N-Gage (service) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The N-Gage service was Nokia

Nokia

Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...

's mobile gaming

Mobile game

A mobile game is a video game played on a mobile phone, smartphone, PDA, tablet computer or portable media player. This does not include games played on handheld video game systems such as Nintendo DS or PlayStation Portable....

platform that is available for several Nokia

Nokia

Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...

S60

S60 platform

The S60 Platform is a software platform for mobile phones that runs on Symbian OS. It was created by Nokia, who made the platform open source and contributed it to the Symbian Foundation. S60 has been used by mobile device manufacturers including Siemens mobile, Lenovo, LG Electronics, Panasonic...

smartphone

Smartphone

A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...

s. It is a follow-up to the N-Gage

N-Gage

The N-Gage is a mobile telephone and handheld game system by Nokia, based on the Nokia Series 60 platform, released in October 2003. It began sales on October 7, 2003. The N-Gage QD replaced the original N-Gage in 2004....

handheld game console

Handheld game console

A handheld game console is a lightweight, portable electronic device with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are run on machines of small size allowing people to carry them and play them at any time or place...

. N-Gage is a part of Nokia

Nokia

Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...

's Ovi

Ovi (Nokia)

Ovi by Nokia is the brand for Nokia's Internet services. The Ovi services can be used from a mobile device, computer or via the web. Nokia focuses on five key service areas: Games, Maps, Media, Messaging and Music. Nokia's aim with Ovi is to include third party developers, such as operators and...

initiative.

On October 30, 2009, Nokia announced that no new N-Gage games will be produced, and the N-Gage service had ceased at the end of 2010. Nokia will continue its gaming efforts on Ovi

Ovi (Nokia)

, where Nokia users can access the Ovi Store to download games and other content.

Overview

The new N-Gage, also referred to as N-Gage Next Generation

Next Generation

Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to:- Publications and literature :* Next Generation Magazine, video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company...

, N-Gage 2.0 or the N-Gage platform/application, saw a change in concept as Nokia

Nokia

Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...

explained to the world during E3 2005 that they were planning on putting N-Gage inside several of their smartphone

Smartphone

devices - rather than releasing a specific device (although their N81

Nokia N81

The Nokia N81 is a smartphone announced by Nokia on August 29 2007. The phone is compatible with the N-Gage 2.0 mobile gaming service.- Problems :The Nokia N81 suffered from lower sound output due to the release of the new firmware version...

model with its two dedicated gaming-buttons next to the screen is being marketed as a phone built for gaming). Working behind closed doors, it took a little more than a year before Nokia actually started showing off next-gen titles such as System Rush: Evolution and Hooked On: Creatures of the Deep, with the fighting game ONE

ONE (N-Gage game)

ONE is a fighting game for the N-Gage and N-Gage 2.0. It was developed by Digital Legends and published by Nokia.- External links :* * * *...

perhaps being the most visually impressive - even making use of motion capture

Motion capture

Motion capture, motion tracking, or mocap are terms used to describe the process of recording movement and translating that movement on to a digital model. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, and medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robotics...

.

A public beta test of the N-Gage application took place from February 4, 2008 to March 27, 2008 and the client was then released on April 3 the same year for the Nokia

Nokia

Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...

N81

Nokia N81

, N81 8GB, N82

Nokia N82

The Nokia N82 is a smartphone produced by Nokia. It is part of the company's Nseries line of smartphones which features the N-Gage gaming platform and the Nokia Music store...

, N95

Nokia N95

The Nokia N95 is a smartphone produced by Nokia as part of their Nseries line of portable devices. It was released in 2007. The N95 runs Symbian OS v9.2, with a S60 3rd Edition user interface. The phone has a two-way sliding mechanism, which can be used to access either media playback buttons or...

and N95 8GB.

Compatibility

Because N-Gage is a software based solution, the first generation MMC

MMC

MMC may stand for:In business:*Mail.com Media Corp., a US digital media company*Marsh & McLennan Companies, a US-based global professional services firm*Material Móvil y Construcciones...

games are not compatible with the new platform, though some games are making a comeback in form of a sequel (e.g. System Rush: Evolution) or a remake/port (e.g. Mile High Pinball). Similarly, games developed for this next-gen N-Gage platform do not work on the original N-Gage

N-Gage

nor N-Gage QD

N-Gage QD

The N-Gage QD is a handheld game console and mobile phone by Nokia, and the successor to the N-Gage. It was unveiled on April 14, 2004.It revised the device's physical design, being smaller and rounder. It corrected the flaw of the cartridge slot with a more convenient one on the bottom of the device...

, adding to the fact that newer S60 software, including the N-Gage client and games

Game

A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...

, aren't binary-compatible with older S60 devices and vice-versa.

Devices

So far, the N-Gage website lists the following devices as compatible with the new N-Gage platform: Nokia N78

Nokia N78

The Nokia N78 is a multimedia 3G Smartphone made by Nokia, designed by Joeske Schellen. It was first introduced at the Mobile World Congress in February 2008, and was launched on 26 May 2008 for €350 before taxes and subsidies...

, N79

Nokia N79

Nokia N79 is a smartphone and a member of the Nokia Nseries multimedia smartphone family. It was officially announced by Nokia on 26 August 2008...

, N81

Nokia N81

, N81 8GB

Nokia N81

, N82-1

Nokia N82

The Nokia N82 is a smartphone produced by Nokia. It is part of the company's Nseries line of smartphones which features the N-Gage gaming platform and the Nokia Music store...

, N85

Nokia N85

The Nokia N85 is a smartphone produced by Nokia. The N85's functions include those of a camera phone and portable media player, in addition to offering e-mail, web browsing, local Wi-Fi connectivity, text messaging and a built-in GPS receiver, allowing satellite navigation using no external...

, N86 8MP

Nokia N86 8MP

The Nokia N86 8MP is a Symbian Series 60 mobile phone. One of its main selling points is its photography features.It was Nokia's first camera phone to have an 8 megapixel sensor, and features both multiple aperture settings and a mechanical shutter , and a Carl Zeiss lens with a wide angle of view...

, N95-1

Nokia N95

, N95-2 8GB

Nokia N95

, N96

Nokia N96

Nokia N96 is a Nokia smartphone in the Nseries range of products. It is the official successor to Nokia N95.The handset was publicly announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, February 2008, and started shipping in September 2008. Europe, Middle East and Asia-Pacific are the first locations...

, Nokia 6210 Navigator

Nokia 6210 Navigator

The Nokia 6210 Navigator is a mobile phone made by Nokia that is a successor to Nokia 6110 Navigator. It has been available since July 2008.The Nokia 6210 Navigator is the third GPS Phone in the Navigator series to be released by Nokia...

, 6710 Navigator, 6720 Classic, E52

Nokia E52

The Nokia E52 is a smartphone from the Nokia Eseries range, a Symbian OS v9.3 device with a 240x320 screen. It is available in Black, Black Aluminum, Metal Grey aluminium, White Aluminium and Gold. It comes with a 1GB MicroSD memory card, but it supports MicroSD cards with up to 16GB memory. It...

, E55, E75

Nokia E75

The Nokia E75 is a smartphone from the Eseries range with a side sliding QWERTY keyboard and also front keypad. - Features:*Quad band GSM / GPRS / EDGE: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900...

, N86, N97

Nokia N97

Nokia N97 is a touch screen mobile phone in the Nseries of smartphones by Nokia, with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard...

, Nokia 5320 XpressMusic

Nokia 5320 XpressMusic

The Nokia 5320 Xpress Music is a Symbian OS S60 smartphone, released by Nokia in 2008 as a part of their XpressMusic line of portable devices. The phone has a rugged candybar body with outlined keypads. It emphasizes music and multimedia playback...

, Nokia 5630 XpressMusic

Nokia 5630 XpressMusic

The Nokia 5630 XpressMusic is a multimedia and music-dedicated smartphone announced in March and released in May 2009.-External links:* *...

and Nokia 5730 XpressMusic

Nokia 5730 XpressMusic

The Nokia 5730 XpressMusic is a multimedia and music-dedicated sliding smartphone announced in March and released in June 2009. Its features include a full backlit slide-out QWERTY keyboard, dedicated camera, volume, gaming and music keys as well as Wi-Fi connectivity and a basic accelerometer...

Due to memory issues, hinted in an interview in February 2008, support for the Nokia N73

Nokia N73

The Nokia N73 is a smartphone by Nokia officially described as a "multimedia computer". In common with other Nokia 'Nseries' and 'Eseries' phones of its time , the N73 comes loaded with many software applications, including contacts, messaging, picture and video galleries, a music player, a Visual...

, N93

Nokia N93

The Nokia N93 is a smartphone by Nokia especially designed for multimedia use. It was introduced in April 2006 and released in July 2006.The N93 has improved camera capabilities compared with the earlier N90. The phone has a 3.2 megapixel camera, Carl Zeiss optics and 3x optical zoom as well as a...

and N93i

Nokia N93i

The Nokia N93i is a smartphone produced by Nokia. It is part of the Nokia Nseries line of high-end smartphones and is a redesign of the Nokia N93. The N93i runs on Symbian OS version 9.1, with the Series 60 3rd Edition user interface. The phone is a clamshell design with a camera and landscape...

was cancelled.

First access

On February 4, 2008, after several delays ever since the beginning of 2007, the new N-Gage platform was released to the public - though limited only to users of Nokia’s N81

Nokia N81

device. This period of time was referred to as "First Access" and only a public test of the client which could be downloaded for free from the N-Gage website. While not the final version, the user had access to most of the features that the new application had to offer along with three games to try out: Hooked On: Creatures of the Deep, System Rush: Evolution and Space Impact Kappa Base. Eventually, Nokia also released Tetris, Block Breaker Deluxe and World Series of Poker: Pro Challenge for the users to try out. None of the games are entirely free but all offers a limited trial for testing purposes. In order to experience the full game - it has to be either purchased or rented.

Shortly after being released to the public, the N-Gage installation file was unpacked into components, which can be then installed separately, thus removing N81-only limitation. N-Gage has since been reported working on other Nokia N-series devices , such as N73 and N95. In response, Nokia released an advisory asking users not to install this unsupported version as it could cause errors or other issues.

On March 20, the N-Gage blog reported that First Access would come to an end on March 27, though all downloaded games at that time would still be playable through the application until the updated version was released - which occurred on April 3.

Reception

There have been a lot of hands-on articles with the First Access client and they all generally reflect both the positive and negative feedback of the official First Access forum, where N81

Nokia N81

users shared their thoughts on what was good and what could've been made better - regarding both the launcher itself and the games currently available. The biggest issues at that point was that of players not being able to "activate" a purchased game but still having only the trial version to play. A lot of players have also been reporting connection issues.

Head of New Experience, Nokia Play, Jaakko Kaidesoja had this to say to Pocket Gamer

Pocket Gamer

Pocket Gamer is a website and video game magazine that focuses on handheld video games. It was launched in 2005 and is published by Steel Media. The publication covers all major portable and mobile gaming formats, including iPhone, Android, PSP and the various versions of the Nintendo DS and was...

in an interview on February 21, 2008 when asked about what early feedback they had received:

"The feedback has been positive and well received within the company and some critical comments were well received as well. We know it's not perfect yet and there are some features people want more of. Those are the things we want to check and get on the roadmap."

Game reviews

The games themselves have received an overall good reception all over the Internet ever since the First Access beta, with Hooked On: Creatures of the Deep standing out as the most successful title.

Asphalt 3: Street Rules

Pocket Gamer - 8/10
All About N-Gage - 80/100

Block Breaker Deluxe

Pocket Gamer - 7/10
All About N-Gage - 78/100

Hooked On: Creatures of the Deep

Pocket Gamer - 9/10
All About N-Gage - 86/100
Mobile Game FAQs - 92/100

Space Impact Kappa Base

Pocket Gamer - 8/10

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.