N-Gage

[SegaAges]

Anyone have one?

If you do, how much did you pay for it?

I am thinking of getting one, but will only get it used, because for that price, I could get 2 sp's.

[jonjandran]

I never thought I would say this but, I really like mine.
I play it all the time.
I do Nes and Mame Emulation on it.
The Nes emulation isn't perfect (sound is off), but it's cool.
And the actual N-Gage games are all fun.

I like it because the screen is real bright and sharp. After playing on the washed out GBA SP screen it brings a tear to my eye to play on a bright non-washed-out screen.

Yea it has it's faults , but I like it.

And you should be able to get one used with a game or two for around $125-$135 on Ebay.

One note of caution is that you're going to need a mmc media card also . A 128mb mmc cost me $70 at Circuit City.

Also they are going to release a new redesigned N-Gage at E3 in May, So you may want to wait for it.

[Satan Claus]

N-Gages are getting close to the GBA SP - you can get one bundled with Fifa 2004 for 150Euro here in Germany.

[christianscott27]

wonder if there will be some sort of super cheap blow out on the first models when the new one comes out in may?

[tom]

Hey, I love my N-Gage, which was free (in the UK anyway). I got Sonic, Tony Hawk's and Prince of Persia so far.
As for the MMC card, that's a must, my 256MB card stores 4 albums in AAC format, or 4 two hour films in Real Player format.

[Cmosfm]

A new redisgned N-Gage? Why? If you take a piece of shit and mold it into a trophy.....in the end it's still a piece of shit.

[rbudrick]

Someone offered me $5 and a half-eaten cheese sandwich, and I still wouldn't take their Ngage.

:D

-Rob

[Stark]

Except for "Tom" who got a free N-Garbage anyone who thinks that it is a good gaming platform should be fined for saying so. (due to him not paying for it disqualifies his opinion) Why oh why would anyone compliment that pile of overpriced junk with the nifty sideways phone? Has anyone who leaves their house at least once a week ever seen anyone using that thing? Nope- and lets see bad reviews everywhere (mags, online, stores ect.) Put it to rest for the love of Mel Gibson! 8-)

[Cmosfm]

Stark has a good point....has anyone...EVER seen anyone using one as a phone? I work in a mall, and never ever seen it. Once seen a kid playing one, thats it...not even on TV do you see commercials with people using them.

[Achika]

Stark has a good point....has anyone...EVER seen anyone using one as a phone? I work in a mall, and never ever seen it. Once seen a kid playing one, thats it...not even on TV do you see commercials with people using them.

Yes. I have seen people using it. Granted the guy got it for free, but he uses it all the time. He even laid his old cell phone to rest when he got it, instead of selling it to make some cash.

I like mine also. Great layout for puzzle games. Great screen and sound too. And, if you sit and read the manual like you would for any other cell phone, it's not that hard to figure out how to use.

I got it for Christmas, but my parents paid full retail price for it and two games and recieved a $100 gift card.

[nesuser2]

Well, I had one and I thought it was pretty decent. I didn't get to do much on it since I only had Tomb Raider for it and I really hate that game.....to be quite honest. Anyways, bigger expenses came along and I decided I should part with the thing that was least closest to my heart and still retained some value.

I probably would have kept it because I get an unbelievable kick out of emulation on a device other than a PC. I usually don't ever use it, like on my GBA and Xbox. I'm lucky if I play it for 2 hours a month but I still like fiddling with it. Now, the reason I didn't keep it. I couldn't find an MMC card that wasn't online or ended up costing an arm and a leg so out the door it went. I don't know exactly what they could change about the layout except I can't truely imagine playing Sonic N on that screen O_O

[Ed Oscuro]

A new redisgned N-Gage? Why? If you take a piece of shit and mold it into a trophy.....in the end it's still a piece of shit.
Sorry, I don't quite follow that logic...remember the Game Gear? A redesigned N-Gage doesn't sound that bad at all...it could be the Gear of this generation.

Remember, when you try to mold poo you've still got a mass of fiber...but when you redesign a console, you can start relatively fresh :)

I'm with Christian (Montgomery???) Scott on this...I like the prospect of seeing a price-dropped original N-Gage soon.

[jonjandran]

I gurantee that everyone who posted above that Hates the N-Gage never owned one or used it for more than a minute or two.
Once again Ignorant people love to run their mouths.

Yes most of the reviews are bad, and yes I would NEVER use it as a phone. But if you ACTUALLY PLAY THE SYSTEM , you probably will like it.

[Raccoon Lad]

I don't like how the screen is vertical, but otherwise, the N-gage's screen is SUPERB. Makes the SP's screen look like a pice of crap.

[crashdummycow01]

yea i dont see why yall dislike the N-Gage so much... i believe its because u've been told to dislike it... u read a couple of reviews by a couple of ppl who disliked it and ur anti-N-Gage. So far the only reason i've seen for yall disliking it is because... [ it has a phone and u dont see ppl using it as a phone ] ... damn thats a good reason to hate N-gage... damn those basterds for throwing in extra functions.. i've never owned or played an N-Gage.. but if it were cheaper, i would love to have one... in my opinion the only thing i see wrong with it, is the price.

if ur gonna talk about how bad something is, atleast give some good reasons to why you think its bad, i'm not saying its not bad, like i've said i've never played one before, but i havent seen any reasons to why yall hate it.

[DotCom]

Well I don't own one, but if the re-designed one is cool, then I might consider buying it. Wider screen, less buttons, and a better way to put games in would mkae it cool.

[SoulBlazer]

Yeah, I've played one. I hate how you need to go through so much hassle to change games, even starting one up is not easy. I hate how the games are watered down ports with nothing fresh or even worth buying. I hate how poor the sound is. And I hate how cramped and tight the controls are and how they don't give you the pin point accuracy you need. And of course, the phone aspect of it. Is that enough reasons? ;)

[crashdummycow01]

as long as u give reasons, i'm cool lol

[DigitalSpace]

I tried one out when they had the demo display stands at Gamestop, EB, etc. I was frustrated by all the buttons. Granted, I've never changed a game myself, but from what I've read on how to do it, it sounds like a hassle. Nokia shot themselves in the foot with that. If not that expensive MMC card.

I'd like to see a redesigned N-Gage, with an easier way to load games and a more convienent button configuration. And of course, a lower price.

The other night, on the bus, I saw this guy with his friend, who asked to use his friend's phone, and his friend handed him his N-Gage and explained how to use it as a phone. That's the only time I have ever seen it used as a phone. But then again, I rarely see anyone with an N-Gage at all. Probably two or three times total since it was released.

[Arcturius]

Stark has a good point....has anyone...EVER seen anyone using one as a phone? I work in a mall, and never ever seen it. Once seen a kid playing one, thats it...not even on TV do you see commercials with people using them.

My friend bought one and uses it as a phone every time he gets a call I can't help but laugh at how stupid he looks talking into it why they didn't put the ear and mouth pieces on the back instead of the top edge is a mystery to me ^-^

Besides if I wanted to get a portible machine for emulation I'd much rather get a GP32. Having gotten to try out my friends N-Gage I wasn't impressed by the keypad buttons on it at all and the screen although nice and crisp should be the other way around it feels wrong being vertical.

The worst sin of all is how BAD Puzzle Bobble is on it, seriously how is it possible to turn the cream that is Puzzle Bobble into something worse than Snood? (and yes I know that isn't the N-Gages fault it's the game programmers)

[christianscott27]

I'm with Christian (Montgomery???) Scott on this

heh heh he always was my favorite trek character. i loved it when he'd get left in charge of the ship and make cocky whiskey fueled commands! kirk did all the showboating and spock solved all the brain teasers but it was scotty who really kept them all alive.


i'm giving her all i got cap'n

warp speed 4...N-GAGE![/quote]
http://www.arczero.com/startrek/pics/otherpics/scotty.jpg
http://yuchtar.users4.50megs.com/Gallery/Scotty_1.jpg

[SegaAges]

what the hell is a mmc card?

I don't understand the way they work, do you download the games into this mmc card or something?

I have not played or even seen an N-Gage in stores, but all I know right now is that if you are going to promote it as a gaming machine, you can't sell it for double the price of your strongest competitor in the market at the moment, which is, Nintendo with their SP. You can even get an original GBA, which still plays the GBA games with the same quality, for around 1/4 of the price of an N-Gage.

Extra functions, maybe, but when you put that many functions in, charge double of your competitor, and make people buy a mmc card (whatever the hell that is) for 70 extra, no real gamer is going to want to get one. Sure every once in awhile you will see somebody that was dumb enough to spend all that money for one, but I can tell you this, if I spent 200 for an N-Gage, you better believe I would use it as a phone too. I actually have friends that buy $300 phones, and still won't buy an N-Gage.

I am actually looking into ways to try and get an N-Gage for less then the price of an SP (I'm not going to steal one). The way I see it, I only own an older GBA, so I can get a SP for $100 new, but an N-Gage, with the mmc card, will run what, $250-275. I can see why people don't like the N-Gage for that reason alone. Now if I got it for dirt cheap, I wouldn't hate it, I would use it as my phone, and a gaming machine, but that much money for a portable gaming system is way too much.

I think that Nokia doesn't realize this. I wouldn't either if I was Nokia, just because they can sell camera phones for $300. All this is, is just a phone with a different option, and that is descent quality games. I have a friend that has a Nokia phone that looks exacxtly like an N-Gage, but plays mp3s. I am sure you guys have seen the commercials for those music phones. Yeah, they suck, and yes, it is very annoying that it plays an actual song for the ringer. That is another subject, which is something I know annoys many people (you are studying or something, and hear Jay-Z playing, and then the person does what everyone does and has to brag about their phone, so they let it ring/play to the point where you are annoyed, and then you hear, "Hello"). If I was Nokia, I wouldn't drop the price from a cell phone perspective, but from a gaming machine side (which everybody reading this knows it what they are pushing it as), there is no way they are going to make the sales they want by charging $275 retail for one of thes things.

p.s. - If any of you people that hate the N-Gage have one that you want to get rid of for under 100, pm me.

[nesuser2]

Slight misconception here. The MMC card is nearly identical to an SD card, except......It's thinner, about half the thickness. I'm not sure if card readers will read them but in all reality, it should since it's pretty much an SD card. Anyways, There is no rule that says you have to buy an MMC card but you do have to buy one if you want to put any roms or emulators or actual Ngage games that you didn't pay for *Gasp* :eek 2: All you have to do is purchase the games and plop them in, so if you buy the MMC card, you can install the games on the card and not have to swap cards *gasp* But you would really be putting games on there that you legally own ;) And Ngages are sold on ebay all the time for around $140 or so and occasionally more and occasionally less. I sold mine for $140 shipped with Tomb Raider and some other little goodies. $100 is fair considering it costs $200 in the store. I actually did see one Ngage complete on ebay for $57 or so because they said the phone feature didn't work, so maybe that is your best route. I had one and no intentions of ever using it as a phone just because it's too complex to use as a phone. I never play the stupid games on my phone and I wouldn't play my phone on my handheld, ya dig? Sometimes more features just suck.

[wberdan]

when the price hits $29.95, i am buying an n-gage.
i dont like the button layout, and i dont like the look- however, i would play this thing if i could get it cheap.
until then- n-gage will have to wait.

willie

[calthaer]

I said in another thread that the funniest thing at Philly Classic 5 was the weird Japanese drum game. I take that back:

the funniest thing at Philly Classic 5 was seeing the NGage rep sitting all alone at his table, playing his NGage - with nobody talking to him or even really looking his way. Mwahahahahaha

[Jasoco]

I am surprised it's still around. The one GameStop that had a Kiosk around here
got rid of it a few months ago. And I've never seen them on display anymore.
I really hope it will die soon so I can get one cheap. I am damn hell not going
to pay the price they are now. Not until they are bargain bined.

And even then, the only game I'd even think about getting is Taito Memories..
ell, maybe Sonic and Rayman. I already have Tomb Raider.

[Oobgarm]

I got my N-Gage on Halloween of last year, and it's been in constant use since day 1. All of the Gamestop managers got one for free, and I bought one of the ones that were traded in, which never had been used. Think I gave like $150 for it. It insantly became my cell hone. Sure, I might look silly talking on it, but it doesn't really matter to me. The self-conciousness of talking into a taco goes away after a short while. It actually gets good reception(much better than my previous phone, anyway), and the internet capabilites aren't half bad.

I do use it for the occasional gaming session. I've got a good number of games for it, but I've only paid full price for 2: Super Monkey Ball and Virtua Tennis, the only two I think are really worth owning. All of the others I've either gotten on the cheap or for free since they were in-store demos. I tried the bluetooth connectivity with a friend who also has one, and I was quite unimpressed. I suppose that if the games were more fun, my opinion might change. I've also got NES and MAME on it. MAME is still a bit on the slow side but sounds good, while NES is full speed but sounds poor.

I've also found ways to play movie files (The GI Joe PSA's on the Ngage are great, I can't wait to try some Dave Chapelle), and the MP3 feature is nice. As mentioned previously, an MMC card is a necessity.

I don't regret buying one of these, as it's a nifty gadget. It's not much in the way of a gaming machine, but it works well as a multimedia device. And I've seen people pay close to $250-$300 for a color screen phone was internet access. This little thing does much more than play games, which was how it should have been marketed.

I read somewhere recently that Nokia is going to use N-Gage technology in future phones and not release another handheld. Not surprising.

http://www.dustincarter.com/images/ntaco.gifhttp://www.dustincarter.com/images/head.gifhttp://www.dustincarter.com/images/head.gifhttp://www.dustincarter.com/images/head.gif

[punkoffgirl]

It's not really going to "go away" just yet, either, because as Christianscott stated, they're remodeling and re-releasing it.

[Rev. Link]

I was shocked to hear Nokia was gonna try it again. The N-Gage is horrible! And yes, I have played it. The games look like early PSX games *ugh*, the d-pad is no good, the button layout is ridiculous, and the screen is unbelievably small!

I'm just waiting for it to show up in $30 bargain bins so I can buy it for collectionary purposes.

[Jasoco]

I was shocked to hear Nokia was gonna try it again. The N-Gage is horrible! And yes, I have played it. The games look like early PSX games *ugh*, the d-pad is no good, the button layout is ridiculous, and the screen is unbelievably small!

I'm just waiting for it to show up in $30 bargain bins so I can buy it for collectionary purposes.I'd settle for just the first gen model to be that way. Even if the second model succeeds, I'd like to have a first gen to play and show off and laugh about. But of course, only for a super low price. Which, will not happen most likely. I smell recall. :(

[nesuser2]

Well, sadly enough.....I think too many people are dodging it because they are too cool. Give peace a chance and if you didn't like it, that's fine. And no, it's not a horrible machine. Game selection and screen alignment might not be the best but the buttons aren't that bad. It's just like the cube, I can't stand the button alignment but given the right game, it doesn't matter.

EDIT: I would like to add that I've read much of what oobgarm has ever commented on and he seems to have a pretty decent view of the gaming world and his review is very fitting for this device. On a totally unrelated note, Dave Chapelle rocks. He's from the Dayton area isn't he?

[djbeatmongrel]

well i personally dont like the n-gage much but i've been contemplating whether to get one so i can have a cellphone. it give me a reason to get another game system hehehe

[SegaAges]

i said a buttload before, so I am not going to repeat it, but I think I am not alone in saying that if it was cheaper, there would be more customers wanting one.

[scooterb23]

The games look like early PSX games

Well, a few of the releases are early PSX games...what do you want from it???

:)

I'm still going to get one...I need to get some money together and get the bundle at EB...

[calthaer]

The games look like early PSX games
Well, a few of the releases are early PSX games...what do you want from it???

Maybe new and original games? It might not improve the graphics, but...

[Oobgarm]

i said a buttload before, so I am not going to repeat it, but I think I am not alone in saying that if it was cheaper, there would be more customers wanting one.

To be honest, I don't think that the gaming community at large is ready for a device like this. I don't think that a drop in price would drive sales and garner loyal customers, I think that collectors would snatch some of them up and the rest would just become stagnant inventory.

I still maintain that it's a glorified cell phone rather than a gaming device with cell phone features. It will cater to the "Sharper Image" crowd and maybe some curious gamers, but that's about it.

[ubersaurus]

I want one because from what I hear, Xyanide is coming out on it, and that looks to be a sweet shooter. That handheld is set up so well for vertical shmups, and I'd love to see that get taken advantage of. High score competitions online, and so forth :love:

[richmond]

http://www.sidetalkin.com/

says it all.. :D

[Algol]

I've been wondering about getting an N-gage for a MP3 player. How much music can it store? The video thing sounds interesting also. What about that?

[Kamisama]

I've been wondering about getting an N-gage for a MP3 player. How much music can it store? The video thing sounds interesting also. What about that?

When using the build in MMC Card you can store around 15-20 Minutes of MP3 (128 kbps). If you do it like me and convert it to 64 kbps you can even store up to 45 minutes.
If thats not enough you can buy a 128 MB MMC Card aswell so you can store much more..

[Oobgarm]

I've been wondering about getting an N-gage for a MP3 player. How much music can it store? The video thing sounds interesting also. What about that?

Like what Kamisama said above, it's all about how you compress the files. I've got a few MP3's on there, and I've got the phone set up to use them as ringtones. I don't see it as much as an MP3 player, since you can get an ipod for $100 more that has 10 gig of storage. :eek 2: I've got 6 MP3s on there now, taking up 28.9 MB of space.

As far as the movie files go, the player I got is SmartMovie. It came with a converter that compresses the files down without sacrificing too much. It's pretty surprising as to how good they look and sound. I've got all 19 GI Joe PSAs on there now--that's at least 19 meg of uncompressed video--squeezed into 6.7 MB. The only catch to the player is that it's $30 to register, but if you're gonna use it a lot, it's worth it. You can find more info about the player at www.lonelycatgames.com

[Overbite]

i've tried out the ngage and didnt like it at all. besides, my GP32 can do almost everything the ngage can do.

the gp32 can play emulators! a bunch of them! really well! as well as mp3s and movies! and i got doom running on it! and it has original games to boot.

the ngage has ports. and not very well done ports either.

sure it has a phone in it, but i have a phone that i never use anyway.

im always pimping the gp32 :D

[nesuser2]

I've got all 19 GI Joe PSAs on there now-

They came out with some new ones here recently, incase you haven't seen them...check em out! LOL

[RangerG]

Just my two cents:

I think anyone looks funny talking on the N-Gage and game switching is a chore, but I also think perhaos people bash the system without really giving it a chance. I have played the N-Gage and the screen to me is excellent (bright, great graphics, etc.). The system as is is a high-priced gadget with a steep learning curve to figure out all it does. I have also noticed something. Since the N-Gage release I have travelled to Latin America and the Middle East. I wonder if the N-Gage isn't more popular overseas. Young people seemed to think the N-Gage was really cool. Computer access is still slow and expensive in many countries, so often one's phone is used for text messaging, internet access, calling, etc. Most people don't have a personal computer, but a phone is an affordable private piece of electronics. In the U.S. phones are still more utilitarian and everyone seemed to mock the N-Gage out of the gate.

[Jasoco]

http://www.sidetalkin.com/

says it all.. :DDarn.. they haven't added anything in a while. I've seen all of those. I have so many things I can side talk into that would fill out a whole new page.