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Allow me to make a rash statement: at E3 2003, no handheld has impressed me more than the B'ngo (the PSP does not count, as it's not real yet). This may sound strange - not too long ago, I was calling this 'yet another handheld to add to the heap.' But after a product demo and a sit-down discussion with a couple of guys from TTPCom, I've changed my tune more than a little bit.
These guys are serious about making a very usable, very fun gaming platform. Here's the thing that really let me know that they want to be competetive; a $1 price point with cellular service sign-up. Indeed. Well actually, that's only half true. Initially there was a plan to release two B'ngos; a light version for $1, and an advanced version with more features for somewhere in the $20-$25 range. But at the show, they've mostly been getting the feetback that nobody's going to want to buy the inferior product, no matter how good it may be. So it's likely that we'll just see the full advanced version as the final product. If they can swing this, they might be able to take a sizable chunk from Nokia. But I'm getting ahead of myself here - let's discuss the system in some greater detail.
We spoke with Nicolas Sauvage and Paul Tindall from TTPCom, makers of the B'ngo hardware, and wound up spending so much time with the device that we nearly missed our next interview. There were three prototypes available for us to mess around with; a very early proto design capable of running games and cellphone OS, an unplayable closer-to-production design, and a developer's wireless control unit.
This is essentially a direct competitor for N-Gage, above anything else. It acts as a phone, a game device and has similar bluetooth and gprs wireless play capability.
When I picked it up, the thing felt right, and welcomed my grasp. This is true both as a phone and as a game device. Both Vince and Jaimie were with me for the conference, and neither of them would let go of the things. Vince later commented that he wished his own current cellphone felt that good in his palm.
The features they've put into it are just phenomenal. There's a built-in digital camera, capable of taking still photos and capturing video. It can play Mpeg 4 movies, MP3, MIDI, has 3D sound via headphones, bluetooth audio (for headsets) and six internal games. That's a pretty solid value for twenty dollars.
The system has a rotating coin on the D-pad. This is not necessary for games, but rather an optional thing. The D-pad still functions normally, but for those games that can use it, the coin can rotate smoothly in both directions. It actually feels nice and solid, very easy for use with fighters, for instance. And a Tempest game would be right at home here. This coin functions as a volume control when using the B'ngo as a phone, by the way.
There are two buttons above the number pad, A and B. Two shoulder buttons are there as well, but currently don't seem to be far enough from the edge to accomodate your index fingers. This will reportedly be rectified before shipment. Of course, the number keys can be mapped as buttons as well. In every game we played, this was the case. The buttons feel solid, and the number keys, while small, are not too close together. It would be rather nice if they were each seperate, instead of in rows of three (as with the N-Gage), but this is just a tactile preference on my part.
There are two vibration devices in the unit, so it acts a bit like a dual-shock handheld in a way. And force-feedback is being investigated for the coin rotation. This means that if you're playing a racing game, say - and you enter the sand, it will become easier to turn the wheel, harder on tarmac. This sort of thing could be very nice, but we'll have to wait and see if it makes it in there.
The screen is backlit, and uses landscape layout, as opposed to the vertical format of the N-Gage.
The B'ngo has 8 megs of internal ram, as well as an MMC slot for games, apps et cetera. This 8 megs can be used to download and store games, video capture, and this sort of thing.
The plastic casing will be translucent, and there will be LEDs on the board within. This is not something I was able to see, but it should make it into the final product.
They claim to have a high quality 3D software engine up for the system, but this is another element I didn't get to see myself.
In terms of development, the B'ngo has a C++ engine, but Java could be worked in if the developers express interest. The SDK is free, and can be downloaded at www.9dots.net. This is also where you can see some of the developers who have signed on with TTPCom, none of whom are big names in the US. It's unclear whether these are dedicated B'ngo games, or merely java apps which will be given away at no cost.
The multiplayer SDK is free as well; homebrew games will be infinitely possible. The one thing that is not free: the wireless dev controller. This is basically a B'ngo with no screen, no camera, no frills, but which functions as a controller for wip games. It's very expensive though, and a potentially useful tool for developers.
It will be possible to purchase the full B'ngo on its own, without a service plan. In that scenario the unit will cost under $200, no fixed price point for that. For the time being, they're planning to push the service packages. In fact, a major provider in a major European country (not UK) has already signed on. I'm going to guess that this is France, but when I suggested this to Paul, he kept his poker face and revealed no inclination one way or the other.
The games are going to go for the $30-$40 price point, just like the N-Gage. It's unfortunate, because it seems as though they'd like to make the games cheaper. But once you lower the price past a certain point, developers and gamers alike stop taking the device seriously.
Ports from GBA seem to be very easy. A single person ported James Pond II in under one week, using just the SDK and a C++ compiler.
Multiplayer works just like the N-Gage. Bluetooth for local wireless, gprs for global. And like the FreeON, other users can download a game for multiplay, the only difference is that in this model, the other users must pay a small fee for the download, and the game does not disappear when the system is turned off. Normal bluetooth wireless gaming is still free of course. On a related note, there's a DRM system to protect encrypted content, be it games or MP3s.
Another interesting thing is that with the bluetooth headset, you can actually communicate with whomever you're competing against. Like the Xbox live headset or what have you, conversation is possible during gameplay. SMS and MMS messaging are also enabled, which is the reason for the A and B buttons being above the number pad. The idea is that you could potentially play the game and text message simultaneously without interruption.
There will be custom cases available, and different models for different manufacturers. Samsung and errikson each could release a different model, for instance.
The system is due out in Q4 of this year, well before Christmas. They're planning to sell tens of thousands of the units by the time December 25th rolls around. With solid hardware like this, they may just be able to.
TTPCom really seems to have listened to the complaints and suggestions of the community, coming up with a practically utopian mobile gaming hardware. The vast number of things you can do with the B'ngo aside from the games...it's very encouraging. What remains to be see is the quality of the software. They've got four or five larger publishers who signed on (they could not divulge the names) during E3, so I get the feeling that they may pull this off.
I think that we'll be hearing more from the B'ngo in the months to come. It's more comfortable than the N-Gage, has a bigger screen, costs less and does more. It will be interesting to see how the superior hardware from TTPCom will fare against the big money of Nokia. I can't say where my money is just yet. I'll let the software decide.
Brandon Sheffield
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