"A new look and feel" for the N-Gage QD

[FriskyTanuki]

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/03/10/news_6120219.html

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. That seems to be the watchword at Nokia's games business program, which is prepping a revamped version of the N-Gage QD for release.

Although the company's American representatives would only say that the Finnish handset giant "will be making an announcement early next week," Reuters has it on good authority--Gerard Wiener, director and general manager of the games business program at Nokia--that those changes, and more, are due shortly.

Speaking to Reuters informally at this week's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, the executive said Nokia was contemplating new colors, and "a new look and feel" for the current N-Gage model, the QD. The update to the original N-Gage was launched in July of 2004, but remains a distant contender in the handheld gaming sector, having sold only 1.5 million units worldwide since launch, according to Reuters.

Wiener also told Reuters states handset maker is considering manufacturing models that run on CDMA wireless networks. "There's no question addressing the CDMA market is something we'd like to be doing," he said. The QD, as other Nokia handsets do, is based on the GSM standard. CDMA (as well as W-CDMA) wireless networks are more prevalent and offer faster networking speeds.

When contacted by GameSpot US Nokia reps would go only so far as to advise the industry to "stay tuned" to forthcoming news "early next week."

[dcfox]

Nokia must have money to burn. If only other companies put half as much effort into their products, Sega might still be making consoles.

[RAMSTORIA]

im all for the ngage, its a great idea, cell phone and system, the graphics are good, hopefully the new model will make it more successful

[GizmoGC]

ANOTHER Revamp? This would be the third in not even 1 and a half year! Arggg. We'll, I'm happy with the QD, but if the price is right (under $100) I will pick up a third model.

[DenisDFat]

n-gage, handheld gaming for the sub-20 IQ set.

[Scorch]

I don't think they understand.. it's not the design.. it's that we just don't care.

[David85]

I don't think they understand.. it's not the design.. it's that we just don't care.

Yeah, people don't want a cell phone that fucking huge and ugly, and badly designed. And gamers don't want a gaming system that is that shity, so they have a losing formula and should just quite.

[Rig]

I think the only way this could possibly work is if they redesigned their phone to be...sexy! I wouldn't want to pull out an N-Gage to have a conversation in public! Then, they need games that people actually care about. I've seen nothing on the N-Gage that I needed. Now, if they could grab a killer app (I'm thinking Final Fantasy or something) then maybe they could turn things around...maybe.

[tcrash247]

Why do they even bother? Its horrible at every thing it offers. I wasted 5 minutes of my life playing one of them in a Gamestop when they first released.

[mykevermin]

I'm going to get hell for this...

But having experience with both the N-Gage and the PSP in watching video, I much prefer the N-Gage. Sure, the screen is much smaller, but a large screen *really* shows off the poor frame rate and video quality of the PSP's media player. You can watch FMV much more easily on the N-Gage (well, in the sense that it doesn't churn your stomach due to frame issues or general unwatchability). This is in reference strictly to the M-peg 4s many of you will try to watch on your PSP; I am in no way comparing this to the UMD format.

Being able to convert and watch whatever you want is important, though. I must say that I'm neither impressed with the (1) selection of UMD yet (can they be any more stereotypically male in the movies selected thus far? I'm not exactly waiting for "Save the Last Dance" to come out on UMD, but I'm not into Hollywood 2-hour blow-em-up fests, either). I'm also not impressed with the pricepoint (blah, proprietary media, blah). So, when Episode III comes out on video, will you buy the DVD *and* the UMD? Will you buy a UMD that is $10 more than the DVD? Or, will you transfer Episode III from DVD to your Memory Card Duo (the CAG solution), only to find that the frame rate is a train wreck?

I like my PSP; the comparison between the PSP and N-Gage in regards to games is not even close to being not even close. There are fun N-Gage titles, but PSP is a whole different monster. I find it to be a fantastic system that offers a lot of customization if a person is willing to put forth effort into finding out the methods of doing so. The N-Gage is a phone as well (I wouldn't call it a great phone, since any phone that works is a good phone).

The PSP is a gaming console; Am I saying that the N-Gage is better? Under no circumstances. I am saying that they are remarkably different systems, and the N-Gage has some viability.

besides, Nokia clearly has money to burn.

myke.
...I hope michaellvortega has sent out the QD I bought from him! I can't wait!

[DenisDFat]

cellular tlelephones suck. add poor gaming with poor games, and you've got a heapload of suck right there.

[Grave_Addiction]

I'm going to get hell for this...

But having experience with both the N-Gage and the PSP in watching video, I much prefer the N-Gage. Sure, the screen is much smaller, but a large screen *really* shows off the poor frame rate and video quality of the PSP's media player. You can watch FMV much more easily on the N-Gage (well, in the sense that it doesn't churn your stomach due to frame issues or general unwatchability). This is in reference strictly to the M-peg 4s many of you will try to watch on your PSP; I am in no way comparing this to the UMD format.

Being able to convert and watch whatever you want is important, though. I must say that I'm neither impressed with the (1) selection of UMD yet (can they be any more stereotypically male in the movies selected thus far? I'm not exactly waiting for "Save the Last Dance" to come out on UMD, but I'm not into Hollywood 2-hour blow-em-up fests, either). I'm also not impressed with the pricepoint (blah, proprietary media, blah). So, when Episode III comes out on video, will you buy the DVD *and* the UMD? Will you buy a UMD that is $10 more than the DVD? Or, will you transfer Episode III from DVD to your Memory Card Duo (the CAG solution), only to find that the frame rate is a train wreck?

I like my PSP; the comparison between the PSP and N-Gage in regards to games is not even close to being not even close. There are fun N-Gage titles, but PSP is a whole different monster. I find it to be a fantastic system that offers a lot of customization if a person is willing to put forth effort into finding out the methods of doing so. The N-Gage is a phone as well (I wouldn't call it a great phone, since any phone that works is a good phone).

The PSP is a gaming console; Am I saying that the N-Gage is better? Under no circumstances. I am saying that they are remarkably different systems, and the N-Gage has some viability.

besides, Nokia clearly has money to burn.

myke.
...I hope michaellvortega has sent out the QD I bought from him! I can't wait!

You will not be disappointed, my brother. The N-Gage is hands down my favorite handheld ever. The damn thing can just do so much, it's not even funny.

If they make the screen a bit bigger and horizontal, have shoulder buttons, enhanced graphics and a few more tweaks, they could have the best handheld on the market.

[Zoglog]

I think it's become some sort of target for fanboys to bash. The N-Gage is a good idea somewhat executed poorly. If they did somthing like that with a PDA like screen that'd be nice =).

[GizmoGC]

cellular tlelephones suck. add poor gaming with poor games, and you've got a heapload of suck right there.

Seriously, do you ever have anything GOOD to say about anything? About yourself? You are the most Negative CAG I have ever come across. I REALLY wish there was a way to block certain member's posts, because you would be the first one to go. You add absolutley NOTHING to any discussion beside "this sucks, looks like crap, your dumb".

[Wshakspear]

I'm one of the few that understands the good points of the n-gage...but i kinda want them to just give up... It's already givin itself a very bad name, and unless they hit this design on the nose, its gonna flop...a third time.

At least Sega wont be alone anymore (ouch)

[peteyrose]

How many of you haters have played more than 15 minutes with the system? Way to show your ignorance :roll:

[GizmoGC]

I bought the original N-Gage, as well as the QD both on their launch games. To date, I own almost ever game except for the new ones released in the past two months (My last new game was Ghost Recon or Pathway to Glory). N-Gage is a great system. Yeah, some of the games suck, but some are good (X-men, Requim, pretty much any new game). Not to mention the fact there are ways to rip DVD's to watch onit, TV Shows, it can emulate some older systems...its a nifty device. Oh, its also a PHONE. Now, Ive never used it as a phone, but my friend has, and he loves it.

[guyver2077]

i was hopin they would of announced ngage 2..but heck sny new support for ngage is great..

easily the most over looked mobile/gaming device..


i love my ngage

[greydemise]

i agree with u up there..if the ngage were 2 grab some big name titles, it might just turn a new leaf..i played it for awhile, and it wasnt half bad..i got no lag or hiccups, nothing like that..and it was easy 2 control...but yea, the design is another issue..i wudnt wanna be using that in public :P..but seriously..if they have all that money 2 burn on designs..burn that $ on licenses! go ngage! :)

[mykevermin]

I'm going to get hell for this...

But having experience with both the N-Gage and the PSP in watching video, I much prefer the N-Gage. Sure, the screen is much smaller, but a large screen *really* shows off the poor frame rate and video quality of the PSP's media player. You can watch FMV much more easily on the N-Gage (well, in the sense that it doesn't churn your stomach due to frame issues or general unwatchability). This is in reference strictly to the M-peg 4s many of you will try to watch on your PSP; I am in no way comparing this to the UMD format.

Being able to convert and watch whatever you want is important, though. I must say that I'm neither impressed with the (1) selection of UMD yet (can they be any more stereotypically male in the movies selected thus far? I'm not exactly waiting for "Save the Last Dance" to come out on UMD, but I'm not into Hollywood 2-hour blow-em-up fests, either). I'm also not impressed with the pricepoint (blah, proprietary media, blah). So, when Episode III comes out on video, will you buy the DVD *and* the UMD? Will you buy a UMD that is $10 more than the DVD? Or, will you transfer Episode III from DVD to your Memory Card Duo (the CAG solution), only to find that the frame rate is a train wreck?

I like my PSP; the comparison between the PSP and N-Gage in regards to games is not even close to being not even close. There are fun N-Gage titles, but PSP is a whole different monster. I find it to be a fantastic system that offers a lot of customization if a person is willing to put forth effort into finding out the methods of doing so. The N-Gage is a phone as well (I wouldn't call it a great phone, since any phone that works is a good phone).

The PSP is a gaming console; Am I saying that the N-Gage is better? Under no circumstances. I am saying that they are remarkably different systems, and the N-Gage has some viability.

besides, Nokia clearly has money to burn.

myke.
...I hope michaellvortega has sent out the QD I bought from him! I can't wait!

UPDATE: I messed around with the video converter a bit more, and it appears that the frame rate was killing me earlier. A friend linked me to the Episode III trailer, and after converting it, it ran beautifully on my PSP. So I rescind my comments about the PSP's poor video playback; it's very nice, in fact.

I still think that most people's backlash against the N-Gage is completely reactionary and poorly articulated. I shouldn't expect anything more, however.

myke.

[2poor]

cellular tlelephones suck. add poor gaming with poor games, and you've got a heapload of suck right there.

Seriously, do you ever have anything GOOD to say about anything? About yourself? You are the most Negative CAG I have ever come across. I REALLY wish there was a way to block certain member's posts, because you would be the first one to go. You add absolutley NOTHING to any discussion beside "this sucks, looks like crap, your dumb".

:-$ youre only encouraging it

[CapAmerica]

How many of you haters have played more than 15 minutes with the system? Way to show your ignorance :roll:

I played it for more the 15 min and I still hate it. I got one for free from a friend who worked at EB. It's a nice idea, but very poorly done. I think there is a reason why no one else has bothered to try to do what Nokia did. When you try to focuse on to many things at once everything suffers.

[Grave_Addiction]

How many of you haters have played more than 15 minutes with the system? Way to show your ignorance :roll:

I played it for more the 15 min and I still hate it. I got one for free from a friend who worked at EB. It's a nice idea, but very poorly done. I think there is a reason why no one else has bothered to try to do what Nokia did. When you try to focuse on to many things at once everything suffers.

Okay. How is it a nice idea, but poorly done? Please explain what the nice ideas are and what is poorly done?

[CapAmerica]

The idea of making a gaming celphone was a good idea. You look at all the cool games that are released in japan and its a smart step forward to make a phone that is easier to play games on.

Nokia should made a good cellphone that playes games and not a so-so handheld that you can talk into.

What I mean is, Nokia shouldn't have tried to make it look like a handheld, The should have left it looking like a phone, but put all the features in it. And market it as a phone that plays games and not as a handheld that you can make calls on. Making it look like a GameBoy Color would have been alot smarter move then trying to make it look like a GBA.

They also didn't need to make the games play like they belong on a GBA, they could have just left them like normal celphone game. I don't mind MonkeyBall on my Cell and I didn't mind it on the GBA, But I don't like it on the N-Gage.

The controls on it stink, I hate feeling all the other buttons under my thumb when I playing I keep looking over just to double check to make sure I'm on the right button. In general there are just to many buttons on it.

Useing it as a phone is weird. It just feels weird holding it to my head (side talking or not) It just doesn't fell natural. and I feel like I look weird useing it.

I think they just tryed to hard to be something their not. And I think they set there bar waaaaaay to high. Nokia should have started slower, insted they rushed it and now their on version 3.

I think what Nokia should do is ax the N-Gage all together. The name is totaly ruined and trying to fight in a market with the GBA:SP, DS and PSP would be suiside. But they should take the technology from the N-Gage and put it into their med and high end phones. a lot large group of people would play thouse games. and the celphone game market is big in japan and is just now taking off in the US. The Celphone is in its own market. It shouldn't be fighing agenst real handheld consoles.

[KingNES]

The idea of making a gaming celphone was a good idea. You look at all the cool games that are released in japan and its a smart step forward to make a phone that is easier to play games on.

Nokia should made a good cellphone that playes games and not a so-so handheld that you can talk into.

What I mean is, Nokia shouldn't have tried to make it look like a handheld, The should have left it looking like a phone, but put all the features in it. And market it as a phone that plays games and not as a handheld that you can make calls on. Making it look like a GameBoy Color would have been alot smarter move then trying to make it look like a GBA.

They also didn't need to make the games play like they belong on a GBA, they could have just left them like normal celphone game. I don't mind MonkeyBall on my Cell and I didn't mind it on the GBA, But I don't like it on the N-Gage.

The controls on it stink, I hate feeling all the other buttons under my thumb when I playing I keep looking over just to double check to make sure I'm on the right button. In general there are just to many buttons on it.

Useing it as a phone is weird. It just feels weird holding it to my head (side talking or not) It just doesn't fell natural. and I feel like I look weird useing it.

I think they just tryed to hard to be something their not. And I think they set there bar waaaaaay to high. Nokia should have started slower, insted they rushed it and now their on version 3.

I think what Nokia should do is ax the N-Gage all together. The name is totaly ruined and trying to fight in a market with the GBA:SP, DS and PSP would be suiside. But they should take the technology from the N-Gage and put it into their med and high end phones. a lot large group of people would play thouse games. and the celphone game market is big in japan and is just now taking off in the US. The Celphone is in its own market. It shouldn't be fighing agenst real handheld consoles.

After playing games like, colin mcray 2k5, pocket kingdom, tibia, pathway to glory, fifa 2k4, 2k5, thps, snakes 3d, x men legends, i think the control is not bad at all. Sure it is not a dedicated system BUT, it can do more right now that any hand held available, I can play NES,SNES,SMS,GB/GBC,Genny games and more, JAVA homebrewed games out the rear, MMORPG games, video playback an more. It's a hacker's dream. The screen is beatiful, it handles well. I hated the gage at 1st and last month got a new QD. I dont think the name is ruined by any means. people just like to crap on it. It isnt going to be a handheld system monster by ANY means. It is a smartphone and thats exactly what it does very well. They can easily redirect to a totally cell game market and be fine, they can stay as they are and still be fine. They are not looking for first place either. They know they cant beat the plumber or the PSP. But look at this, they have redesigned the system 3 times, they are innovating and constantly asking owners for what they want next, and the real scary part... They listened. I wish more companies were like that (U hear me Sony!)I do not consider my gage a system, its my smart phone and it does more than any handheld i have ever owned. I am glad i got it, and have a library of over 300+ games on the go via the above mentioned systems. Anyways thats my .02

[slimpip]

Sorry to change subject , but I noticed some PSP video conversion talk and I have a site here that might help a little :)

http://mysite.verizon.net/res6vlxa/encoders.htm

I love the rapiz converter, so so so many options and better compression. Although a little bit un-user friendly at first, I worked through it and the conversion is great (I prefer it over the 3gp).

I say the only way to watch video on PSP is with 512 mb memory or with the uber 1 GIG :P

[mykevermin]

Sorry to change subject , but I noticed some PSP video conversion talk and I have a site here that might help a little :)

http://mysite.verizon.net/res6vlxa/encoders.htm

I love the rapiz converter, so so so many options and better compression. Although a little bit un-user friendly at first, I worked through it and the conversion is great (I prefer it over the 3gp).

I say the only way to watch video on PSP is with 512 mb memory or with the uber 1 GIG :P

Thanks for the link; I got the impression that 3GP wasn't the greatest converter out there. I hope rapiz can convert .wmv files.

myke.

[epobirs]

I'll probably get an Ngage someday just for the sake of a distinct item in my collection. It may not get played all that much but I like to sample the also-rans as well as the machines that dominated their eras.

At this point there isn't much Nokia can do to make this a serious contender. The installed base globally was just recently announced to have reached 1.5 million. The PSP, if Sony meets their supply promise, will exceed that number within six weeks of its US launch. This will take away a lot of developers who were looking to produce things beyond what the GBA offered.

I suspect Ngage as a platform spec will live on but in the form of numerous other phones that can run the games but in a form factor favoring normal conversational usage more. Nokia alread does several clamshell models with PDA functions. Running Ngage games on those is a natural and offers the chance of some decent numbers.