Nokia brings casual gaming to N-Gage

Deal with I-play to make 'one-thumb' games for mass market

Ian Williams, vnunet.com 21 Aug 2007

Nokia has enlisted mobile entertainment company I-play to deliver a line-up of casual games for its N-Gage platform.

The rollout will begin in the autumn and will include games such as World Rally Championship and Super Mah Jong.

"I-play brings a diverse games portfolio to N-Gage, and we are excited to have them on board," said Gregg Sauter, director of third-party publishing at Nokia.

"The N-Gage toolset provides the opportunity to deliver new features and richer experiences to consumers through I-play's strong portfolio of content."

I-play said that, although the N-Gage is designed as a handheld gaming console, the firm will focus on casual 'one-thumb' games for the mass market. I-play aims to provide easy to play, difficult to master 'dip in and dip out' games.

"The awareness that the launch will bring to the consumer and the mobile industry will help propel mobile gaming to the front and centre of entertainment consumed on the mobile," said I-play chief executive David Gosen.

Nokia has released two iterations of the N-Gage phone so far, both of which received a less than enthusiastic response from the gaming community. The lack of success was put down to poor design and a lack of high profile titles.

The handset giant announced in March that a new N-Gage would be released in September, but as a gaming platform compatible for a range of its phones rather than a dedicated handset.

I-Play has developed a long list of mobile games which it distributes through a network of more than 120 carriers worldwide. Titles includes The Fast and the Furious: Fugitive, Metal Slug Mobile 3 and Sexy Pillowfight.

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