Today see’s the launch of the Nokia N-Gage, its phone and pocket games console combo. I’ve got to say that I’m not sure about the whole thing. I had a bit of a play with one in the Nokia shop on Regent Street yesterday, and the first thing that strikes you is its size. It’s a bulk of a thing compared to the dinky new Gameboy Advance SP, and doesn’t look like too well designed to use as a phone.
As usual with these combinations, they’re neither one thing nor the other – be they phone organisers or phone gaming systems. I’m sure that playing bluetooth games together is great fun, but the system’s far more expensive than the Gameboy.
Time will tell, but I think portable gaming is one area that Nintendo still rules.