What went wrong with Nokia N-Gage?

[FamicomRetroGamer]

I had one and I loved it as a gaming portable device, but as a mobile phone to call people, I never used for that function.

The games would be better with a widescreen than fullscreen (4:3) on the N-Gage, but it was new to the market and it seems people weren't just interested at all? Wrong time releasing the console/phone?

Same could be said about PSPgo, it's a digital-only game device which should've been releases too early and so it died too, yes, Sony has officially cancelled producing PSPgo.

I'm going to buy a Nokia N-Gage from eBay because I want to have one and in brand new condition (I hate scratches on screen and whatnot).

If you don't know how a Nokia N-Gage looks like, it's below:

Original


Second Model - QD


If it were released this day and age, it would have been a complete success which would compete with PSP and DS, plus iPhone and Android devices.

[UglyJoe]

One word: Sidetalkin'

It wasn't a very good phone nor a very good gaming system.  Kind of a "worst of both worlds" device.

[FamicomRetroGamer]

I agree it wasn't very good as a mobile phone, but for gaming it sure kept me entertained during various car journeys.

My favourite of all time N-Gage game is Pandemonium, something about it makes it very addictive. And then it's Asphalt.

It sucks it didn't get many N-Gage games, but I'm happy with the ones it got. =)

A Dragon Ball Z game would've been awesome, though.

[MS-DOS4]

I remember hating it almost immediately when I tried it at a demo booth at gamestop.

[nintendodork]

...but for gaming it sure kept me entertained during various car journeys.

Didn't you have a Game Boy or anything?  The Game Boy Advance came out two years before this, and I guarantee it was better, not to mention cheaper.   Even a Game Boy Color/original seems like it'd be better than this, although I've never played an N-Gage for myself.

[Jedi Master Baiter]

Wow - people. Can we accomplish the simple task of explaining why we don't like things?

I remember hating it almost immediately when I tried it at a demo booth at gamestop.

The Game Boy Advance came out two years before this, and I guarantee it was better, not to mention cheaper.

Cheaper is good; how much did N-Gages go for back in the day?

Funny how this is brought up - I used the N-Gage to discuss the Form follows Function principle in a graphic design paper.

[FamicomRetroGamer]

...but for gaming it sure kept me entertained during various car journeys.

Didn't you have a Game Boy or anything?  The Game Boy Advance came out two years before this, and I guarantee it was better, not to mention cheaper.   Even a Game Boy Color/original seems like it'd be better than this, although I've never played an N-Gage for myself.

N-Gage was pricey back then, but I've always liked N-Gage more than GBA.

[RegalSin]

I will tell you why the N-gage failed.

1. People like me who at the time was a consumer of videogames.
A. wanted a wireless add-on for the GBA ( like earlier celluar phones)
B. would follow Nintendo off a cliff
C. Looked at that thing and said, why not just make a GB add-on ( which they did in Japan )

2. Nokia already had celluar phones with many videogames on it. Why do I need to break the bank for a fricken phone, just to play games. Have you seen most of videogames released on phones. So far their has only been three celluar phone games, and all have no packaging.

3.  Many of the games on the systems as usually was just ports, as with the 3DS. So their was no need to even buy the thing. I mean oh wow I could play a downgraded version of sonic on the N-gage or the same craptacullar version on the GBA, No wait!!!! I could play the port on that SNL system or even a wonderswan.

That was the next problem. People with celluar phones and played games, did not make enough, or see the reason for owning a cell phone.

4. Celluar phones  still do not have the transfer program we need to use on X os setup.
...

That is why the N-gage failed. The screen had nothing to do with the lack of consumers.

1. The PSP only wins since the crowds of infected SONY zombies still fills the streets
2. The NDS has the Nitendophiles
3.  The GBA has the original Nintendo followers
4. The Neo-geo pocket had all the hardcore gamers from the past in the USA and other western regions
5. The Wonderswan had the hardcore gamers in the East.
6. Celluar phones at the time all ran Java.

[FamicomRetroGamer]

Neo Geo Pocket Color wasn't very famous neither, I've only became aware of it last year.

I did see an NGP (not PSP2) at a store a few years ago but only last year, I was aware of what it was actually.

It looks a really interesting device, but a little too big to have as a portable.

GB > GBC > GBA

GBA is my least favourite of the Game Boy series.

[Jedi Master Baiter]

GB > GBC > GBA

GBA is my least favourite of the Game Boy series.

No love for GBASP?

Or are you talking about the titles? If so, I agree.

[RegalSin]

I owned a SP. I think this was the time when I finally said to myself, enough of the censoring. I will not pay another cent for an altered game no matter how many additional add-on's they put into it. The N-gage was already heading the way of the Atari, if the N-gage had a comic adventure that was really good, only then it might have win. Instead it played the Jaguar card.

[FamicomRetroGamer]

GB > GBC > GBA

GBA is my least favourite of the Game Boy series.

No love for GBASP?

Or are you talking about the titles? If so, I agree.

I was talking in terms of games.

GBA SP belongs to GBA.