N-Gage and Amiga.. Do you know N-Gage at all?

[JetFireDX]

You are right AmiDelf, the N-Gage is being marketed all wrong, atleast here in the US. . . but as a console gamer, I look at the N-Gage and just chuckle. There are so many design principals wrong with it that I wonder what the designers were drinking/smoking when the conceptualized it. The screen is all wrong. The whole world is trying to move to widescreen formats and they choose to make a "tallscreen" system. Sega had several games on the Game Gear (remember that?) that played with taller than wide screens by holding the system sideways and they flopped. The shape of the N-Gage is uncomfortable. There is an antenna sticking out of the side that seems to get in the way of me holding it well. The D-Pad doesn't feel "right", kind of like comparing a 1st party Playstation Dual Shock controller with a cheap 3rd party knock off. There are way too many buttons surrounding the game play buttons (I don't know what/if they are labeled). I don't know much about the OS, but I do know that I had a very difficult time launching the demo game that was inserted in the systems on display at my local shops. Console gamers / kids don't want to have to select and launch a game - rather it is expected that upon inserting a cart and powering on the game should begin. I could envision possibly popping up a requester asking the user if they wanted to launch a newly inserted game via a hot swap. . . but oh wait, you have to turn off the system and remove the battery to access the slot. Whoops, guess they can't do that one huh? :-D

Really, with Sony's announcement of the PSP (by all released specs a much nicer system all around) I don't know why Nokia pursued this plan at all?? I would much rather have a system with Sony on it because I know that Sony has contracts with big name companys to develop games such as SquareEnix (Final Fantasy anyone?), Capcom, EA, etc... Besides home brew games and programs that will run on ANY device with the SymbianOS (as I understand it), what does the N-Gage offer? 10 games total? All available on better platforms with better versions. The systems design is even based on one of Nokias other phones and to me doesn't stand out in any way. Thanks I will keep my GameboySP and when the time comes, pick up a Playstation Portable.

[JetFireDX]

First pal, don't call me a liar out right, at the stores I have tried it, and YES I have tried it, (EBX near my work, GameStop.com, and SoftwareEtc aka Babbages) there is something (whatever it may be) over my left hand. Perhaps its a anti-theft device or something (lock perhaps? I didn't investigate it closely), I don't know but it's there. It is afterall mounted so that it cannot be moved, but the whatever it may be was definitely making comfortable use of the device difficult. If I can, I will snap a pic if you like next time I am at the mall though I don't know if the store clerks will like me using a digital camera in the store.

Second, I like shooters, but with 3D games seeming to be a big target for the system, having a taller than wide screen doesn't make much sense, but I can appreciate it for a vertical only scrolling shooter game. . .but then how many of the youth and gaming audience the system is targeted for actually appreciate such games nowadays?

Third, care to try to shoot down any more of my comments on the system? It is still clumsy, underpowered, under supported by big game devs, and doomed to failure, but you are entitled to love the system just the same.

[JetFireDX]

To see what I was talking about, check out the pic here I took last night. It looked to me like it was there to protect an antenna of some sorts, but now looks like it might be part of the lock for security.

Pic I took of N-Gage in Display

Since it is obviously not part of the device or covering part of the device, it didn't help the N-Gage make a good first impression on me when I couldn't hold it comfortably right from the start.

[JetFireDX]

@ chromozone

Now that Zodiac may just have something to compete against Nintendo and Sony. Big screen with lots of colors, what appears to be a decent layout for D-Pad and buttons, a sleek and balanced look, 2 easy access slots for memory cards, and all the PDA features of a Palm device. Very cool. Would love to see which big game dev houses jump on with it and what the PSP and Nintendo's future handhelds offer first though.