Current Ramblings
Monday, April 19, 2004
Nokia seems to be learning, but is it too late? The specs on the new N-Gage QD show that Nokia's figured out just why the original N-Gage was the laughing stock of the gaming community (especially among portable gamers like myself). They've designed it with the ability to hot-swap your game cards (rather than not only have to turn off your phone, but open it up and take out the battery like the original model), they got rid of the unnecessary MP3 player so they could drop the price, and they designed it so you can talk on the phone without looking like the victim of a horrible frisbee accident. But it's still not a better gaming platform than the GBA SP. While it may have better 3D processing and display than the GBA, it's still hurt by the vertical screen and overwhelming number-pad interface, features too integrated into games from the first version of the platform to be changed in the QD. It's still hurt by being a phone. And at this point the very name of the N-Gage inspires chucking in anybody at all involved in gaming culture, and that's going to hurt the QD more than any lingering design flaws. I think from the start Nokia should have marketed this as a phone with an impressive ability to play swappable games rather than a mediocre portable game platform that also happens to be a phone. Nokia should have pushed these at wireless stores, not at Target and EB.
"Yes, we like your insightful portable gaming reviews, but how are you doing?" Well, just this morning I went to consult with my exciting new gastroenterologist, and I'll be going back for a colonoscopy on May 7th. The words "Crohn's Disease" were mentioned, but nothing solid until they get the ol' butt-camera. I'm getting really hyped for the March for Women's Lives this coming weekend, and I've already read through Gloria Feldt's The War on Choice to get ready. I'm in the process of interviewing for a promotion at work to SIM (store inventory manager), and I get the feeling I have a pretty good chance. I'm excited about that, but I'm kinda nervous, too. I know I can do it, it's just going to be a lot of new stuff to learn and new responsibilities to keep up with. And that's my life. Woo.
posted@11:33 AM by:Trixter: 0 comments