Is Nokia really serious about N-Gage? Nokia is penetrating for a real tough market. In the last 15 years only Sony and later Microsoft have introduced game consoles for the niche. In both of the cases they have spent tons of money and still sold their consoles in loss. The money is made in the content (i.e. games) after the market has accepted & loved the concept.
Nokia has claimed that it will not sell their devices without profit. In the senior management level they show commitment but in the middle management level their signals are mixed. Lots of talk but not that much decisions. Considered the market segment and dedication it requires it seems that they are not 100 % committed. The market launch is just a few months away but the back office is still undecided and non-investing. Just wondering why. Maybe the past GSM success has made them a bit too confident? Meanwhile the playfield has changed. Content and entertainment don't have that much in common with manufacturing, logistics and hardware design. Introducing a new phone is not the same as penetrating for a totally new industry with established and worldwide competitors with years of track record. In this business it's not enough to design and build the device - it's just the beginning. At least it should be.
The retail price for the device is €300. Still the console is targeted for casual players that have already played mobile games. This market has a size of 250m people. Any bells ringing? Paying 300€ for a machine that is build for gaming but you play snake only once in a while? A repeat N-Gage is not targeted for gamers. Maybe it's just me and the hot summer...
Posted at August 13, 2003 03:58 PM