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[FortNinety]

Just wanted to say I agree with human5892 100%. It's hard to justify the N-Gage's existence by saying its shoddy controls are just "fine" for just a few folks, has a wealth of playable games that aren't even intended for the system, and is half-assed with it comes to any real functionality.

By the way, I know someone who has the unit, I've used it for a while, and it sucks.

But what gets me is that N-Gage has always viewed themselves as serious contenders to the competition. Calling Game Boy just for kids was pretty fucking retarded and they deserve every bit of failure thus far.

 

[KyotoMecca]

DiscussQUOTE]

N-Gage has a bad reputation among gamers and is knocked all the time for a simple reason: it's shit. Not only is it shit, but the whole brand sucks and nobody wants it. Hell, Dreamcast was often accused of bad marketing but many would agree they got the brand and the positioning mostly right in Japan and the US at least, hence much of its short lived success, but N-Gage is just not trendy, not cool, run by execs with funny accents who are shit in conferences, and the product itself is just really rubbish. They will need to make some serious, SERIOUS changes about their attitude entering the games market if/when they launch NG2.

 

[BuddyC]

Pocket Kingdom is pretty cool.

 

[mrklaw]

Xbox has a bad reputation among gamers and is knocked all the time for a simple reason: it's shit. Not only is it shit, but the whole brand sucks and nobody wants it. Hell, Dreamcast was often accused of bad marketing but many would agree they got the brand and the positioning mostly right in Japan and the US at least, hence much of its short lived success, but Xbox is just not trendy, not cool, run by execs with funny accents who are shit in conferences, and the product itself is just really rubbish. They will need to make some serious, SERIOUS changes about their attitude entering the games market if/when they launch XB2.


That was MS about 2 years ago.

 

[jarrod]

I remember hearing Nextech (of Ranger X, Crusader of Centy, Code: Veronica, Shining Soul 1-2 fame) made Pocket Kingdoms... any truth to that?

 

[Datawhore]

Anyone notice: they are all basically 2d. 3d just doesn't work on an N-Gage, just as it does not on a GBA.

Nokia should abandon 3D engine development for its games and stick to 2D. PTG looks fantastic in 2D, bring it on.

 

[Datawhore]

DiscussQUOTE] ... run by execs with funny accents who are shit in conferences...

Well this is clearly a good reason to hate fun N-Gage games like PTG, Ghost Recon, CMR5, Ashpalt...

Since when was the value of a games platform determined by the english speaking ability of some of its executives and not the strength of its games?

Is this the first instance of game racism?

 

[human5892]

That was MS about 2 years ago.

That's also completely irrelevant.

 

[Saint Cornelius]

As I find myself playing games on my shitty Nokia 3595 phone more and more, I must say that I'm definitely intrigued by a phone/gaming unit hybrid.

 

[Chittagong]

DiscussQUOTE]
run by execs with funny accents who are shit in conferences

So Nintendo sucks too because Satoru Iwata attempts to talk the language of the audience, despite not being good at it? That is instead of using the translator he obviously could afford - Miyamoto and Aonuma use one, for example.

I'm sorry, but your arrogant post made me feel pretty shitty as I'm a non-native speaker, too.

Sorry for not being born in your country!

 

[SteveMeister]

There's also The Elder Scrolls Travels: Shadowkey coming out for n-Gage:

 

[jarrod]

Don't forget Nokia made a deal with Nihon Falcom to make nGage games. So far it's only Xanadu Next has been announced but Ys & Legend of Heroes have been promised also...

... it still eludes me why Microsoft never offered Falcom a sweet deal to port their PC games to Xbox. I bet things would be going much better in Japan if Ys Eternal Story, Zwei!!, Ys VI, Legend of Heroes VI and Genso Sangokushi were all exclusive to the platform...

 

[Datawhore]

I'm really looking forward to Xanadu Next. There's just something so fun about Japanese action RPGs.

 

[KyotoMecca]

Well this is clearly a good reason to hate fun N-Gage games like PTG, Ghost Recon, CMR5, Ashpalt...

Since when was the value of a games platform determined by the english speaking ability of some of its executives and not the strength of its games?

Is this the first instance game racism?

Here is my theory: why do companies like Microsoft and Nintendo have people like J Allard and Reggie Fils Amie on stage at E3? Because they bring with them a bit of clout and a bit of cool, a but of American showmanship. Iwata may speak with a funny accent but funny Japanese accents are cool to gamers - just because they are. But Nokia would be better off hiring people who can actually command a conference instead of making everyone shuffle in discomfort at the back. These guys simply didn't know who they were dealing with! Call it shallow... but then we all know it's the smallest, simplest, most image-conscious factors that can make or break shit in this biz... just look at Xbox JP.

Of COURSE this is not the MAIN factor, but image is important these days and the industry stopped taking Nokia N-Gage seriously as soon as its E3 2003 conference ensued.

 

[Lazy8s]

N-Gage design was so poorly executed, yet Nokia has been trying so hard that they've made it into a worthwhile device.

 

[Datawhore]

I admit that Nokia's E3 2003 & 2004 press conferences were weak, but it had very little to do with the english speaking ability of its presenters. They have to focus their presentations on the innovation in their games, and not the boring corporate strategy of their mothership. Hopefully Nokia has learned this lesson for next year. They've done an admirable job in responding to device and game criticism - now let's see how they do with their PR.

 

[Ulairi]

Does anyone know how many units the N-Gage and QD have pushed?

 

[Datawhore]

Apparently they've shipped a million units, as for sell through, that's anybody's guess.

 

[Project Midway]

There's also The Elder Scrolls Travels: Shadowkey coming out for n-Gage:

here's a vid (~5megs), looks suprisingly smooth: http://www.christiannork.de/n-page/N_Page_Elder2.avi


And about the sell through, I think its around million, IIRC they shipped around 600 000 in 2003. Why would retailers order half million more if the first shipment wasnt sold? Dunno. The old model sold like crazy when its price was dropped to 99 euros.

 

[Keio]

http://kotisivu.mtv3.fi/tuomaskoo/Sidetalking_34s.wmv

Respect it?

 

[Project Midway]

Gamespot has a new Requiem of Hell preview:

Requiem of Hell is a gothic-themed dungeon crawler in the spirit of Diablo. Like the game that inspired it, Requiem of Hell couples hack-and-slash action with sorcery and light role-playing game elements. Developed by Beijing-based Digital-Red, the minds behind several graphically impressive Symbian games, Requiem of Hell is wrapped in a very pretty visual package. It's also shaping up to be the most "colorfully" localized game we've yet seen on the N-Gage. The unintentional humor that results from Requiem's nonsensical dialogue can actually be a charming addition, although the plot occasionally borders on incomprehensibility. The poor translation notwithstanding, Requiem of Hell is looking very appealing. Unless Blizzard suddenly decides to support the N-Gage, this is the closest approximation of Diablo N-Gage owners can hope for.

http://www.gamespot.com/ngage/action/requiemofhell/preview_6109965.html

 

[Funky Papa]

Requiem of Hell framerate is total shite, but Pathway To Glory and Rifts are going to rock and Shadowkey is very nice from what I've heard. I'll try to get some The One information the next week for the few local fanboys

PS: Asphalt is really great. Best 3d racing game for a handheld so far.

 

[Project Midway]

PS: Asphalt is really great. Best 3d racing game for a handheld so far.

yeah, its really cool. Like a Burnout 3 on handheld.

edit: Funky Papa, do you have the latest build of Requiem Hell? Because in Gamespot preview they say there's no framerate problems in single-player mode, only in two-player co-op mode.

 

[Funky Papa]

It even has pretty sparks

 

[Teddman]

I really should get around to writing a little humor piece about this year's N-Gage E3 press conference. Was anyone else there? They are SO worth attending for all the wrong reasons. God, the Nokia execs try so hard but they have got to get someone else to do the talking for them onstage.

The intro to the Rifts demo clip was especially hilarious. "All of you RPG fanz have heard of this game, is very popular game... Game is called RRRRIFTS! RRRRIFTS!"

[utterly incomprehensible CG clip follows, showing zero in-game footage. Basically, a robot runs down a hallway into an arena and shoots lazers at a girl floating, sitting cross-legged in the air. The robot's shots bounce off a force field that appears around her, then she shoots an even bigger lazer beam out of the middle of her head or her mouth, can't remember which, destroying the robot. End.]

Audience: WTF was that?