Summary
Nokia has been toying with mobile services for a while, but N-Gage has never been a success. Will Nokia learn from this, to close the chapter or to better define Ovi strategy?
Analysis
N-Gage first appeared in 2003, in an awkward-shaped device. In 2005, Nokia moved on from a hardware focus to software, offering N-Gage 2 on a range of devices.
N-Gage hasn't been a resounding success:
However, the N-Gage was a feature packed phones for a reasonable price, at a time when none of the handset manufacturers competing with Nokia had anything to show against it.
Merging a mobile phone with Nintendo DS was an interesting plan, and a first attempt by Nokia to develop a community around mobile services.
Obviously there will be many articles on how this was a failure, and good riddance to see it close down. However, let's look at the new proposition.
N-Gage will be available on hundreds of devices, including the S40, S60 and maemo platforms of Nokia. Developers can use a wide range of languages to develop games and all of this is unified under the Ovi brand, available in 180 countries.
Furthermore, emphasis is on ease of use and distribution.
It can become quite interesting when the Ovi client will be included on Nokia phones, rather than asking the user to download it. This will considerably boost the usage.
Furthermore Nokia's reach is far greater than any of its competitor, in terms of range of devices, target segments and regional spread.
Another aspect to look at is Nokia's work on Maemo platform and link up with Microsoft. As competitors have come from a range of industries recently, Nokia may well enter other sectors and Ovi could be a successful platform for a wide range of developers.
Seems like Nokia has learned its lesson.
N-Gage hasn't been a resounding success:
- launched too early while mobile phones were mainly for talking
- lack of marketing
- not clearly identified target market
However, the N-Gage was a feature packed phones for a reasonable price, at a time when none of the handset manufacturers competing with Nokia had anything to show against it.
Merging a mobile phone with Nintendo DS was an interesting plan, and a first attempt by Nokia to develop a community around mobile services.
Obviously there will be many articles on how this was a failure, and good riddance to see it close down. However, let's look at the new proposition.
N-Gage will be available on hundreds of devices, including the S40, S60 and maemo platforms of Nokia. Developers can use a wide range of languages to develop games and all of this is unified under the Ovi brand, available in 180 countries.
Furthermore, emphasis is on ease of use and distribution.
It can become quite interesting when the Ovi client will be included on Nokia phones, rather than asking the user to download it. This will considerably boost the usage.
Furthermore Nokia's reach is far greater than any of its competitor, in terms of range of devices, target segments and regional spread.
Another aspect to look at is Nokia's work on Maemo platform and link up with Microsoft. As competitors have come from a range of industries recently, Nokia may well enter other sectors and Ovi could be a successful platform for a wide range of developers.
Seems like Nokia has learned its lesson.
This author consults with leading institutions through GLG
Analyses are solely the work of the authors and have not been edited or endorsed by GLG.
