The N-Gage is a mobile device that combines the features of a cellular phone and a handheld game system. It was created by Nokia and released on October 7, 2003. Officially called the game deck, the N-Gage uses the GSM cellular network for phone calls and runs software based on the Series 60 platform, which is part of the Symbian OS version 6.1.
The N-Gage aimed to attract gamers by offering phone features, such as SMS texting, in a single device. Game software was stored on a MultiMediaCard, which users inserted into the N-Gage. Nokia also created an online community called N-Gage Arena, which allowed some games to support multiplayer features using the phone's GPRS data connection. Over 50 games, including titles from major third-party publishers, were released for the system over three years.
The N-Gage was not successful because its buttons were not well-suited for gaming. The device was also described as resembling a taco, leading to the nickname "taco phone." A redesigned version, the QD model, was introduced later to fix problems with the original design. However, it did not improve sales. The N-Gage sold fewer than 2 million units in two years and was discontinued in February 2006. Nokia later moved its gaming features to certain Series 60 smartphones, which were announced as the N-Gage platform or "N-Gage 2.0" in 2007.
History
Nokia officially introduced the N-Gage at the Mobile Internet Conference in Munich on November 4, 2002. This device combined the features of mobile phones and handheld game consoles, which some people were beginning to carry together. Its original development name was Starship.
The N-Gage had a reported development budget of more than $100 million. Games for the N-Gage cost between $600,000 and $1.5 million to create. Nokia attracted several large third-party game companies to develop titles for the platform, including Eidos Interactive, Electronic Arts, Sega, Gameloft, Activision, and Taito.
Many of the preloaded ringtones and sounds were composed by former demoscene musician Markus Castrén, who worked at Nokia during mid-2002. For both the N-Gage and Nokia 7600, he wrote ringtones in various popular dance genres. He also created a small set of sounds inspired by 1980s arcade games, using a chiptune style, which was common for video game music at the time.
Nokia tested the N-Gage with consumers across Europe from August 2003 until its release as part of the N-Gage Tour. The device had a launch price of US$299 (equivalent to $523 in 2025). However, it was not commercially popular. In its first weeks in the United States, it was outsold by the Game Boy Advance by a ratio of 100 to 1. Within 17 days of its release, popular retailers like GameStop and Electronics Boutique began offering $100 rebates on the device.
In February 2004, four months after its launch, CEO Jorma Ollila stated that the N-Gage would be given until 2005 to determine if it was a success or failure. A revised version, the N-Gage QD, was released in 2004 and sold at a lower price than the original. This was partly due to its frequent sale with service contracts and subsidies.
In January 2005, UK sales-tracking firm ChartTrack removed the N-Gage from its regular ELSPA chart, noting that "The N-Gage chart, though still produced, is of little interest to anyone. Sales of the machine and its software have failed to make any impact on the market at all." Although this reflected only the UK market, some interpreted it as a significant setback for the N-Gage as a gaming platform. Despite this, Nokia continued to support the N-Gage, with rumors of a new hardware version following GDC 2005.
In November 2005, Nokia admitted the N-Gage had failed, selling only one-third of its expected sales. The product was discontinued in Western markets in February 2006 but continued to be sold in India and parts of Asia. The last game released in the U.S. for the system was Civilization in March 2006, followed by Payload in other regions later that year. At E3 2006, Nokia promoted its next-generation N-Gage, which would become the N-Gage service. A traveling exhibition about the N-Gage, titled "A Fantastic Failure," organized by the Finnish Museum of Games, opened in 2023.
Hardware
The N-Gage has a large physical design with a 2.1-inch TFT display in the center. To the left of the display is a D-pad, and to the right are numerical keys, along with other buttons. This design was similar to the Nokia 5510 mobile phone.
Multiplayer gaming on the N-Gage was done without cables, using Bluetooth or the Internet through the N-Gage Arena service. The main processor was an ARM4T chip, running at 104 MHz. This same processor was used in the Nokia 7650 and 3650 phones.
The original N-Gage had a design that some found difficult to use. To insert a game, users had to remove the phone’s plastic cover and battery, as the game slot was near the battery. The speaker and microphone were on the side of the phone, which led to jokes about it being called a “taco phone” or “Sidetalking.” Users often held the edge of the phone against their cheek to talk, making it look like the phone had a very large ear. The screen was taller than it was wide, with a size of 2.1 inches and a resolution of 176 by 208 pixels. This gave it an aspect ratio of 11:13, which was different from the 4:3 ratio of most televisions at the time.
Accessories for the N-Gage included extra batteries, car chargers, wireless Bluetooth headsets, and travel cases.
After receiving criticism about its design, Nokia improved the N-Gage and released the N-Gage QD on April 14, 2004, and sold it on May 26, 2004. The new model was smaller and rounder, with a more convenient game slot on the bottom of the device instead of behind the battery. It also moved the earpiece to the front of the phone, unlike the previous version.
Although the N-Gage QD used the same Symbian S60 software as the original, some features like MP3 playback, FM radio, and USB connectivity were removed. In August 2005, Nokia released the Silver Edition of the N-Gage QD with minor cosmetic changes and replaced the two gaming buttons (5 and 7) with standard keys.
In October 2021, photos and details about a canceled prototype called the “N-Gage IC” were shared on AtariAge and ObsureGamers forums by two collectors. The prototype looked similar to the base N-Gage QD but had an integrated camera, a 123 MHz processor, Symbian OS 7.0 with Series 60 2nd Edition, USB mass storage, and hardware MP3 decoding.
Software and features
The N-Gage is a 2.5G GPRS data supporting Series 60 smartphone that runs Symbian OS 6.1. It has features similar to the Nokia 3650, but it does not include an integrated camera. The device can run most Series 60 software, except those that require a camera. It includes standard features such as an email client, WAP, and XHTML browser, and it supports Java MIDP (J2ME) applications.
The N-Gage Classic uses tri-band GSM technology on frequencies 900, 1800, and 1900 MHz. The N-Gage QD version was released in two dual-band versions for the American market and another dual-band version for Eurasian markets. Despite the release of the Series 60 2nd Edition, the QD version still used the same software as earlier versions. The original N-Gage includes support for MP3 and RealAudio/RealVideo playback, an FM radio tuner, and MMS picture messaging. The QD version removes support for MP3 and FM radio.
N-Gage Arena was a special online service created by Nokia for the device. It allowed users to play games against others online, chat, post messages on boards, view and upload high scores on a global scoreboard, and receive game tips and news.
Game library
Before Nokia released its first in-house N-Gage game, Pathway to Glory, a one-level demo was shared with journalists to let them try the game and learn about its turn-based wargame concepts. This demo was later made available for free download on the N-Gage.com website. Despite requiring a 16 MB download, fans eagerly downloaded the Pathway to Glory demo. The demo's popularity helped make future N-Gage titles possible. On June 6, 2006, Nokia announced that users could also buy games digitally.
There are 58 full N-Gage titles available. Two titles were not released in North America: Flo-Boarding (available only in Germany and the UK) and Sega Rally (available only in Australia and Brazil). All but three titles (Payload, Snakes, and Virtua Cop) were sold in stores. Payload could only be purchased through the digital N-Gage store, Snakes was offered as a free file, and Virtua Cop was canceled. One additional game, an exclusive version of Space Impact Evolution X, was included with the N-Gage on the Support CD. This version was later made available for Symbian S60v2 phones. In addition to N-Gage games, the device supports native Series 60 games and Java ME applets designed for Series 60.
Reception and legacy
Pocket Kingdom: Own the World received several positive reviews when it was released, and Pathway to Glory was Nokia's first successful game published by the company itself. These games may have been released too late to improve how the public and media viewed the N-Gage hardware. Nokia had predicted selling at least 6 million N-Gage devices in three years, but only sold 3 million.
It was noted that while Nokia called the device a handheld game console, it was actually a standard Nokia Symbian Series 60 1st Edition smartphone with a different shape and no special hardware for gaming. Pirated games on the N-Gage could be played on other devices of the time, such as the Nokia 3650.
Apple had the Newton. Sony failed with the Betamax. IBM had problems with the PCJr. Many large technology companies have had one or two products that did not succeed. However, Nokia, the world’s largest cellphone maker, wanted people to remember its most famous failure, the 2003 N-Gage, a video game-cellphone hybrid shaped like a taco.
The N-Gage brand had a poor reputation in gaming media and among consumers who knew it, due to weak early games and the original model's limitations. Despite this, Nokia tried again with the N-Gage in 2007, but this version lasted only two years.
In 2004, Nokia announced it had shipped its millionth N-Gage device, calling it a milestone even though it did not meet its goal of selling 6 million units by the end of 2004. However, the number of devices shipped does not always show how many were actually sold. By 2007, Nokia had shipped over 2 million N-Gage devices.
There are differences in reports about how many N-Gage devices were sold. Nokia claimed 400,000 units were sold in the first two weeks of release. However, independent research companies said only 5,000 units were sold in the United States and 800 in the UK during that time. A German magazine reported 15,000 units sold in Germany by mid-2004. Critics said Nokia counted how many devices were sent to stores, not how many were bought by customers. Nokia later agreed this was the case.
The new N-Gage, also called N-Gage Next Gen or N-Gage 2.0, had a different plan. At E3 2005, Nokia said it would include N-Gage features in several smartphone models instead of releasing a specific device. In August 2007, the new N-Gage platform was finalized and released in April 2008. It worked on many Symbian S60 smartphones with hardware that improved game performance. The service ended in October 2009.