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Learning the rules of the game
When Nokia enters the fray into internet services with Ovi, its gateway for internet content, it will be its second major push into gaming.
- By Ivan Gale, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:12 October 2, 2007
- Finnish giant eyes a bigger pie of the $10b market with the launch of N81 and new generation of high-tech games.
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When Nokia enters the fray into internet services with Ovi, its gateway for internet content, it will be its second major push into gaming.
It was in 2003 that to much fanfare, Nokia introduced its N-Gage gaming platform designed for select devices. But instead of selling 10 million devices to people wanting gaming on-the-go, it instead sold about three million, vastly underperforming expectations.
Like audiophiles, gaming enthusiasts are a passionate and opinionated bunch. So it was inevitable that the first N-Gage games were something gamers either loved or hated.
"It didn't do very well," recalls Simon Baker, who tracks the mobile phone market in the Middle East and Africa for market research firm IDC.
"Nokia was just trying to see how it went, but it didn't sell well. A lot of people in the gaming industry said this thing wasn't great compared to pure gaming consoles." The first N-Gage devices were even described as looking like a taco.
But if there is one thing about Nokia, it's an ability to adapt. One hundred years ago, the company made rubber boots. So flash forward to 2007, it ships nearly one million mobile devices a day.
Nokia is riding a new wave of success with its Nseries phones. Sold since 2005, these so-called multimedia computers are fitted with large screens, high-quality resolution and powerful hardware and software to drive new applications.
Late last month, at a converted fish market along the River Thames in London, Nokia unveiled a new generation of games. Beginning in October, UAE residents will be able to test their skills at playing FIFA 2008 on the N81, Nokia's first device designed to be compatible with its new Ovi internet services division.
The Electronic Arts' popular football game will be available for download via the n-gage online portal, just one of a handful of gaming platforms the football video game is made for, including Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, and PCs.
The technology allows for playing against another player, but not the multi-player, one-to-many type games that are popular on PCs. Gameloft, Other game publishers such as Gameloft, Capcom and Vivendi are on board to produce titles for N-Gage.
Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, Nokia's chief executive officer, said the fact that Nokia has over 900 million users, including more than 20 million for its Nseries devices, makes it a high-value market for game publishers such as Electronic Arts.
"This huge market makes us very, very attractive for the publishers to try out, and I believe in the mid-term, Nokia's n-gage platform will become the largest gaming platform in the market by far," he said. "It will not be small. And when it gets big, it will make an industry."
Publishing agreement
Until now, Nokia and its n-gage campaigns have been the biggest drivers of gaming on mobile handsets. Motorola has a publishing agreement with Electronics Arts, and downloads are possible on hellotmoto.com.
But in general, Nokia rivals have offered games with simpler graphics as an added feature, and not something to generate handset sales or gaming revenues.
Gavin Byrne, an analyst at Informa Telecoms and Media, said Apple hasn't announced major plans for gaming on the iPhone, although it does sell games for the iPod. "They may look to offer content in this (iPhone) area," he said.
One advantage Nokia has now compared with its first gaming efforts is pricing. While games reportedly cost between $30 to $50 for the first N-Gage devices, this time around users may download games wirelessly, or through the internet, at a fraction of that.
After selecting the N-Gage application on a compatible Nokia device, users can preview available games, connect with friends, read reviews or download a free demo. Buying games can be done via a credit card or by charging to a subscribers monthly phone bill.
"People want integrated access to great content without the constraints of having to sit behind a computer or in front of a TV," said Anssi Vanjoki, executive vice president and general manager, Multimedia, Nokia, during the event announcing Ovi.
"We expect the mobile device to become the most popular platform - the 'fourth screen' - for enjoying digital content. Ovi brings our internet services vision to life."
With Nokia calculating the gaming industry to be about $25 billion - and roughly $10 billion of that from mobile devices - the scene might just set for Nokia to reinvent itself, again.
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