Future rarity of the N-Gage (and collecting)

[classicb]

I was thinking how the N-Gage will fair with collectors in the future. First off its a cell phone that plays games not a handheld video game system. Most people think the N-Gage flopped because it was a failure by video game standards but it was actually a success by Cell Phone standards. I bring this up because as a cell phone it is already reaching its third redesign in its short run which is normal for cell phones but not for video game systems. My real question hear is for the collectors because most of N-Gage games have much smaller runs than any other system and the system itself is looking to have more model variations than any other system in history (mostly because its a cell phone). I bet most of us thought we'd never be collecting cell phones.

I think the N-Gage will be around for awhile because Nokia can afford to keep playing around with this market until they break into it. I think Nokia's real problem is they are trying to do too much with too little it seem most of the games are 3D which is not a great idea since its a cell phone. The other problem is most of the great games for cell phones don't need an N-Gage. I'm talking about Tecmo's new line of wireless games which is mostly their NES games like Tecmo Bowl, Ninja Gaiden, Salmons Key and others. I wish the N-Gage would stop thinking so much about 3D.

[delafro]

Good point about all the variations. I never thought that was that big of a deal, then I ran into Digit Press and saw the error of my ways. All I can say is, you never know. Look at people collecting 32x these days, I never would have thought of that in a million years. And low print games are always fun for everyone :) . Again, tough call.

[FlufflePuff]

The N-Gage in all probability will become collectible one day. That is until Nokia finally realizes that no-one is buying it and blows out warehouses full of their games. Even then I doubt anyone will buy and unfortunately our children will probably have to waste hundreds of dollars to get a complete set of the games. Then we'll show them our Game.coms and tell them a story starting with, "Back in my day..."

[classicb]

The N-Gage in all probability will become collectible one day. That is until Nokia finally realizes that no-one is buying it and blows out warehouses full of their games. Even then I doubt anyone will buy and unfortunately our children will probably have to waste hundreds of dollars to get a complete set of the games. Then we'll show them our Game.coms and tell them a story starting with, "Back in my day..."

The thing is people have been buying it maybe not in the numbers of GBA's but in the cell phone numbers. Its is far more popular in the UK for some reason but Nokia doesn't seem to be loosing too much money offering it to a US auduience. The games seem to be getting better as Sega is offering a new RPG exlusive to the N-Gage. Game.com isn't a bad comparison at the current time though. :)

[Red Shadow]

I have a free N-gage collecting dust upstairs on my shelf.

Fundamentally, it's a great idea. A celphone that plays games. Too bad it doesn't do the latter half properly. If the system had a wider horizontal screen and better ORIGINAL content, it wouldn't be so bad. I think it'll become a collector's item eventually just because of how badly it's doing in stores, and how obscure it will become in the near future. It's the kind of oddball only a collector or eccentric person with too much money on their hands could love/afford (much like the afforementioned 32X). And that's exactly why people will buy them once they're given the axe.

[classicb]

first of all the only reason your N-Gage is collecting dust is because you're not using it as it was intended as a cell phone. second of all its not doing badly overall as a cell phone. how many of you have a Siemens C56 cell phone. I don't have any friends that have that phone it doesn't mean it was a failure for Siemens. In the end Nokia probably looses more money when people don't buy their camera phones. My point is just because the DPers aren't buying it doesnt' mean it failed.

[Ed Oscuro]

It still has been a remarkable failure, though. Nokia stock...whee, where's the bottom? LOL

[classicb]

It still has been a remarkable failure, though. Nokia stock...whee, where's the bottom? LOL

that actually has little to do with the N-Gage and more to do with cell phone competition.

[Ed Oscuro]

So then on what grounds are we supposed to judge the system's success or failure? When they pull it? At this point they're too far in to be able to say they committed an error, and they'll just try to foist the things off on people. As far as a mobile phone and a gaming machine go, the thing's really a pretty spectacular failure - certainly the original model, anyway.

[classicb]

well you can't judge it by video game standards but you can judge it by cell phone standards. the QD just came out and word is the third N-Gage should be out by the first of the year. I can't think of any other system that had that many new designs in that time but wait its not a systme its a cell phone.

well geting back to my original point there will be many variations of the unit and many games in low numbers even if it gains more popularity.

[SoulBlazer]

Why do we need a cell phone that functions like a GBA? Most cell phones allready allow some simple games to be played on them, and many are offering wireless and downloadable games as well. Companies are relasing older games for cell phone use and others are making new games. You can even run Nintendo emulators on some of the new cell phones. :eek 2:

Cell phones are a saturated market and I don't know anyone who is going to eush out and pay extra money for a new phone just so they can play a few new games. People want cell phones first and games on them second, because the primary function of a cell phone is to be used as a PHONE.

Of course, the poor design of the N-Gage, a limited selction of games that was rather weak, and competion with other cell phones and a true handheld gaming system like the GBA did'nt help either.

The N-Gage was a experiment that bombed badly and I don't see it being tried again.

[Ed Oscuro]

I think ANY system that moves so few units compared to the stock should be considered a failure - if only an initial failure. You're right in that as this is a cell phone the rules are different (though I must say, I never seen a cell phone they sold at GameStop!). However, Nokia's gonna have trouble finding people to give those old N-Gage phones to if the QD is its replacement, and SOMETHING must be done with those older units.

So what's up with the original N-Gage? Are they still part of phone plans? Then what happens to those which STILL haven't been moved when the QD becomes the next phone that's obsolete?

[DigitalSpace]

On another board I frequent, someone brought up Nokia's plans to make a third N-Gage model. The first person to respond asked if Nokia and Infinium Labs had some kind of bet over who would lose the most money. LOL

The fact that another redesign is in the works not too long after the release of the QD is a sure sign of a bomb. They've shot themselves in the foot (again). If Nokia's working on another redesign, surely there must be something flawed with the QD, right?

It may be normal in the world of cell phones, but not in the world of gaming.

I'd be surprised if Nokia eventually broke even. People who want a cell phone will get cell phones. People who want portables will buy a DS, PSP, or a GBA SP. Hell, I'll bet that even the Gizmondo will do better in the long run. LOL

Sega would have pulled it by now, and Nintendo, as they did with the Virtual Boy, would try to pretend it never happened.

(No offense to the Virtual Boy of course, I'm just telling it like it is.)

As for collectability, hey, people are collecting for the Game.com, right? I wouldn't be able to point out certain games as future rarities, but obviously, some of the late releases will be there.

[anagrama]

The main reason for it's comparative success in the UK is becasue of a variety of deals where you get the free handset by signing up for a contract deal. The games still seem to be sitting on shelves in most places that carry them though.

[Pedro Lambrini]

Nokia just announced that they have shipped a million units. Shipping a million of anything can't be considered that much of a failure.

The N-Gage is more of a 'concept' design more than anything else ie/ pretty interesting but ultimately unusable! Unfortunately I don't think Nokia saw it that way!. They never thought it through properly (taking the battery out to change a game?) hence the upcoming third iteration.

The real failure that I see is the software (quality and sales). We stocked the games in the shop for 11 months and never sold a single one! Ironically, the week we sent them back to the warehouse a guy came in looking for them! My point is, though, that I think a lot of people (a million or so!) fell for the idea but then actually realised just how shit it was once they had bought the thing...

As far as becoming collectable goes? You bet yer granny on it! Name a system that doesn't have collectors!

[pixelsnpolygons]

well you can't judge it by video game standards but you can judge it by cell phone standards.

I disagree, the thing is marketed as both - and I have seen plenty of advertisements for on it TV concentrating purely on the video game aspects - as well as ads in GamePro, etc. Nokia launched the thing at E3, is frequently on shows like G4 - I'm sorry, it is completely available to be judged as a gaming system... and judge I shall. I own one, and it is a pretty big failure any way you want to look at it. You even prove it below:


the QD just came out and word is the third N-Gage should be out by the first of the year. I can't think of any other system that had that many new designs in that time but wait its not a systme its a cell phone.

Revisions aren't a good thing, generally - nothing to boast about at the very least. Yeah, they're good for consumers - once every few years - like when Sony fixes some of the bugs in its system and eventually turns the machine into a smaller, compact system. That is something to be happy about. But even so, it is a companies way of saying - "this could have been better." The fact that Nokia is already thinking of a third NGAGE design (what, 5 months after the last one?) is simply evidence that they have no idea what they're doing. You don't even need that information to be aware of that fact.

The original NGAGE was so laughable as a phone that people called it the Taco Phone. Changing games required fiddling about with the battery. All around, it was as though they tried to make it awful. Nokia changed the design to the QD - it looked much better and it worked much better. Now they're doing it again? They should simply give it up and create an entirely new one. I'm certainly not impressed and it would stop me from racing out to buy a new one too. They ruined their track record the second they started trying, IMO. I think it is a spectacular dude, I really do.

[Geddon_jt]

Every time I have tried out the NGage at a Kiosk I really haven't enjoyed it in the least. Small screen, bad graphics, stiff buttons. Not my thing.

There are a couple games that have interested me - Bomberman and Taito Memories. I have seen the coming soon box for Taito Memories but have yet to actually see it for sale, don't know what is up with this game.

[Red Shadow]

All I'm basing my "failure" on is sales numbers. I have two customers who support the n-gage. One traded his entire collection in the other day. I've gone over sales and chatted it up with other stores in my district and aside from a few variances, yes, the system is a failure. We've been out of PS2's for weeks now, company wide, because we sell between 10 and 20 a week depending on the location. As of yesterday, my store in particular has sold 5 n-gage units, and that's counting both hardware models. The mall stores haven't fared much better.

Sure, you could compare the N-gage to other cel phones, and see that the numbers are actually alright. But when compared to other portable systems, which, like it or not, are the n-gage's direct competition... then the numbers come up lacking.

I'm not basing the "failure" status on some personal vendetta aginst Nokia or the fact that I don't need a cel phone. I don't play it simply because the games for it are simple ports or uninspired boredom, by and large. I think the system has potential, it just needs better software, as I mentioned. I just doubt it will get it, so my free unit will continue to collect dust, unless I discover some hitherto unknown toaster making application imbedded within.

I can ship a million units of a new cracker that tastes like vomit. Doesn't mean any of them sold, and doesn't make it a success.

[Oobgarm]

Taito Memories, also a title I was looking forward to, is no longer. Sad but true.

I dunno how one can gauge the N-Gage in terms of rarity. In my eyes, it's a cell phone, not a gaming system. At least, that's how I look at mine. I think I've had a game in the system maybe 3-4 times at most in the past year I've owned it. And those times were just to check something out--they were removed shortly after since the games pretty much sucked. Regardless of how Nokia marketed it, the general gaming populace saw it as a cell phone. People would see the little demo kisok thing at the store and be like "is this a new cell phone?". But does that make it collectible in the future? I say YES. Maybe not everyone will be after them, but those who are major collectors of everything videogame-related will want them. Games will be tougher to get than systems. Early Sega titles like Super Monkey Ball and Virtua Tennis might be among the toughest to get. Puzzle Bobble Vs. might be up there too. There are a decent number of games on ebay, but most, if not all, are promo cards (no case/manual); the N-Gage reps had bags of them to hand out to get folks excited. Not much good since no one had the system to play them.

@Ed - I still use my 1st gen N-Gage everyday as my phone. Its got the SIM card technology, which makes it possible to swap out a little card and put it into any SIM-equipped phone. I dunno if that's common or not. I did the SIM-swap thing when I first got my N-Gage. I've used T-Mobile for a while now, and that was the company who was partnered with the system at launch, so it was easy to pop the new card in and have a new phone ready to go. I heard that there was an AT&T model phone as well, and I've also heard that they work on Cingular networks. I have yet to confirm either one of those. AFAIK, stores like Gamestop recalled all of the original model N-Gage systems when the QD was announced. I've seen them distributed back out as USED systems. The Gamestop I'm at was rid of everything N-Gage not long after it's release, and for some odd reason we got a used N-Gage in a few months ago. Needless to say, it's just been sitting there. I've given consideration into getting it myself for a replacement faceplate and fresh battery.

I <3 my old N-Gage. I'm sure I'll get a QD at some point since it's more advanced/fancy looking in terms of the OS.

http://www.dustincarter.com/images/dp/ntaco.gif

[Fatalist]

N-Gage QD can be better in design and has hot swap to change games but when I bought my N-Gage my election was the original without a doubt. I don't know what Nokia thought when they planned the QD. No stereo MP3, no radio, no USB... Supposedly QD was created to be the cheap model but after QD was released the original lowered of price to 129 euros here (with a game) whereas QD had a price of 200.

I don't know if N-Gage games will be collectible in the future, maybe some specific games will be rare or difficult to find but at this moment i can't think of any candidate.

[scooterb23]

I have a free N-gage collecting dust upstairs on my shelf.

Wanna donate it to someone who will actually use it??? ;)

[Ed Oscuro]

Nokia just announced that they have shipped a million units. Shipping a million of anything can't be considered that much of a failure.
A million units shipped to stores? Or a million units foisted off on cellphone users?

Look, folks - the N-Gage was designed as more than a cell phone. I don't go and build a NES into Artoo Deetoo and then decide that I'm just going to use the NES because the robot portion isn't popular. That's a failure and a misallocation of capital, investment, design, and productive resources.

[classicb]

the web rumors (not worth much) say that the new N-Gage will flip open like a GBA SP/flip cell phone. I think some people are turned off by the looks so maybe if the next one looked real cool it might grab more people. Nokia thinks like a cell phone company they don't make one model with a camera and they don't make one model that plays games. They do need better games though.

[Duncan]

Nokia just announced that they have shipped a million units. Shipping a million of anything can't be considered that much of a failure.

"Shipping" doesn't equal "selling", you know.

If the price drops any further -- say, to $60 or so -- I'd bite.

As for another redesign, Nokia switches their phone models around on a pretty-much weekly basis. (Thus making it conceptually impossible to have a "brand-new" cell-phone for any longer than a couple of days.) So I'm not surprised that the QD is on the way out.

[classicb]

If the price drops any further -- say, to $60 or so -- I'd bite.


just so you know the QD is $49 with a 12 month service agreament

[Duncan]

If the price drops any further -- say, to $60 or so -- I'd bite.


just so you know the QD is $49 with a 12 month service agreament

"With service agreement" is the problem there. I've already got a pre-pay cell for emergencies that I don't use much, so I just want the N-Gage for its gaming abilities.

[Ed Oscuro]

Nokia just announced that they have shipped a million units. Shipping a million of anything can't be considered that much of a failure.

"Shipping" doesn't equal "selling", you know.
Aye. I remember back when the total sales in the first two weeks for the UK came out - I think 5% of the stock sold @_@

However, he said these figures "just" came out so I have to assume that Nokia is saying a million shipped...and that they must have spun that in a positive way...or something.

[Pedro Lambrini]

I'm not too sure exactly what the article said. It was in this month's Edge magazine. Unfortunately I left the mag on the bus so I can't go and read it again. If someone else has a copy of Edge could they find the story in the news section and clarify it for me! I'm pretty sure it was shipped units though. But even if they are shipped they must've sold a fair amount of them otherwise why keep on punting the things out?

[Ed Oscuro]

Because it's easier just to keep supporting the system, that's why:

1.) Hope you can "Pull an XBox" and infiltrate the market much in the same way (though I doubt that thing's ready to knock off the PSP or DS, the idea's right)

2.) It takes less to keep the things in use than it does to destroy them (they have uses besides gaming machines, after all)

3.) Nokia's name is already garbage as far as game stores are concerned, so they'd better stick with the program in order to make a comeback or at least save SOME face.