Nokia reveals new N-Gage efforts

The world's largest mobile phone handset maker, Nokia, has shown off its new N-Gage efforts at GDC. The latest development in the N-Gage mobile gaming brand provides a software, not a hardware, platform to run on Nokia S60 3rd edition devices. The company announced its next generation software development kit (SDK 1.0) for the new N-Gage games platform.

"The availability of the N-Gage SDK 1.0 today is the corner stone of Nokia's new development eco-system for developers to create connected mobile games in a familiar C++ environment," said Mark Ollila, Director of Technology & Strategy and Nokia Games Publishing, Nokia. "This single development channel impacts positively on development cycles and budgeting as well as creating new social connected gaming experiences that will lead the way to how people discover, buy and play games in the future."

Nokia also announced a new compliance testing program for SNAP Mobile's Java platform, which the company believes will lower the cost barrier of entry for game developers by combining a self-testing process with a traditional certification program.

"We are reinforcing our commitment to this industry with two significant initiatives that will help the mobile games industry evolve. Our N-Gage platform will deliver a global games platform that leverages the performance of the tens of millions of S60 converged devices that we are shipping each year," said Gregg Sauter, Director of Games Publishing, Nokia. "Likewise, our support for Java development continues to evolve with more tools for developers supporting SNAP Mobile."

Source:
DailyTech

Written by: James Delahunty @ 6 Mar 2007 11:38

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3 comments

SProdigy

They better think up something quick for the old "Taco Phone" because the RAZR has a giant share of the market and the iPhone is just around the corner.

6.3.2007 11:57 #1

rihgt682

I gotta say razor owns mobile phone right now.

6.3.2007 19:54 #2

handsom

This isn't about the taco phone(I own one, why, because it was free. Good reason, no?) this is about changing N-Gage from being an annoying failed taco phone, to a *software* setup that would be standard on all Nokia phones.

Truthfully, some of Nokia's phones could play N-Gage games on day one; this is simply making a new platform that is a great gaming engine for ALL of Nokia's phones. I'm assuming (Because I don't know) that support for both models of the infamous taco phone will never really come back... Because nobody liked it.

But the idea of Nokia trying to establish a brand on the software side like this; is wonderful. They might really be able to do something here, since so many phones are s60 compatible. It would be a welcome change, IMO.

And yes, the MOTORAZR seems to have a HUGE grip as the most popular phone MODEL. But Nokia, as a brand, has a much larger grip on the market. Either way, this is an intriguing development; that will ultimately make almost no difference. Because, as the N-Gage proved, most cell users really don't care about the games on their phone *that* much. lol.

7.3.2007 09:00 #3

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