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The Nokia pre-show badge came with a letter. It began thusly; “We are psyched we’ll be seeing you at the N-Gage press conference at E3!“ We couldn’t have known that these simple words would be the paradigm for the entire presentation. That and constant freak outs. The show began innocuously enough, though having pairs of P.R. people greet you every two steps on a thirty-step staircase (TV on every step) with “Welcome! Upstairs to the right!” every one of them. It seemed… excessive. But as we know, the Finnish are a jolly people.
We were not prepared for the sheer volume of their nearly palpable jubilation. As we sat down, Vince and myself were discussing the point of looped jazz. Is it…a model for the future of the N-gage? A contradiction in it’s very essence? We shall hope not.
The show began – a voice over the PA announcing the arrival of a new era. The lights come up – four totally urban kids are playing their way cool N-gages. Then the spotlights hit the interpretive hip-hop dancers. Scads of them, gyrating in the aisles. Hell, we didn’t even know they were there before this. They cavorted onto the stage, choreographed behind the music. A lone figure emerged at the center of the stage, wearing a Rage Against the Machine shirt (with Che Guevara on it, no less). He raised his fist, declaring that the gaming revolution had begun. And that the “single player accruement is over.” You heard it here folks!
The jarringly bizarre dancing notwithstanding, the standard spin-doctors came out to churn out some yarns for us about the merits of the N-Gage. The cast of characters included Nada Usina (PR), Anssi Vanjoki (some big title – flashed by too quickly to see), Ilkla Raskinen (Senior VP).
The usual gimmicks and rhetoric aside, some serious news was released today for the first time anywhere. First of all, in addition to the previously announced publishers (Activision, THQ, Sega, Taito, Eidos, and Nokia themselves) Ubisoft Gameloft has signed on with three titles. I have it on very good authority that there will be at least two more publishers announced very soon, but Nokia cannot yet reveal them.
The games – ten games at launch, twenty for the holidays. The launch, you may be interested to know – is October 7th worldwide. New games announced from Sega, (more on this tomorrow) adding to their extant lineup of Puyo Puyo, Sonic N, Virtua Tennis, Sega Rally and Super Monkey Ball. Tony Hawk Pro Skater from Activision. Red Faction from THQ. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon, Splintercell. Memories and Bubble Bobble from Taito. Rayman 3, Marcel Desailly Pro Soccer from Ubi.
Then they demonstrated the mobile wireless aspects of the platform live on stage. It was really very nice, actually. They showed bluetooth local wireless competition on Tony Hawk, which is looking very nice and very smooth, by the by. This was flawless, no BSOD as seen in nearly every Microsoft product demo. They then showed the GPRS global capabilities by means of Tomb Raider. You can download a shadow image of another person’s time through an obstacle course, then play against it, adding your own shadow to the global listing. Very cool, a bit slow (still early though), and a really great demonstration of the multiplayer additions being made to most games coming to the console. It’s really not just an add-on, this ‘multiplayer online’ thing. They’re really going for it full force.
Meanwhile, Anssi was letting us know that Santa Clause was not born in the North Pole, but rather Finland! He rides about in his toboggan and will deliver some 20 N-Gage titles to the children of the world this Christmas. Jolly indeed. So many times he used this word toboggan. Bold words, coming from a man who professes to have 'It's the games, stupid!' plastered on his wall. The brilliance was textured by the following event:
It came time to discuss the price of the system. Could they simply tell us?? Oh no. They had a ‘barely legal’ young blond lass come out in a pink t-shirt, and dance around Anssi a bit. Then at the peak of the music, she RIPPED OFF HER SHIRT to reveal the price on her stomach. She had a tiny bikini top on but...this is…I don’t know what it is. It made an impression, though I’m not sure that it’s a good one. The price is $299 – remember that it comes with MP3, radio, gaming, web-browsing, email and cellphone capability. Not a bad price for the features it offers, but still a fair chunk of change. Games on MMC carts will run about $30-$40, for those curious. Downloadable games will also come about, but for now they’re pushing the bigger name titles.
John Romero showed up as well, to spout his usual nonsense. As he walked by after the show, I gave him a forceful poke on the shoulder with my index finger. This poke was without purpose, but utterly warranted. He did not seem fazed.
As far as the games themselves, they’ve gotten faster since my GDC playings. Pandemonium is smooth as silk, Tomb raider sans choppiness and Tony Hawk is incredibly fluid. Though we’re talking about PSX quality graphics here, they are very nice on the small, high-resolution screen. Sonic N continues to impress!! If half of the games come out this well, the N-Gage will not be wanting for quality, regardless of it’s standing in the console race.
Nokia themselves are becoming a software publisher – their flagship title will be Pathway to Glory, a strategic warfare game of undetermined gameplay. In the Q and A period someone asked what type of game this was. Nada Usina would have nothing of it. I’ll try to get more info on the floor tomorrow.
Some interesting notes about this - for one thing, the N-Gage system will be sold at a profit, the games as well. Any systems sold means profit (aside from marketing). Interesting. Here’s something even more intriguing; a disclaimer on the press release:
“Notice to US Consumers:
This device has not been authorized as required by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission. This device is not, and may not be, offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased, in the United States until authorization is obtained.
Nokia intends to obtain FCC authorization prior to its commercial launch, and the launched device may include different features, technologies and/or timelines.”
Most curious, this is. They’ll get this cleared up I’m sure, but it’s a very unsettling disclaimer to see in your press pack. It seems like something the competition could easily poke fun at, were they so inclined.
They’re pushing the multiplayer aspect over the graphics. They’ve really downplayed the processor speed et al, which makes sense to a degree. They’re seeing themselves as having no direct competition. No-one else can offer the degree of online playability that Nokia can, so the graphics are subservient to this as a marketing point. Very different from any other console launch ever, in the history of gaming. So…is the revolution at hand? Not sure.
As the majority of the press streamed out of the conference rooms after the show, the dancers started up again, dancing out as they had danced in, much to the confusion of everyone. Muscling their dancy ways through the crowds, they faded away into the throngs of humanity.
Get ready to N-Gage your skepticism, we’re in for an interesting ride. (On Toboggans, no less.)
Brandon Sheffield
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