Some serious competition for AGB??
 

Nokia

Nokia have announced a new phone that focuses on games, a potential GBA competetor.

Nokia is famous for their excellent phone models, but now they're expanding their small games section. They have announced a new phone entitled the N-Gage.

At the company's annual confrence in Munich, Germany, they announced a phone that they state not only offers the usual phone features, but "quality" games. Multiplayer will be an option with Bluetooth, and also wide-area mobile networks.

The games will be available on memory cards, and Nokia states it wants to be a game publisher. Sega apparently is already on board but no games have been announced.

No technical details were announced, but they did show off the system. It's design is similar to that of the GBA, with a LCD screen in the middle and a D-pad and action buttons.

Nokia hope to launch the phone at around Febraury 2003, presumably in America for then.

http://www.cube-europe.com/newsphp/news.php?id=2940


Ericsson
Ericsson have announced another upcoming handheld console, should Nintendo worry?

Red Jade is an upcoming handheld console from Ericsson and it boasts 64-bit capabilities.

Ericsson made the announcement to bring back this handheld (once delayed due to financial problems) in Asia last week. They also stated that they hope for a 2003 launch. It will be able to process graphics somewhere between Playstation 1 and the N64. Below are the specs:


64-bit CPU

3D polygon graphics

Multi-channel PCM Sounds

TFT LCD display, 65536 colors

Mobile phone rechargeable battery

Blue Tooth technology enable wireless communication between 2 or more machines

Download game titles from secured game servers

Retail price will be less than US$100 (around £63)
http://www.cube-europe.com/newsphp/news.php?id=2955

Damn, I thought the GP32 was competition enough. This stuff is just plain ugly.

Even if they do get released, their games will suck big time. They don't have good support like Nintendo.

Who cares if "N-Gage" has full sega support? Doesn't every freaking console have sega support? That's not something to boast. I have a very good cell phone and a very good GBA. We don't need a damn hybrid; it will probably be more than an Xbox when released. They'll all suffer the wrath of the GBA. Haven't companies learned yet?

*goes to throw up*

*imagines a commercial*

Home consoles are one thing, but when it comes to handheld gaming, there's only one. Gameboy Advance. Think different.

You never know, this might do quite well with older gamers, but it will never overtake AGB, that cant be done. But the 64 bit graphics sounds promising...and sega makes great games so yea...but we've seen things like this spring up and quickly fail...but im open to all possibilites.

Hopefully this will boost GameBoy development. Which sucks. :(

It might do well in the cell phone industry, after all they state it as a Cell phone that plays games, just better looking games then sprint's phone, or whoever...

Still, anything that steps in the handeheld industry will have a much harder time then say xbox with PS2 in the industry.

Well, the Ericsson model has a price, but I don't think it could be that cheap. And wasn't the Red Jade cancelled a few months before the GBA was released?

And knowing Nokia, I have a feeling their model will be at least $200. And with a price like that, you could buy a Mobile Monitor + a game for your Gamecube (or 3 GBAs, if you prefer).

This is like... having BMW come into the gaming buisness and think that its gonna overtake PS2... not gona happen...

Bits dont really mean anything.. im pretty sure its jus the size of the calculation the CPU can handle... .. 8 bit...
1001 1101 1100 0110 thats an 8 bit binary number...

*edit* this is mushlafa*

Eff! That's a huge step, and you know it. The Ericsson model will be two times faster than the GBA, at least, and have much better graphics. GBA2 should go 64-bit.

bits mean nothing... and.. n64 was much more powerful than psx.. did it mean anything? At least N64 had SOME software.. ... nintendo prety much owns the whole handheld market.. its gonna be hard to squeeze anything into there

Yes :)

Not to change the topic or anything, but the graphics of N64 are a BIG reason why it sold as much as it did last generation. Imagine if Psx had all the same games and it's graphics were equal to N64's... N64 would have got murderd. And even worse, imagine if they both had the same games but N64's graphics were down at Psx's level...

Um hmm... Graphics make a pretty big difference. Give games like BK, M64, and Zelda OoT graphics like Psx and the game wouldn't quite be the same would it ;)

How much will the games cost? Cause if they're cheap or downloadable, no developer will start making/porting them. :p

" everybodywants to get into the act " dont think they can phase the gba tho.... it pretty much owns the handheld market :D .......

You cant prove that.. and i think that the reason N64 eaven stayed alive last generation for so long is because of all the HYPe coming into it... after Super nintendo... thats like... PS2 going into the market without no gamecube to compete with.. and toshiba making a system and expecting that PS2 wouldnt destry it at first :unsure:

Also.. all of the exclusive games N64 got that are like million selllars no matter how crappy they are .... i think thats what made the difference..