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Nokia expects "challenging times" for handset gaming to continue
It shouldn't come as any huge surprise that the handset gaming market isn't exactly thriving, and with these curious economic times surrounding us, we have all ideas that folks have better things to worry over than what their N-Gage buddies are doing. And so does Nokia. According to Jaakko Kaidesoja, head of Nokia's gaming operations, he "expects challenging times to continue," noting that the "overall gaming market is likely not growing." Predictably, he was fairly bullish on the eventual success of the N-Gage platform and the iPhone, but he did confess that pre-loading the N-Gage software onto mobiles would greatly help adoption (you think?). In related news, EA Mobile's Peter Parmenter thrashed Nokia by calling N-Gage "not quite polished yet" and referring to it as a soft launch. It's okay Nokia -- we still have to find something to do on the can, so surely gaming fits in there somewhere.[Via mocoNews]Read - Nokia's takeRead - EA Mobile's take
Nokia announces six games for N-Gage, N-series, S60 devices
Just because you're a Mobile reader. doesn't mean you can't join in on the E3 fun. Nokia used the world's biggest gaming show to unveil several upcoming titles compatible with not only the N-Gage, but N-series and some S60 devices as well. Among the six games announced were three sequels to popular franchises, Space Impact, System Rush: Evolution, and ONE-Who's Next?, which improves upon the 2004 fighter with better graphics, frame rates, and support for landscape mode. The new titles also look rather promising, and include an Internet-enabled version of Texas Hold'em called Pocket Aces, which allows players to convert winnings into digital swag for their online avatars, and even allow those avatars to play in their stead. Rounding up the bunch are the N-Gage Arena-compatible Pro Series Golf and a fishing simulator called Creatures of the Deep that uses vibration feedback to enhance the otherwise boring activity of watching a fishing pole on your phone's tiny screen.
