Online and mobile game play has become a reality today, as Nokia reveals the N-Gage(TM) Arena service. Available globally, the N-Gage(TM) Arena will be the home for the worldwide virtual community of gamers, to share their experiences and to find other players for mobile online fun. The service will go live on October 7, 2003 the date when the Nokia N-Gage game deck will be commercially available globally for consumers. The content services are initially offered as free of charge to consumers for a trial period, allowing them to trial the N-Gage(TM) Arena. While content will be offered free of charge, the data traffic fees are applied according operator specific data plans. For operators, the service will enable fast and easy access in the N-Gage business. And for publishers, the service will open new revenue opportunities for their game titles.

"Mobile online elements form a key strategy in the Nokia N-Gage total games experience. The N-Gage(TM) Arena will be the place where gamers meet and create virtual communities, share their experiences, find new challenges and make friends with players all over the world," said Ilkka Raiskinen, Senior Vice President and the Chief N-Gager, Nokia Mobile Phones. "For the first time, a gamer sitting in a park in London can find another player and 'shadow race' against a player in Los Angeles or even Singapore, who has posted a shadow image of his game character in the N-Gage(TM) Arena. The London gamer can in turn post a clip of the game on the site, showing his victory and simultaneously challenge the rest of the game community. We are incredibly thrilled by the versatility of opportunities by this virtual games arena."

The ability to play, share and compete over the air makes the N-Gage(TM) Arena unique in the mobile industry, complementing the games experience and extending business strategies for operators and publishers alike. Nokia will host the service and it will be offered to the gamers through operators. Nokia will also provide publishers and developers the tools to create new and compelling online content for their games.

Some of the key launch features of the N-Gage(TM) Arena include: cheats (downloads that boost the characters abilities or help the player out of a sticky situation), game clips (gamer records a game sequence and uploads it for other players to view), Shadow Gaming (gamer posts a "shadow" of his/her character, which other players can contest), strategy guides and walk-throughs (game recordings to demonstrate how a game challenge is solved), high score posting, as well as 2-player gaming in a live situation. All of these N-Gage(TM) Arena services take place in a mobile environment allowing gamers on-the-fly, immediate access that only N-Gage can provide.

About N-Gage
The Nokia N-Gage game deck is an innovative mobile device that is creating an entirely new market for the games industry. Built for active and hardcore gamers, the Nokia N-Gage is the first mobile and connected game deck to feature online high-quality 3D multiplayer gameplay over Bluetooth and GPRS. The Nokia N-Gage also offers unique online games services as well as a comprehensive and growing games catalogue from the leading game publishers. Nokia is the world leader in mobile communications. Nokia and N-Gage are trademarks or registered trademarks of Nokia Corporation.

Posted By: Adam Paoli - 121 Reads

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February 21, 2004