Nokia have, for the first time, presented their new mobile game deck in a press event in London. The presentation was combined with the launch of the official N-Gage web site and a string of press releases announcing new partnerships with a variety of game developers and mobile phone companies.
The whole event suggests that when the game deck is released it will come with a formidable array of games and mobile services.
The presentation demonstrated that Nokia are really determined to pull this off. The developers working on N-Gage are steadily growing in number, the new ones announced are ,THQ Wireless, Eidos Interactive and Activision.
N-Gage.com also offers a wide variety of promotional downloads, including screensavers and wallpapers. Follow the download tab above to find the links or find out which games each company will offer on N-Gage by following the links below and to the right.
As Megagames had reported a couple of days ago, Nokia officially announced that Taito had joined the group. The first Taito titles will include Puzzle Bobble VS, a fighting action multiplayer puzzle game, and Taito Memories, the four most popular Taito game titles in one package.
Taito feels absolutely confident that the Nokia N-Gage will lead the mobile terminal market with the creation of a new game platform, said Yasuo Nishigaki, President, Taito Corporation. In the future, Taito will certainly put more efforts and resources to cooperate with Nokia to promote the N-Gage and we will expand our mobile game content offering.
The Nokia N-Gage brings a new level of mobile interactive gaming to the market, offering totally new and unique gaming possibilities. Taito provides an exciting selection of interactive games that take advantage of the innovative features found only on the N-Gage, said Ilkka Raiskinen, Senior Vice President, Entertainment and Media Business Unit, Nokia Mobile Phones. We are very pleased to be working with Taito to bring rich game content to the Nokia N-Gage.
Puzzle Bobble VS is a highly popular fighting action puzzle game formatted specifically for the Nokia N-Gage. Taking advantage of the Bluetooth functionality in the N-Gage, Puzzle Bobble VS lets four people play at same time in a wireless environment. Taito Memories includes Super Space Invaders, an update of the world classic Space Invaders, and three other leading Taito games. These game titles will be available on MMC (MultiMediaCard) and sold separately from the Nokia N-Gage game deck.
Not much is known about Eidos' contribution to N-Gage games but it is almost certain that Lara Croft will make it to the N-Gage platform.
This collaboration represents a great opportunity for Eidos to work with the world leader in mobile communications in shaping the next generation in mobile gaming. The Nokia N- Gage game deck will enable consumers to experience Eidos' compelling content in a mobile environment, said Mike McGarvey, CEO of Eidos.
Nokia believes that games is the next big thing in mobility. The Nokia N-Gage offers totally new and unique possibilities that were not previously available in this quality for game publishers or end-users. We are very excited about working with Eidos to provide high quality content. Eidos has some of the best known brands in interactive entertainment and shares Nokia's vision of mobile gaming, said Ilkka Raiskinen Senior Vice President, Entertainment and Media Business Unit, Nokia Mobile Phones.
Under the terms of the agreement, three of THQ Wireless' leading games titles, MotoGP, MLBPA Players Choice Baseball (working title) and Red Faction will be available when the N-Gage starts shipping.
The games, which will be available on memory cards, include such additional features as near distance multiplayer gaming over Bluetooth as well as downloadable and uploadable mobile elements.
Tim Walsh, Sr. VP, International Publishing and Wireless, THQ Inc., said: This collaboration with Nokia draws upon THQ's experience and expertise in both the console and wireless games markets. The new N-Gage platform is a great fit for THQ as it combines the traditional console method of distribution with the potential for additional revenue for service providers enabled by the N-Gage's multiplayer capabilities.
We are committed to delivering high quality games with compelling gameplay from world-renowned games publishers on the new N-Gage(TM) mobile game deck, said Ilkka Raiskinen, Senior Vice President, Entertainment and Media Business Unit, Nokia Mobile Phones. We are delighted to work with THQ Wireless to bring a number of their leading titles to the N-Gage(TM) platform.
Activision also confirmed that it expects to work closely with Nokia on developing games that would support the platform at launch.
We are excited about the N-Gage game deck and intend to work closely with Nokia to create games for the new platform, said David Anderson, director of licensing and business development for Activision. We believe that the system will help expand the demographics for video games and provide us with new opportunities to reach our audience.
The Nokia N-Gage brings a whole new level of interactive gaming with its innovative features. Working with leading games developers like Activision means that consumers will have a fantastic selection of high-quality titles to play, said Ilkka Raiskinen, Senior Vice President, Entertainment and Media Business Unit, Nokia Mobile Phones.
