Advertisment

Nokia nets Electronic Arts for N-Gage

author-image
CIOL Bureau
New Update

LONDON: Finnish mobile phone giant Nokia, announced that it had signed up heavyweight publisher Electronic Arts in a development deal for its N-Gage gaming device.



Nokia, the world's largest manufacturer of mobile phone handsets, is making an ambitious push into the competitive video game market with the October 7 global launch of N-Gage, a hybrid phone and gaming platform.



The addition of EA, the world's largest video-game publisher and home to such successful titles as "Madden NFL" in the United States and "Fifa Soccer" in Europe, will give Nokia 20 game titles by Christmas, the company said.



The EA titles to be made available on N-Gage were not disclosed on Wednesday. Nokia said they would come from EA's Sports and Games publishing units, and would not be available for the October launch.



At the ECTS video game developers conference in London, Nokia also announced European prices for the device.



It carries a suggested retail price of 220 to 230 pounds ($345.4-$361.1) in the UK and 299 to 350 euros ($325.9-$381.5) in continental Europe, a stiff premium to the U.S. launch price of $299.



Games will carry a price tag of between 20 and 40 pounds in the UK, with nearly equivalent prices in continental Europe, the company said.



Industry observers have repeatedly questioned whether consumers will purchase a gaming deck that costs more than twice the price of Nintendo's best-selling Game Boy Advance handheld game machine.



Nokia officials on Wednesday tried to play down the price concerns.



"I'm not too worried about the pricing level," said Jukka Hosio, European, Middle East and Africa director of entertainment and media for Nokia. "It's a gaming deck, an MP3 player, a radio all in one. It's good value for the money."



But the concerns run deep even among Nokia partners. In an interview with Reuters last month, Electronic Arts Chief Executive and Chairman Larry Probst said, "I think the price point will be challenging."



Nokia has amassed the all-too-crucial retail support for the N-Gage launch. It will sell the N-Gage in game specialist stores and in the shops of mobile phone operators such as MMO2, T-Mobile, Virgin Mobile and Vodafone in the UK.



"We have received similar support from operators in Europe," said Hosio.



Nokia would not comment on speculation that mobile operators could offer promotions and discounts to trim the price tag of what is the most expensive video game device on the market.

© Reuters

tech-news