The N-Gage service (also referred to as N-Gage 2.0) was a mobile gaming platform from Nokia that was available for several Nokia smartphones running on S60 (Symbian). N-Gage combined numerous games with 3D graphics into an application featuring online (via N-Gage Arena) and social features. The service was a successor to the original 2003 N-Gage gaming device.
The N-Gage platform was compatible with: Nokia N78, N79, N81, N81 8GB, N82, N85, N86, N86 8MP, N95, N95 8GB, N96, N97, Nokia 5320 XpressMusic, 5630 XpressMusic, 5730 XpressMusic Nokia 6210 Navigator, 6710 Navigator, 6720 Classic, E52, E55 and E75. Due to memory issues, hinted at during an interview in February 2008, support for the Nokia N73, N93 and N93i was cancelled.
On October 30, 2009, Nokia announced that no new N-Gage games would be produced. Some reasons cited for its failure are its bad development model, marketing, and success of Apple's App Store. A total of 49 games were released for it. Nokia moved its games onto their Ovi Store thereafter. Games can still be played on compatible devices, but support for the service and its online features ceased in September 2010.
Background
Nokia's N-Gage gaming smartphone from 2003 did not perform as well as expected, and its upgraded QD version did not have significants improvements to its performance. Instead of developing a new gaming device, there was a change in concept as Nokia explained to the world during E3 2005 that they were planning to put a N-Gage platform on several smartphone devices, rather than releasing a specific device (although their N81 and 5730 XpressMusic models with its two dedicated gaming-buttons next to the screen is being marketed as a phone built for gaming). It was often nicknamed as N-Gage Next Generation by the public.
Working behind closed doors, it took a little more than a year before, at E3 2006, finally announcing the N-Gage mobile gaming service, set for a 2007 release. They also started showing off next-gen titles such as System Rush: Evolution and Hooked On: Creatures of the Deep, with the fighting game ONE perhaps being the most visually impressive—even making use of motion capture.
In February 2007, Nokia announced a pilot service in Finland to promote the upcoming service. Nokia showed off previews of the service at the 2007 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, California.
On 27 August 2007, Nokia confirmed a previously leaked N-Gage logo is the official logo for the upcoming service.
Launch
The N-Gage gaming service in its final form was finally announced by Nokia on 29 August 2007. Nokia used the tagline Get out and play to promote the platform. It was supposed to be released in December 2007, but it was delayed as Nokia's team were making sure the service ran 'smoothly'.
First Access
A public beta test of the N-Gage application took place from 4 February 2008 to 27 March 2008, though limited only for the N81. This period of time was referred to as "First Access" and was only a public test of the client which could be downloaded for free from the N-Gage website. While not the final version, the user had access to most of the features that the new application had to offer along with three games to try out: Hooked On: Creatures of the Deep, System Rush: Evolution and Space Impact Kappa Base. Later in February, Nokia also released Tetris, Block Breaker Deluxe and World Series of Poker: Pro Challenge for test users. None of the games are entirely free, but all offer a limited trial for testing purposes. In order to experience the full game it has to be either purchased or rented.
Shortly after being released to the public, hackers managed to unpack the N-Gage installation file into components, which can then be installed separately, thus removing the N81-only limitation. N-Gage was subsequently reported working on other Nokia Nseries devices, such as N73 and N95. In response, Nokia released an advisory asking users not to install this unsupported version as it could cause errors or other issues.
On 20 March, the official N-Gage Blog reported that First Access would come to an end on 27 March, though all downloaded games at that time would still be playable through the application until the updated version was released—which occurred on 3 April.