Nokia celebrates N-Gage's second birthday with new toys

With PSPs clogging the shelves of Game, Virgin Megastore, HMV, Dixons and every other store that can think of a halfway decent excuse for stocking Sony's new handheld gaming console, you're going to be hard pushed to find anyone selling Nokia's new N-Gage accessories. Nokia doesn't want you to miss out, though, so it's launching an on-line store at http://www.n-gage.com/store/. The store opens this week for customers in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.

The new accessories include a carrying case, a couple of game card cases and a neck strap. The N-Gage Wireless Dual Headset and N-Gage QD Dual Headset let you transmit soundtracks and explosions to both ears, or you can "share the sound with others" (translation: annoy the hell out of everyone) with the N-Gage QD Snap-On Speaker (pictured). The N-Gage QD MMC Expander lets you load two MMC cards at once, so you can switch between games or have a game on one card and music on another.

The latest game to launch is ONE, a 3D fighting game that lets you beat people up in 14 real-world locations. It has both single-player and two-player (via Bluetooth) modes, plus an on-line ranking system for members of N-Gage Arena. Crave watched Nokia's Gerard Weiner (Vice President, Games) get pummelled at the launch event last week, so it's probably harder than it sounds.

If you're looking for something softer, titles in development include Habbo Islands, a spin-off from the Habbo Hotel virtual community. Habbo Islands. is a single-player adventure game that offers 20 missions in four island environments, enabling you to take on challenges such as saving the blue-faced panda. You can meet animals like the Slightly Insane Koala and interact with the environment while staying in touch with your friends back in Habbo Hotel. Habbo Islands is exclusive to N-Gage and should launch in the second half of 2006.

Also in development is Shadow-Born, an experimental role-playing game that makes use of smartphone functions such as text messaging and the built-in calendar. Nokia is being cagey about the details, but you might find it crosses over into your real life, adding items to your to-do list and setting alarms to remind you of time-sensitive missions. Nokia's researchers are also looking for ways to make use of the cameras built in to most smartphones. Expect more news during the winter solstice. -ML

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