaali]

By those images i get the feeling that N-Gage2 is a bit rugged up, and that would be an excellent design decision as i'm sure that many children will want a cellphone(at least in finland it seems that _everybody_ has one) with "special" games and you propably know how children treat their "toys". And by those images it seems likely that it still misses shoulder-buttons which is a must feature for any game-controller. Can't see any dedicated buttons for volume adjustment either. Well, only time will tell.

N-Gage usage tracked

[Anonymous Coward]

...I know for a fact that N-Gage usage is tracked to see which users are likely to buy more games.

Does anyone else see a problem with this?

Re:I don't think it matters anymore...

[Kris_J]

I own one and I don't have a "laundry list of complaints", just one -- the range of commerical games sucks. Fortunately, the phone is so good at so much other stuff that it doesn't matter. I won't unseat the GBA as a mainstream games machine, but when it comes to emulators and homebrew gaming it's quickly becoming a very popular platform.

Yearly Models v. Bidecade Models

[superultra]

I've laughed at the N-Gage as much as anyone, but I'll say this much for Nokia as opposed to Sony and Nintendo. Nokia, who's a phone maker, is pretty much used to releasing new models almost every year for their cell phone line. Why change this strategy for a video game console? Why wait 5 years for this beast we call the console lifespan cycle to come around to your side again of the gate so you can hop on for another 5?

If Nokia has anything going for it in the console/handheld industry, and I'll admit it doesn't have much at this point, it's that they can put out a new model every year. That's something Nintendo can't quite manage, and Sony keeps pushing their date back. Cellphone manufacturers, on the other hand, are perhaps the best equipped industry in the world to change models and revamp the factories every year for new designs. While I can't say that this design is anywhere near where Nokia needs to be, at least they're making progress incrementally. You can't sidetalk, and it looks like you put the cartridge in the bottom. By the time the PSP actually hits stateside, the N-Gage 4 or 5 or 6 might be something to look into.

Maybe.

Hold on - there's an N-Gage fansite?

[josh glaser]

Seriously, though. This model seems to be vastly improved - bigger screen (I think), easier cartridge changing, and no more sidetalking (I hope sidetalkin.com will stay). But I doubt Nokia will be able to have this be successful, simply because there isn't enough games, and because the N-Gage name isn't a plus when it comes to gamer opinion...

Symbian OS?

[Jmechy]

The picture of the screen looks alot like my 3650, which runs Symbian. Is it not safe to assume that the this does as well?

Re:Yearly Models v. Bidecade Models

[MBCook]

I agree (also with what you replied to yourself with). I think, at this point, the best shot they have is to release lots of models of the N-Gage. How do they do this with out pushing consumers off by constant obsolesence?

"With N-Gage Technology." They basically turn ALL (or many) or their phones into "N-Gages". They would all have the same tech specs (screen, processor, memory available to the game) so they all play the exact same games. The differences would be in form factor (one that is a tad harder to play but works better as a phone, one that's the other way, etc), in abilities (one might have built in WiFi, another a camera, etc), and such. Games wouldn't have access to the things that aren't common to all models so it wouldn't matter which phone you had. They are play N-Gage games identically, they are just different. They could even license the N-Gage platform off to other companies if they wanted to. This way instead of buying a $300 cell phone/game console, you would say "Phone Y costs $50 more but includes N-Gage support and there are some games I might want so I'll buy that one." It would be almost like a $50 game console.

I think either this or massive discounts (see my other comment in this story) would be two ways to get the platform off the ground.

Either way the need some killer games or they're dead in the water no matter what they do. I think their platform would be perfect to get ports of PopCap games. They could sell a collection or two. I'd buy 'em if I had an N-Gage, those games are GREAT for killing a few minutes.