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8th October 2003:
N-gage is released
Nokia's hand held machine is finally unleashed on the world.
Posted by Chris Barnett - N-Gage - UK and Europe

After much hype and a pseudo-world tour, the N-Gage has finally been released throughout the world. And after several visits to games shops we can confirm that it has been pretty slow in selling.

The slow sales at certain stores can clearly be blamed on the fact that they did not receive the units until today, a full 24 hours after the release date. This would result in people buying one from elsewhere and therfore starving the unstocked shop of a sale.

Those shops that did get the units and games in stock did not fare much better though with many reporting no sales for the whole of the first day. This could be for many reasons:

Firstly, many people do not know the console is even out. Several people actually asked what an N-Gage was when we asked them if they were considering buying one. Then when we mentioned Nokia they simply thought it was a mobile phone that plays games (like the JAVA ones on current phones). It was only after we showed them the demo pod that they acknowledged that the thing even existed!

Next, the staff of the games shops are VERY poorly educated on the console. Many do not know of all the functions and exactly how they work. Seeing as the console is packed with many great features, it is a shame that the staff of the shops that are selling them do not know of all of them. Many staff knew that it played MP3s and had a radio, but few knew what Bluetooth implied (the fact that wireless data transfer can be done free of any charges) and none understood the phone tariffs that are available. This is a great shame as the very same shops seemed to be pretty swift in learning the specifications of the Xbox when that was released.

Next, it could be that gamers are not interested in the console, due mainly to the lack of understanding of it. We cannot see anyone who would not be at least a bit interested in buying an N-Gage if they knew the full features, no matter what the price. If anyone understands the amount of technology in the N-Gage then they must also understand that the price of �229.99 is not really as high as it sounds. And then there is the added factor of the coolness of the device. So you COULD buy an MP3 player, a Mobile phone and a GameBoy Advance SP but you could not carry all of them at once. And the N-Gage is at least as good (if not better) as a stand alone version of all the listed devices (the MP3 playback is great in the correct quality).

The final reason for the lack of interest maybe due to the fact that it is new and therefore lacking in support. That is, a few games that were supposed to be launch titles have not made it on time and most shops did not have any accessories in stock (no spare batteries or memory sticks). In fact, the only games that are available in most shops are Tomb Raider, Super Monkey Ball and Pandemonium. This is a fairly solid line up but hardly screaming out for a purchase of the console. In short, there is no game yet that insists that you buy an N-Gage to play it. Of course you may want one for all the other features, but a great game (such as a multiplayer Mario Kart type racer or a Doom style shooter) would certainly increase, maybe double, sales.

So overall, the sales have been unfair on the console and it is due mainly to games shops. If the shops put in the effort to plaster their stores with useful information (not just descriptions of how many levels a game has or how close to the PlayStation original that Tomb Raider is) about the complete features of the console, it would certainly improve interest (maybe not sales in an instant as �229.99 takes a bit of saving these days).

Let's just hope that shops understand this and tell people what they are missing because we really admire the N-Gage and would love to see it succeed, mainly as it is a unique console. Many think it's an opponent to the GameBoy Advance but it certainly is not. Such a comparison is like equating a VCR to a DVD player, it's a mistake that the uninitiated will be inclined to make.

Chris Barnett

Related Games:

Pandemonium
for N-Gage

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