Nokia has made a couple of very smart moves which guarantee that the N-Gage will fully exploit the multi-player experience, offering gamers a unique "mobile online identity."
Nokia and SEGA announced a definitive agreement in which Nokia will acquire assets of Sega.com Inc., a subsidiary of SEGA. This agreement will further enhance online games and service offerings for the Nokia N-Gage game deck, as Sega.com's leading multi-player technology will now become an integral part of the Nokia N-Gage experience. The SEGA Network Application Package (SNAP), that enables high-performance networked multi-player games, will form the core part of Nokia Mobile Phones' Entertainment and Media Business Unit's online games activity. This transaction is subject to standard closing conditions.
Online multi-player games and mobility are seen as the hottest developments in the games industry today. This acquisition is a logical step in bringing online elements to mobile games, said Ilkka Raiskinen, Senior Vice President, Entertainment and Media Business Unit. Sega.com Inc. has developed a robust technology platform which, combined with the Nokia N-Gage game deck, opens up totally new dimensions for gamers. Sega.com is known to be the host for some of the world's best online game competencies, and I believe that together, we have the leading knowledge in both mobility and online games technologies, thus further developing and expanding the opportunities for the entire games space.
Sega.com Inc. is located in San Francisco focusing on game distribution and online game services. In the game industry, Sega.com Inc. is known as a leading supplier of technology for, and a pioneer in, mobile and multi-player online games. Following the acquisition, SNAP will be integrated into the Nokia N-Gage game deck enabling multi-player games for mobile and fixed environments. SNAP will bring immediate benefits to the Nokia N-Gage game deck, scheduled to be available to consumers worldwide October 7, 2003.
The integration of SNAP technology into Nokia's game portfolio will have positive effects on all aspects of the games community. Nokia N-Gage gamers will benefit from content creation, resulting in more feature-rich multi-player online games. The mobile operators will have the opportunity to generate additional revenue streams by integrating games industry technology into their mobile networks. Finally, SNAP technology offers games developers a flexible and well tested online games platform to provide appealing and entertaining games to gamers globally. Over time, SNAP will bring even bigger benefits to the games industry as the technologies and games genres evolve to take full advantage of online elements.
SEGA understood the great future for online gaming from a very early point. Thus, we have used our best efforts to further the online gaming business, said Hisao Oguchi, Representative Director and President of SEGA Corporation. After this agreement closes, Nokia will leverage the SNAP technology to strenghthen online gaming titles for Nokia N-Gage. SEGA will continue to enhance its gaming software business as a content publisher and pursue various avenues in the online entertainment industry including providing content for Nokia N-Gage.
Enter the Arena
Online and mobile game play has become a reality today, as Nokia reveals the N-Gage Arena service. Available globally, the N-Gage Arena will be the home for the worldwide virtual community of gamers, to share their experiences and to find other players for mobile online fun. The service will go live on October 7, 2003 the date when the Nokia N-Gage game deck will be commercially available globally for consumers. The content services are initially offered as free of charge to consumers for a trial period, allowing them to trial the N-Gage Arena. While content will be offered free of charge, the data traffic fees are applied according operator specific data plans. For operators, the service will enable fast and easy access in the N-Gage business. And for publishers, the service will open new revenue opportunities for their game titles.
Mobile online elements form a key strategy in the Nokia N-Gage total games experience. The N-Gage Arena will be the place where gamers meet and create virtual communities, share their experiences, find new challenges and make friends with players all over the world, said Ilkka Raiskinen, Senior Vice President and the Chief N-Gager, Nokia Mobile Phones. For the first time, a gamer sitting in a park in London can find another player and 'shadow race' against a player in Los Angeles or even Singapore, who has posted a shadow image of his game character in the N-Gage Arena. The London gamer can in turn post a clip of the game on the site, showing his victory and simultaneously challenge the rest of the game community. We are incredibly thrilled by the versatility of opportunities by this virtual games arena.
The ability to play, share and compete over the air makes the N-Gage Arena unique in the mobile industry, complementing the games experience and extending business strategies for operators and publishers alike. Nokia will host the service and it will be offered to the gamers through operators. Nokia will also provide publishers and developers the tools to create new and compelling online content for their games.
Some of the key launch features of the N-Gage Arena include: cheats (downloads that boost the characters abilities or help the player out of a sticky situation), game clips (gamer records a game sequence and uploads it for other players to view), Shadow Gaming (gamer posts a "shadow" of his/her character, which other players can contest), strategy guides and walk-throughs (game recordings to demonstrate how a game challenge is solved), high score posting, as well as 2-player gaming in a live situation. All of these N-Gage Arena services take place in a mobile environment allowing gamers on-the-fly, immediate access that only N-Gage can provide.
