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The Ovi Store (app number)
Please excuse the original story on this address, I was going by item numbers in Ovi Store URLs - it turns out that there isn't a strict one to-one correspondance between URL numbers and actual content items. The store simply now has over 100,000 allocated item IDs, many of which never materialised into content. Watch this space for some fuller Ovi Store statistics.
Dino Detective
Here on AAS's Ovi Gaming site, Ewan reviews a fresh revamp of an old classic - Minesweeper - that gets turned completely on its head and given a fresh lick of stone age paint into the bargain. An unholy attempt? More a modern classic and it's got Ewan impressed. Here's his review of Dino Detective.
Review: Let's Golf
Another calendar quarter, another golf game, another chance for Steve to wallow in handheld golf nostalgia? Or maybe not, this time - let's keep this one a straight Ovi Gaming review. Let's Golf! has been well received on other platforms, notably on the iPhone and iPad, and here we have a Java version optimised for Symbian-powered touchscreens. How much of the experience has been compromised in the port to Java and is Let's Golf! (in the Ovi Store) actually any good?
What can Symbian learn from Sony?
It's been a rough year for the Symbian ecosystem, and an especially rough year for their partners. Samsung and Sony Ericsson have taken their portion of the punishment, but the lion's share belongs, for good or ill, to Nokia. The ecosystem strikes me as remarkably like another that last year was on the way down, but is now in good health.
Piracy is not the problem, piracy is the catalyst
Pinch Media, who provide analytic software for developers on Apple's phones, are estimating that piracy rates are as high as 60% on the iPhone (reports Pocket Gamer). You can be sure that this number is matched on Symbian, Windows Mobile other mobile platforms. The level of piracy nowadays is incredibly high. Apple's iPhone may be pointed out here, but a little bit of exploration online and every games console can be found to be exploited. Read on for my thoughts, though.
What will Nokia learn from the Failure of N-Gage?
Two weeks after Nokia announced that their N-Gage system was to be closed and the titles merged into Ovi Store, N-Gage old-hand Ewan delivers his verdict, looking at what Nokia did wrong, from support to marketing to community. More worryingly, Ewan also worries that similar errors might be being made with Nokia's other Software and Services.
Powerboat Challenge sums up N-Gage
And so the final N-Gage game slips out the harbour. Perhaps Nokia were hoping for a quiet maiden voyage for Powerboat Challenge? Whoops. Despite a solid game structure and good enough graphics, this title just - in Ewan's words - isn't fun. Read the illustrated review here on Ovi Gaming.
An Obituary for the N-Gage
With the announcement that Nokia are closing the N-Gage service, Ewan has been looking back at the troubled gaming strategy from Finland, from its launch in 2003 to today's ticket to Dignitas in an Obituary for the Nokia N-Gage (2003-2009). We'll pass on any messages of condolence to Finland you may wish to leave.
Farewell N-Gage - Nokia to shutter gaming service
In a low key announcement, via the N-Gage blog, comes the news that Nokia plans to shutter its N-Gage gaming service. Nokia say they will 'no longer publish new games for the N-Gage platform'; instead games will be provided via its Ovi Store service. Current N-Gage games can be purchased until September 2010 and the N-Gage website and Arena service (online elements) will be available throughout 2010.
Who is steering the SS N-Gage towards the iceberg?
You are only as good as your last performance. It's an adage that performers live by, and one that content producers are all too familiar with. It's also the case with online services and content offerings. Irrespective of their future plans for the N-Gage (see here), the next-gen N-Gage platform is still with us. And how good is the platform? Here's why it matters.
