<s>
The	O
N-Gage	B-Operating_System
service	I-Operating_System
(	O
also	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
N-Gage	B-Operating_System
2.0	I-Operating_System
)	O
was	O
a	O
mobile	B-Application
gaming	I-Application
platform	O
from	O
Nokia	O
that	O
was	O
available	O
for	O
several	O
Nokia	O
smartphones	B-Application
running	O
on	O
S60	B-Language
(	O
Symbian	B-Operating_System
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
N-Gage	B-Device
combined	O
numerous	O
games	O
with	O
3D	O
graphics	O
into	O
an	O
application	B-Application
featuring	O
online	O
(	O
via	O
N-Gage	B-Device
Arena	I-Device
)	O
and	O
social	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
service	O
was	O
a	O
successor	O
to	O
the	O
original	O
2003	O
N-Gage	B-Device
gaming	I-Device
device	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
N-Gage	B-Device
platform	O
was	O
compatible	O
with	O
:	O
Nokia	B-Language
N78	I-Language
,	O
N79	B-Language
,	O
N81	B-Language
,	O
N81	B-Language
8GB	I-Language
,	O
N82	B-Language
,	O
N85	O
,	O
N86	B-Language
,	O
N86	B-Language
8MP	I-Language
,	O
N95	B-Language
,	O
N95	B-Language
8GB	I-Language
,	O
N96	B-Language
,	O
N97	B-Language
,	O
Nokia	B-Language
5320	I-Language
XpressMusic	I-Language
,	O
5630	B-Language
XpressMusic	I-Language
,	O
5730	O
XpressMusic	O
Nokia	O
6210	O
Navigator	O
,	O
6710	O
Navigator	O
,	O
6720	O
Classic	O
,	O
E52	B-Language
,	O
E55	B-Language
and	O
E75	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
memory	O
issues	O
,	O
hinted	O
at	O
during	O
an	O
interview	O
in	O
February	O
2008	O
,	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
Nokia	B-Language
N73	I-Language
,	O
N93	B-Application
and	O
N93i	B-Language
was	O
cancelled	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
October	O
30	O
,	O
2009	O
,	O
Nokia	O
announced	O
that	O
no	O
new	O
N-Gage	B-Device
games	O
would	O
be	O
produced	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
reasons	O
cited	O
for	O
its	O
failure	O
are	O
its	O
bad	O
development	O
model	O
,	O
marketing	O
,	O
and	O
success	O
of	O
Apple	B-Application
's	I-Application
App	I-Application
Store	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nokia	O
moved	O
its	O
games	O
onto	O
their	O
Ovi	B-Application
Store	I-Application
thereafter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nokia	O
's	O
N-Gage	B-Device
gaming	O
smartphone	B-Application
from	O
2003	O
did	O
not	O
perform	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
expected	O
,	O
and	O
its	O
upgraded	O
QD	B-Application
version	O
did	O
not	O
have	O
significants	O
improvements	O
to	O
its	O
performance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
of	O
developing	O
a	O
new	O
gaming	O
device	O
,	O
there	O
was	O
a	O
change	O
in	O
concept	O
as	O
Nokia	O
explained	O
to	O
the	O
world	O
during	O
E3	O
2005	O
that	O
they	O
were	O
planning	O
to	O
put	O
a	O
N-Gage	B-Device
platform	O
on	O
several	O
smartphone	B-Application
devices	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
releasing	O
a	O
specific	O
device	O
(	O
although	O
their	O
N81	B-Language
and	O
5730	O
XpressMusic	O
models	O
with	O
its	O
two	O
dedicated	O
gaming-buttons	O
next	O
to	O
the	O
screen	O
is	O
being	O
marketed	O
as	O
a	O
phone	O
built	O
for	O
gaming	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
often	O
nicknamed	O
as	O
N-Gage	B-Device
Next	O
Generation	O
by	O
the	O
public	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Working	O
behind	O
closed	O
doors	O
,	O
it	O
took	O
a	O
little	O
more	O
than	O
a	O
year	O
before	O
,	O
at	O
E3	O
2006	O
,	O
finally	O
announcing	O
the	O
N-Gage	B-Device
mobile	B-Application
gaming	I-Application
service	O
,	O
set	O
for	O
a	O
2007	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
also	O
started	O
showing	O
off	O
next-gen	O
titles	O
such	O
as	O
System	B-Language
Rush	I-Language
:	I-Language
Evolution	I-Language
and	O
Hooked	O
On	O
:	O
Creatures	O
of	O
the	O
Deep	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
fighting	O
game	O
ONE	B-Language
perhaps	O
being	O
the	O
most	O
visually	O
impressive	O
—	O
even	O
making	O
use	O
of	O
motion	B-Application
capture	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
27	O
August	O
2007	O
,	O
Nokia	O
confirmed	O
a	O
previously	O
leaked	O
N-Gage	B-Device
logo	O
is	O
the	O
official	O
logo	O
for	O
the	O
upcoming	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
N-Gage	B-Device
gaming	O
service	O
in	O
its	O
final	O
form	O
was	O
finally	O
announced	O
by	O
Nokia	O
on	O
29	O
August	O
2007	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nokia	O
used	O
the	O
tagline	O
Get	B-Operating_System
out	I-Operating_System
and	I-Operating_System
play	I-Operating_System
to	O
promote	O
the	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
public	O
beta	O
test	O
of	O
the	O
N-Gage	B-Device
application	B-Application
took	O
place	O
from	O
4	O
February	O
2008	O
to	O
27	O
March	O
2008	O
,	O
though	O
limited	O
only	O
for	O
the	O
N81	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
period	O
of	O
time	O
was	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
"	O
First	O
Access	O
"	O
and	O
was	O
only	O
a	O
public	O
test	O
of	O
the	O
client	O
which	O
could	O
be	O
downloaded	O
for	O
free	O
from	O
the	O
N-Gage	B-Device
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
not	O
the	O
final	O
version	O
,	O
the	O
user	O
had	O
access	O
to	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
features	O
that	O
the	O
new	O
application	B-Application
had	O
to	O
offer	O
along	O
with	O
three	O
games	O
to	O
try	O
out	O
:	O
Hooked	O
On	O
:	O
Creatures	O
of	O
the	O
Deep	O
,	O
System	B-Language
Rush	I-Language
:	I-Language
Evolution	I-Language
and	O
Space	O
Impact	O
Kappa	O
Base	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
in	O
February	O
,	O
Nokia	O
also	O
released	O
Tetris	B-Device
,	O
Block	B-Language
Breaker	I-Language
Deluxe	I-Language
and	O
World	B-Language
Series	I-Language
of	I-Language
Poker	I-Language
:	I-Language
Pro	I-Language
Challenge	I-Language
for	O
test	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shortly	O
after	O
being	O
released	O
to	O
the	O
public	O
,	O
hackers	O
managed	O
to	O
unpack	O
the	O
N-Gage	B-Device
installation	O
file	O
into	O
components	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
then	O
be	O
installed	O
separately	O
,	O
thus	O
removing	O
the	O
N81-only	O
limitation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
N-Gage	B-Device
was	O
subsequently	O
reported	O
working	O
on	O
other	O
Nokia	O
Nseries	O
devices	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
N73	B-Language
and	O
N95	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
20	O
March	O
,	O
the	O
official	O
N-Gage	B-Device
Blog	O
reported	O
that	O
First	O
Access	O
would	O
come	O
to	O
an	O
end	O
on	O
27	O
March	O
,	O
though	O
all	O
downloaded	O
games	O
at	O
that	O
time	O
would	O
still	O
be	O
playable	O
through	O
the	O
application	B-Application
until	O
the	O
updated	O
version	O
was	O
released	O
—	O
which	O
occurred	O
on	O
3	O
April	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
numerous	O
delays	O
and	O
many	O
vague	O
release	O
dates	O
,	O
the	O
N-Gage	B-Device
platform	O
was	O
finally	O
(	O
and	O
also	O
quite	O
suddenly	O
)	O
released	O
to	O
the	O
public	O
on	O
3	O
April	O
2008	O
through	O
the	O
N-Gage	B-Device
,	O
though	O
only	O
five	O
phone	O
models	O
were	O
initially	O
compatible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
probably	O
has	O
to	O
do	O
with	O
the	O
older	O
models	O
being	O
less	O
powerful	O
,	O
as	O
was	O
pointed	O
out	O
in	O
an	O
interview	O
earlier	O
the	O
same	O
year	O
where	O
an	O
N-Gage	B-Device
representative	O
mentioned	O
some	O
memory	O
issues	O
with	O
the	O
N73	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
launch	O
titles	O
also	O
changed	O
from	O
six	O
to	O
only	O
five	O
:	O
Asphalt	B-Language
3	I-Language
:	I-Language
Street	I-Language
Rules	I-Language
,	O
Brain	B-Application
Challenge	I-Application
,	O
Hooked	O
On	O
:	O
Creatures	O
of	O
the	O
Deep	O
,	O
System	B-Language
Rush	I-Language
:	I-Language
Evolution	I-Language
,	O
and	O
World	B-Language
Series	I-Language
of	I-Language
Poker	I-Language
:	I-Language
Pro	I-Language
Challenge	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
two	O
titles	O
were	O
n't	O
even	O
included	O
on	O
the	O
original	O
list	O
(	O
which	O
included	O
Block	B-Language
Breaker	I-Language
Deluxe	I-Language
and	O
Tetris	B-Device
instead	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
hours	O
after	O
the	O
launch	O
,	O
the	O
man	O
behind	O
the	O
official	O
N-Gage	B-Device
Blog	O
,	O
Ikona	O
,	O
had	O
this	O
to	O
say	O
about	O
the	O
delay	O
:	O
"	O
We	O
are	O
currently	O
ensuring	O
Block	B-Language
Breaker	I-Language
Deluxe	I-Language
,	O
Space	O
Impact	O
Kappa	O
Base	O
,	O
and	O
Tetris	B-Device
are	O
running	O
smoothly	O
with	O
our	O
new	O
application	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Four	O
days	O
later	O
,	O
on	O
April	O
7	O
-	O
Nokia	O
posted	O
their	O
official	O
press	O
release	O
commenting	O
on	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
their	O
new	O
mobile	O
service	O
,	O
and	O
at	O
which	O
point	O
FIFA	B-Application
08	I-Application
also	O
became	O
available	O
for	O
purchase	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
this	O
release	O
,	O
the	O
official	O
website	O
also	O
saw	O
a	O
small	O
change	O
in	O
appearance	O
with	O
price	O
tags	O
added	O
to	O
all	O
games	O
available	O
for	O
download	O
,	O
an	O
event	O
calendar	O
,	O
a	O
tab	O
for	O
support	O
on	O
both	O
the	O
application	B-Application
itself	O
and	O
N-Gage	B-Device
compatible	O
devices	O
,	O
and	O
much	O
more	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
logged	O
into	O
the	O
website	O
could	O
now	O
also	O
see	O
their	O
Reputation	O
level	O
,	O
N-Gage	B-Device
level	O
,	O
and	O
gathered	O
N-Gage	B-Device
points	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
was	O
also	O
a	O
release	O
party	O
held	O
at	O
the	O
N-Gage	B-Device
chat	O
room	O
shortly	O
after	O
the	O
release	O
,	O
with	O
several	O
members	O
from	O
the	O
N-Gage	B-Device
team	O
attending	O
to	O
answer	O
any	O
questions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
few	O
T-shirts	O
were	O
randomly	O
handed	O
out	O
during	O
the	O
three-hour-long	O
event	O
and	O
everyone	O
was	O
also	O
promised	O
a	O
few	O
N-Gage	B-Device
points	O
for	O
coming	O
to	O
the	O
"	O
party	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
expected	O
,	O
the	O
launch	O
was	O
not	O
problem-free	O
as	O
numerous	O
people	O
reported	O
having	O
trouble	O
installing	O
the	O
application	B-Application
and	O
logging	O
into	O
the	O
N-Gage	B-Device
Arena	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
N-Gage	B-Device
is	O
a	O
software	O
based	O
solution	O
,	O
the	O
first	O
generation	O
MMC	O
games	O
are	O
not	O
compatible	O
with	O
the	O
new	O
platform	O
,	O
though	O
some	O
games	O
made	O
a	O
comeback	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
a	O
sequel	O
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
System	B-Language
Rush	I-Language
:	I-Language
Evolution	I-Language
)	O
or	O
a	O
remake/port	O
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
Mile	B-Language
High	I-Language
Pinball	I-Language
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similarly	O
,	O
games	O
developed	O
for	O
this	O
next-gen	O
N-Gage	B-Device
platform	O
do	O
not	O
work	O
on	O
the	O
original	O
N-Gage	B-Device
nor	O
N-Gage	B-Application
QD	I-Application
,	O
adding	O
to	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
newer	O
S60	B-Language
software	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
N-Gage	B-Device
client	O
and	O
games	O
,	O
are	O
n't	O
binary-compatible	O
with	O
older	O
S60	B-Language
devices	O
and	O
vice	O
versa	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
a	O
user	O
interface	O
that	O
resembles	O
Microsoft	O
’s	O
Xbox	B-Application
Live	I-Application
service	O
,	O
at	O
the	O
top	O
of	O
the	O
N-Gage	B-Device
launcher	O
there	O
are	O
five	O
icons	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
navigated	O
through	O
by	O
pressing	O
left	O
and	O
right	O
on	O
the	O
phone	O
’s	O
thumb	O
pad	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
next	O
tab	O
displays	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
profile	O
,	O
showing	O
how	O
many	O
N-Gage	B-Device
points	O
they	O
've	O
scored	O
,	O
their	O
reputation	O
level	O
(	O
ranging	O
between	O
1-5	O
stars	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
friends	O
they	O
have	O
,	O
and	O
their	O
avatar/picture	O
(	O
will	O
display	O
a	O
white	O
silhouette	O
of	O
a	O
person	O
with	O
an	O
orange	O
background	O
by	O
default	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Further	O
down	O
is	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
current	O
status	O
(	O
offline	O
,	O
online	O
or	O
away	O
—	O
the	O
last	O
two	O
can	O
each	O
be	O
assigned	O
with	O
a	O
personal	O
message	O
)	O
,	O
N-Gage	B-Device
Point	O
Level	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
list	O
of	O
the	O
games	O
they	O
have	O
played	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Selecting	O
one	B-Language
will	O
not	O
only	O
display	O
how	O
many	O
points	O
the	O
user	O
has	O
gathered	O
within	O
the	O
chosen	O
game	O
—	O
but	O
will	O
also	O
show	O
their	O
friends	O
 '	O
points	O
for	O
that	O
same	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
friends	O
list	O
can	O
be	O
sorted	O
by	O
name	O
,	O
availability/status	O
,	O
or	O
N-Gage	B-Device
points	O
gathered	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Games	O
can	O
be	O
downloaded	O
directly	O
to	O
the	O
phone	O
over	O
the	O
air	O
(	O
by	O
GPRS	B-General_Concept
or	O
WiFi	O
)	O
,	O
or	O
the	O
user	O
may	O
choose	O
to	O
download	O
it	O
to	O
a	O
computer	O
and	O
then	O
install	O
it	O
on	O
to	O
the	O
phone	O
using	O
a	O
USB-cable	O
and	O
Nokia	B-Language
PC	I-Language
Suite	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
have	O
been	O
a	O
lot	O
of	O
hands-on	O
articles	O
with	O
the	O
First	O
Access	O
client	O
and	O
they	O
all	O
generally	O
reflect	O
both	O
the	O
positive	O
and	O
negative	O
feedback	O
of	O
the	O
,	O
where	O
N81	B-Language
users	O
shared	O
their	O
thoughts	O
on	O
what	O
was	O
good	O
and	O
what	O
could	O
've	O
been	O
made	O
better	O
—	O
regarding	O
both	O
the	O
launcher	O
itself	O
and	O
the	O
games	O
currently	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
of	O
the	O
N-Gage	B-Operating_System
2.0	I-Operating_System
games	O
were	O
nominated	O
for	O
International	O
Mobile	B-Application
Gaming	I-Application
Awards	O
in	O
2007	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
out	O
of	O
three	O
N-Gage	B-Operating_System
2.0	I-Operating_System
titles	O
received	O
an	O
award	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
ONE	B-Language
by	O
Digital	O
Legends	O
won	O
the	O
Best	O
3D	O
award	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dirk	B-Language
Dagger	I-Language
and	I-Language
the	I-Language
Fallen	I-Language
Idol	I-Language
by	O
Jadestone	O
won	O
the	O
Best	O
Gameplay	O
award	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
order	O
for	O
the	O
N-Gage	B-Device
platform	O
and	O
games	O
to	O
run	O
smoothly	O
,	O
all	O
N-Gage	B-Device
compatible	O
mobile	O
devices	O
share	O
a	O
common	O
set	O
of	O
specifications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
N-Gage	B-Device
games	O
are	O
packaged	O
differently	O
than	O
normal	O
Symbian	B-Operating_System
applications	O
and	O
have	O
the	O
extension	O
"	O
.n-gage	O
"	O
and	O
can	O
only	O
run	O
via	O
the	O
N-Gage	B-Device
application	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
cannot	O
use	O
any	O
native	O
Symbian	B-Operating_System
APIs	B-General_Concept
,	O
instead	O
they	O
use	O
a	O
proprietary	O
API	B-General_Concept
from	O
the	O
N-Gage	B-Device
SDK	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
N-Gage	B-Device
API	B-General_Concept
is	O
in	O
fact	O
an	O
extension	O
of	O
the	O
RGA	O
API	B-General_Concept
available	O
in	O
the	O
Open	O
C++	O
plug-in	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Only	O
select	O
companies	O
are	O
allowed	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
N-Gage	B-Device
SDK	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
23	O
October	O
2009	O
,	O
there	O
were	O
49	O
games	O
released	O
officially	O
on	O
N-Gage	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
other	O
games	O
were	O
cancelled	O
with	O
the	O
shutting	O
down	O
of	O
the	O
N-Gage	B-Operating_System
service	I-Operating_System
(	O
see	O
below	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
these	O
games	O
are	O
sequels	O
,	O
remakes	O
or	O
ports	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
generation	O
N-Gage	B-Device
MMC	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
TitlePrice	O
(	O
as	O
of	O
23	O
October	O
2009	O
)	O
Release	O
dateAge	O
of	O
Empires	O
III	O
£8	O
/	O
€10	O
28	O
April	O
2009AMF	O
Bowling	O
:	O
Pinbusters	B-Application
!	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
30	O
October	O
2009	O
,	O
Nokia	O
announced	O
that	O
no	O
new	O
N-Gage	B-Device
games	O
would	O
be	O
produced	O
,	O
effectively	O
shutting	O
down	O
the	O
N-Gage	B-Device
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
N-Gage	B-Operating_System
services	I-Operating_System
,	O
which	O
includes	O
purchasing	O
of	O
games	O
and	O
various	O
online	O
features	O
,	O
had	O
reportedly	O
ceased	O
operation	O
by	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
No	O
transition	O
of	O
their	O
purchases	O
was	O
made	O
to	O
the	O
Ovi	B-Application
store	I-Application
,	O
and	O
no	O
compensation	O
was	O
given	O
because	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
support	O
staff	O
,	O
software	O
purchases	O
are	O
only	O
supported	O
for	O
one	B-Language
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pocket	O
Gamer	O
link	O
N-Gage	B-Device
'	O
s	O
failure	O
to	O
the	O
overwhelming	O
competition	O
it	O
faces	O
from	O
the	O
Apple	O
iPhone	B-Device
,	O
while	O
Ovi	B-Application
Gaming	O
cited	O
poor	O
implementation	O
and	O
support	O
from	O
their	O
parent	O
company	O
,	O
Nokia	O
.	O
</s>
