Nokia releases mobile gaming platform

Nokia unveiled one of its most complicated handsets to date, the N-Gage, a new handheld wireless gaming console the vendor plans to pit directly against Nintendo’s GameBoy Advance gaming deck.

Complete with Bluetooth, MP3 player, FM radio, web browser, and a 176x208 pixel screen supporting 4096 colors, the N-Gage is by far Nokia’s most sophisticated consumer device, using its Series 60 platform based on the Symbian operating system. While the device acts as a GSM phone, it is specifically designed for wireless data allowing gamers to play head to head and download new games directly from Nokia and its partners.

As for partners, there is no shortage. Nokia today announced a slew of agreements including deals with game publishers Taito, THG, Edios and Activision to bring their gaming content to the device. Nokia signed up developer Sega when it first announced it was building the device last year, and also plans on becoming its own publisher, launching Nokia branded games over carrier networks.

T-Mobile was the first carrier to announce it will launch the N-Gage over its networks though it did not give a timetable for when and in which markets it would begin selling the handset. The device’s Tri-band 900/1800/1900 MHz GSM GPRS chip makes it ready for deployment in both Europe and North America. Nokia said it plans to offer the N-Gage in five continents by the fourth quarter.

Strand Consult said that it expects Nokia to have limited sales with the device. Even though Nintendo’s Gameboy sells millions of units all over the world, the N-Gage’s potential audience is much smaller. The N-Gage is both a mobile device and a gaming deck, and Nokia will have to convince its customers they need both, said John Strand, CEO of Strand Consult.