Finally, all predictions have come true. Nokia has officially “terminated” the life of its once-beloved child: the gaming phone N-Gage.
Recently, the world’s leading mobile phone manufacturer had to regretfully announce that it would no longer develop new versions of the N-Gage gaming phone and would temporarily set aside mobile gaming for several years to focus entirely on music and video phones.
If previously the N-Gage was celebrated and heavily promoted, its demise has been a silent and quiet affair. Antti Vasara, Nokia’s Vice President of Strategy, had to admit that the N-Gage was a bitter failure in exploring a new product line. “We realized one thing: consumers want to play games on all devices. That’s why we integrated gaming software into the Series 60 phone models.”
Launched in October 2003, the Nokia N-Gage was indeed a “bubble” inflated by the media. Nokia bombarded every television channel, website, and magazine with an impressive advertisement featuring skateboarders. However, many gamers felt frustrated by this advertisement, especially due to a statement from the company’s spokesperson claiming that Game Boys were no longer “cool.” Many marketing experts also reacted negatively in a similar vein.
However, the real reason for the N-Gage’s “sinking” like the Titanic lies in the product itself: it was extremely disappointing. In the first version, each time users wanted to switch games, they had to remove the battery. If they wanted to make a call (i.e., use the phone’s primary function), they had to hold it upside down.
Learning from the N-Gage experience, Nokia released the N-Gage QD in 2004 to address the battery issues and the side-talking design, yet sales remained weak. Within three years, the company sold only 2 million N-Gage units (both the original version and QD), compared to the initial target of 6 million. Currently, Nokia plans to produce a very limited quantity to serve only the Chinese and Indian markets.
For the rest of the world, the Nokia N-Gage has truly departed in solitude, unnoticed, marking the end of a once grand illusion. Another lesson learned for Nokia: “Only proceed when fully prepared“:
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