- GE, Comcast Agree on NBC Universal Valuation: Report
- Obama Delays Start of Asia Trip to Attend Memorial
- BofA Board in Civil War Over Lewis' Succesor
- For the Jobless, 10% is Harder Than Before
- Week Ahead: Stocks Search for Catalyst in Quiet Week
- Outlook: Dollar to Ride Higher on Bleak Jobs Report
- Geithner: More Stimulus, Not a Bank Tax
- Cramer: Earnings, IPOs Dominate Next Week
- Windfall is Seen as Bank Bonuses are Paid in Stock
- Tamminen: Why Does Oklahoma Want To Drown New York?
- Food Network, HGTV Drive Scripps Networks' Upside Surprise
- Tommy Lee, Medical Tourism and Nasty Santa, Your Emails
- U.S. Markets Gain 3% for the Week Despite 10.2% Unemployment
- Disney's 'Carol' Tests Widest 3-D Release Ever
- Stimulus II? Jobs Tax Credit=Cash For Clunkers
- Rockwell Automation Earnings: What Options Are Saying
- Gold Will Touch Higher Lows and Higher Highs: Analyst
- Is Misery Alive And Well in Your Office?
- Stock volatility is back, a sign of an aging bull?
- Precision Machine opening plant in Sturgis, SD
- NM auto dealer tried to save business by gambling
- Northrop sells advisory services unit for $1.65B
- Christmas comes early: ‘Carol’ tops box office
- Philly transit strike in 6th day; no new talks
- Obama says it's now Senate's turn on health care
- Dubai says it has repaid $1 billion aviation bond
- Indian PM hopes for 7 percent growth next year
Text Size 
HELSINKI, Oct 30 - Nokia Oyj will close its battered gaming service N-Gage next year, acknowledging failure in its first major services offering.
Nokia is looking for new revenue from online services as its traditional handset market matures, with games and music being the first focus areas.
Yet the handset maker's mobile gaming push has encountered major challenges, with consumers first shunning its dedicated gaming phones which went on sale in October 2003, accompanied by a major global advertising campaign.
The online gaming service, which opened last year, took over the N-Gage brand and also never moved beyond a niche audience of hard-core gamers.
"We will no longer publish new games for the N-Gage platform," Nokia said on its N-Gage blog, to which a user calling himself Jon replied: "It's a sad day for N-Gage fans."
It said the games from its first major services offering could be purchased until the end of September 2010 and the community site would remain in operation throughout 2010.
"It's a sign of a more realistic approach. It's time to bury the dead and focus on the future," said Tero Kuittinen, analyst at MKM Partners, adding Nokia had great opportunities in other areas, such as location-based services, micro-financing and mobile email.
Nokia's leading position in the cellphone market had attracted all the top mobile game makers -- including Electronic Arts, Gameloft, Glu Mobile and Digital Chocolate -- to create special games for N-Gage.
After closing the N-Gage service, Nokia will continue to sell mobile games at its Ovi Store, a smaller rival to Apple's popular App Store.
Nokia's U.S. shares were 3.3 percent lower at $12.73 by 1750 GMT.
Print
Email
- Rumors abound that Oprah will leave her show to start a new network. What would this mean for daytime TV?
- A private equity specialist sponsored a stand-up comedy troupe in New York to prove that CEOs can, in fact, be funny.
- Cramer did the research and found eight stocks that lead the pack. Read on to get his top picks.
- Did Hideki Matsui’s performance make it more likely that the Yankees will pay to have him back?
- Which wines should you bring—or serve—with holiday meals this year? Ask a connoisseur.
- Two competitors in this year’s World Series of Poker in Las Vegas have stories fit for Hollywood.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes