The N-Gage

[Opa Opa]

I just got my first N-Gage. (Okay, two N-Gages...)

Honestly, I'm kind of impressed given the hardware and its capabilities. The N-Gage can play music, be used as a phone, send text messages, has its own game library... and the original was released in 2003?? Back in '03 the only games I played on a phone were Snake and Tetris.

The N-Gage has to be of some inspiration for current phone manufacturers.
Look at the iphone and other similar devices. They do the same things (and more) than the N-Gage but I believe that we should start to give a little more credit to Nokia and their game system ("failed" platform or not).

[noiseredux]

are you gonna use yours as a phone?

I feel like someday I'll get an X-Peria Play (is that how you spell it?) if I can use it with my Virgin Mobile (no contract) acct. Why? No reason really other than to say "hey look at my PlayStation Phone."

[BoringSupreez]

N-Gage was sort of like the Laserdisc, or 3DO. Too early for it's time, and too outdated once cellphone gaming became popular.

[AznKhmerBoi]

Even if the specs were capable of todays standard phones, i doubt it would even sell well. Why? you ask... well the design of the product itself was just atrocious.

Sorry to say, but this product in my eyes is just plain oogly.



Though iwouldnt mind owning one now.

[Opa Opa]

are you gonna use yours as a phone?

I feel like someday I'll get an X-Peria Play (is that how you spell it?) if I can use it with my Virgin Mobile (no contract) acct. Why? No reason really other than to say "hey look at my PlayStation Phone."

Nah. I rarely use my current cellular phone.

Xperia Play looks pretty neat but it's kinda expensive last I checked.

Even if the specs were capable of todays standard phones, i doubt it would even sell well. Why? you ask... well the design of the product itself was just atrocious.

Sorry to say, but this product in my eyes is just plain oogly.

It's actually a fairly comfortable gaming device. The D-pad and buttons feel pretty good and the overall design is compact even compared to some of today's phones.

[BoringSupreez]

Even if the specs were capable of todays standard phones, i doubt it would even sell well. Why? you ask... well the design of the product itself was just atrocious.

Sorry to say, but this product in my eyes is just plain oogly.

It's actually a fairly comfortable gaming device. The D-pad and buttons feel pretty good and the overall design is compact even compared to some of today's phones.

Phones have become something of a fashion statement these days. It's about more than just how it feels. It's gotta look good too, and the N-Gage looks like a taco.

[jay_red]

To use it like a phone, you had yo hold the edge to your ear, not the flat side, what a terrible design choice! I remember when it came out, they were calling for an end to the gameboy advance, then it just tanked. Like others have said, I wouldnt mind getting my hands on one these days just to check it out, were there any noteworthy games on it? I know they had a ton of dumbed down ports...

[Opa Opa]

Like others have said, I wouldnt mind getting my hands on one these days just to check it out, were there any noteworthy games on it? I know they had a ton of dumbed down ports...

Games of notable interest (that I have played/know of):

Pocket Kingdom: Own the World- A portable MMORPG (it may be the first portable MMORPG ever; not too sure though). It has an offline mode which I find to be quite enjoyable. My favorite N-Gage game I've played so far.

Xanadu Next- Made by Falcom. An Action RPG with an Adol Christin (from Ys) looking character.

The Roots: Gates of Chaos- A Diablo-style, Gauntlet Legends looking dungeon crawler. This game may be one of the most expensive N-Gage titles. They start used on amazon at around $70. And a brand new copy went for around $200 on ebay (although the listing is no longer available to view).

Elder Scrolls: Shadowkey- Okay, I haven't played this yet but it's the main reason I wanted to buy an N-Gage. I love Elder Scrolls games and this one is only playable on the N-Gage.

King of Fighters: Extreme- I don't know if this is a port or not and I have no clue if it's a good game. I have the box and manual but lack the game... which kind of sucks because it is one of the pricier titles. I've heard good things about the KoF series and I'm curious to know how well this game plays.

[FerretGamer]

I actually owned and purchased the N-Gage right after its release in the US. As someone said earlier, it was just too advanced for its time. Unfortunately, Nokia should've launched with the QD revision as that addressed many of the issues with the original design.



Keep in mind in 2003, all that we had was the Gameboy Advance. The N-Gage had ports of PS1 games like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (Video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTNuJgBRlhU), Tomb Raider, and Pandemonium running fairly well. There were also some decent original titles developed for it like Pathway to Glory and Ashen as well as the others mentioned in this thread.

I've always wanted to get back all of my N-Gage stuff, since I had to sell it off several years back while I was in college.

[ksloth]

I had the N-Gage (the second model, shown above) and I did have some fun with it. I think I played Tony Hawk the most on it out of all the games available. It wasn't a very good phone though, and the rubber bumper thing that went around the sides was always coming off and letting dust inside the case.

Eventually it got so much dust inside, I just decided to go with a new phone, and picked up a 1st generation iphone.