Nokia's Finally Launches Its N-Gage Mobile Games Service
It's alive! Alive, I say!
A while ago, we ran a story on the flood of users that clamored to get a taste of Nokia's new N-Gage Gaming Service through their temporary First Access program.
Well, Nokia's finally launched the service, and it's been improved by a variety of things since the test phase including new games, better compatibility and an expanded online offering. Players on the service will be able to connect and compete with one another through the N-Gage Arena community where they can browse forums, chat live, play games and even compete in tournaments and events.
"With N-Gage we're offering a seamless experience for people around the world to try and buy games that are engaging, accessible and have wide appeal," said Jaakko Kaidesoja, vice president of games, Nokia. "We're very excited to get this into the hands of our customers, because with them we will shape the future of mobile gaming."
The N-Gage application also has support for friends lists, private messaging and an instant messaging style chat interface. Special N-Gage points can also be earned by playing games and participating in community events, and all of this can also be done through the N-Gage web portal on a PC. This portal will also allow players to purchase and download games directly to their mobile devices.
"With N-Gage First Access we offered Nokia N81 owners the first chance to try N-Gage and solicited their feedback to help us further refine the experience," continued Kaidesoja. "We were pleased that so many people took the time to test-drive the service and share their comments. Thanks to them we are now ready to offer an enhanced experience to a wider audience. Together with the N-Gage community we will keep developing the N-Gage experience further by adding new games and features that take advantage of rapidly evolving mobile technology."
The extended N-Gage compatibility list includes the Nokia N81, Nokia N81 8GB, Nokia N82, Nokia N95, and Nokia N95 8GB.
Nokia expects to add new games, features and increased compatibility at regular intervals, so there should always be something new to see or do. The games themselves are expected to cost $9-15 US, and all of them will allow you to try before you buy, which is an oddly generous gesture, and more than a lot of other services do -- which is basically give you one tiny screenshot and a description that tells you as little about the actual gameplay as possible.
To download the N-Gage application, visit http://www.n-gage.com on your mobile device or PC.