The GBA has competion

[tarakan69]

Hope it lowers the price of GBA carts. About time Nintendo get up and fight. Now if this thing succeeds then they will finally start moving their ass to perform well with the Cube.

http://www.gamepro.com/gamepro/international/games/news/images/26920-1.jpg

Supposed to have a NGage CPU (is an ARM chip of close to 100 MHz)

So it can do PS1 quality 3D... WOHHOOO!! Up yours Nintendo.

EDIT. Has 4megs of Memory and is the first portable console to use a memory card.

[Jason1]

First of all, look at the damn thing...How many buttons does that thing have? 50? I mean for gods sake, who knows what button to push. It also probably wont get much software support...I just dont see this making much of a dent in the huge consumer base GBA has.

[Bad Religion]

i don't really care for the look of it... i'd rather be seen playing a purple GBA than playing a game on the Nokia, and it rings (it's a phone also right?) so you pause the game and answer the phone!? cheesy imo, but the 3d graphics sound great for a portable

[Jonbo298]

It might try and take a small hole out of the handheld market, but its not gonna get far. The GBA is a black hole that just sucks everything and destroys any competition.

[Dyne]

Lol, yeah, I'd probably find it more use as a gaming thing rather as a console. And still, I'd prefer the SP instead of these guys' entries. It kind of looks ugly too.

[GameKinG]

Thats pretty old news, and it still has little chance. And GBA is suppose to do PS1 quality. Or at least in-between SNES and PS1.

Either way, others have tried and failed, and with Nintendo releasing SP soon, it will surely avoid any good competitors.

[Dyne]

Haha, you know why this wouldn't sell? Because it would be way too expensive. Cell phone (which you should really pay for, or else it rules out the whole machine altogether), and monthly bills. Ouch. Well, I'm sure some people would be interested in it, but, whatever.

BTW, I'd rather have this phone. This phone rocks.

http://nokia.com/nokia/0,5184,815,00.html

[tarakan69]

http://www.gamers.com/news/1307492

"Sega, Capcom and Taito N-Gage Nokia's Handheld

By: Ravi Hiranand January 31, 2003 12:01 PM PST
With only two months before the device sees a European release, software support for Nokia's N-Gage, a "game-optimised" cellphone, is rapidly ramping up. Saturday's Nihon Keizai Shimbun reveals that Sega, Capcom and Taito are set to provide titles for the device, which promises to provide wireless multiplayer gaming over Bluetooth and will also play MP3s (for more details, see our story here).
According to the newspaper, among Sega's first games for the device are a Sonic title, while Taito will provide Space Invaders and Capcom some, er, "popular games" (so Street Fighter and Resident Evil, then?). Nikkei also states that the number of Japanese firms supporting the device is likely to increase, with Namco considering adding its considerable weight to Nokia's camp. The first wave of titles will be sold both on memory cards and downloadable from cellular providers, according to the article.

Nokia is set to hold a press event next week to show off the phone and the software lineup, so expect news and impressions then."

Games from the biggest third party companies upon launch. Sounds good... just wait and see.

[Yoda9864]

First off, this is really old news.
Second, the GBA is way too embedded in hte market.

I really don't think it will get teh support necessary to get a firm hold in the handheld market. Will be interesting htouhg.

[GameKinG]

Yes, and GBA has those three devs as well as everyone else. Devs flock to GBA. Square went as far to make a small company exclusive to cube just for GBA.

[tarakan69]

People!! Maybe this is the X-Box of the Handheld market... Lose money this gen to build a fanbase... then next gen compete and make a profit.

It's about time the GBA had some competition (of course if you like paying 35 dollars for SNES ports on handheld).

[viruscool]

I dont think it stands a chance against the mighty GBA after all the GBA is only £60 and this phone will be at least "£alot of money" Also as most people have said the GBA has a wide fan base and a giant library of games.
:GC: :Nintendo: :link2:

[GameKinG]

It cant be the xbox of the handhelds, because there is almost zero market. It may sell as a cell phone with games as a bonus, but not as a handheld with cell phone as a bonus.

[Yoda9864]

Originally posted by tarakan69
It's about time the GBA had some competition (of course if you like paying 35 dollars for SNES ports on handheld).
Actually, I like getting old classics from the SNES on GBA, mainly because I haven't played a lot of htem. So they're all new games to me. Plus I'll get some of hte ones I have played because hte games are that fun.

[Tombor]

That Nokia thing is less a GBA rival than just an extenstion of a booming game-in-cell phones market. Ericsson is doing a similar thing called Red Jade or they were.

[Neo]

Jesus I've never seen so many buttons. What in god's name would you need a keypad for? Is there a video game that balances your checkbook?

[DarkDemonic726]

Looks ugly.

[Gamer]

i cant wait to see how that ugly phone sells. I mean most people who buy cell phones, and it is not for business purposes, dont want one with 50 buttons and a dinky like 1 1/2 inch screen, can you even play a game on that. Plus GBA has a huge fan base, there are miilions of people buying them. I think the nokia phone is going to bomb, while Nintendo laughs. And with the release of GBA SP that will only make things worse for nokia.

[Cyrax9]

Originally posted by Neo
Jesus I've never seen so many buttons. What in god's name would you need a keypad for? Is there a video game that balances your checkbook?

Yeah Neo, it's called "Quicken" you play it on a Windoze PC as a biege box accoutnant!

/Sarcasm

Seriosuly though I think this thing is butt-ugly. As many have pointed out, is has more buttons than a remote control!

The Screen seems kidna small, even for a portable, and the idea of having a Cell-Phone built into a Game Consoel rather than Games built into a Cell-Phone seems bass-akwards.

I also don't like the idea of having my game system "Ring" when I recive a Phone call, or having a game system that I can't take into the Hospital with me when I have to go for some procedure. This week I'm going for a 5 dauy "Observation", during which time, I will be wired into an EEG Montir 24/7 on Audio/Video Survielance, Kitan can confrim this if you don't belive me.

Now on the list of things I can bring into the hosptial during my stay there's a spcific area that say "Game Systems", including the Game Boy, however under it, there's a clause that says "Cell-Phone are Prohibited", if I had this, I wouldn't be able to take it many places.

Also, a Japanese company reknowned for great toys, BanDai has repeatedly failed in the handheld market with the WOnderswan Color, and some "Tiger Electronics' style handhelds, what amkes NBokia think they can do better? They make Cell-Phones not Game consoles, and the last time I check this thing doens't like to a PS2 or Xbox, so why would it be a huge threat.

While it is a cause for conern my guess is Nokia's handheld will do what Sony's handheld did in Japan, something like this:

A few people will pick it up, try it out, and enjoy it. The Nokia Handheld will become a sort of One-year fad that everryone in Sweden is talking about a la poke'mon in Japan & the USA a few years back.

In two years the market will drop, the fad will end, any US Plans will be Canceled, and this little Nokia handheld will fade away like so many before it, because of a "Fetaure" that is actually a "Flaw", to quote Pika, "Where's the toaster?"

Also Nokia is based out of Sweden, not Japan, their Phones are expensive enough, I think a game console will cost even more, and if this catches on in Japan or Sweden, than it may have a chance, but you guys gotta remerbn SOny's protasble PSX didn't do too well, and that was labeld the "Game Boy Killer", it didn't work, this thing is probably no better.