Nokia N-Gage is live
After being in ‘preview’ mode on various Nokia N-Series models, the Nokia’s N-Gage is finally ready for download. Nokia N81, N82 and N95 users now get to try out the app and the games for it, even before it’s made official.
Nokia announced the news on the official N-Gage blog, prior to the official announcement (to be made Monday). Before this, the beta version of the app was available to First Access users, who were able to try out the application and selected game titles.
Formerly, Nokia was pushing N-Gage mobile gaming phones, attempting to compete head-on with other handheld gaming devices like Nintendo’s Gameboy range. The endeavor wasn’t a success and instead, Nokia is pushing the N-Gage as a platform, with selected phone models being able to download the N-Gage apps and related games. Besides playing the games on their devices, players can compete and play with other users in the N-Gage arena.
Players need to first create a player account/name, which they can either do from the app itself or via the site at www.n-gage.com. The app itself is a 6.8MB .sis file that can be downloaded and installed manually, or direct from a supported mobile phone. At press time, five games were available for a free trial: System Rush:Evolution, Asphalt 3: Street Rules, Brain Challenge, World Series of Poker Pro, and Hooked On: Creatures of the Deep. Other games are in the works; they include Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and FIFA 2008.
The N-Gage is just part of Nokia’s overall internet strategy. Nokia’s Ovi multimedia sharing portal will also allow users to access games, communities and other content via their mobile phones. At the recent Games Developer Conference (GDC), Nokia’s keynote on the subject was titled: “Play with anybody everywhere — context, the new paradigm for game play”.
To try out the N-Gage app (for N81, N82, N95 phones only), go here. Nokia says that eventually the app will roll out to more phones, though no specific dates or models were mentioned. Will the Finnish company manage to redeem itself after its former N-Gage gaming taco fiasco? Mobile gamers sure hope so.
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