Getting to speak to the Product Manager for Nokia’s N-Gage platform was one of my personal MWC highlights. I am a gamer. Not a hardcore gamer, nor a casual gamer, but somewhere in between. I’ve owned most of the more popular consoles and played their greatest games, but I’ve yet to play a phone based game that I would consider truly great.

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, that may be about to change with the introduction of Nokia’s new N-Gage platform. At least two of the games I played have the potential to keep me interested. So will this new selection of games usher in a golden era for Nokia gaming? Sadly, I don’t think so, and I’m pretty sure that Nokia themselves would agree with me.

When asked about their expectations for N-Gage, the answer was not too much of a surprise given it’s protracted gestation period. Nokia are looking for a gradual increase of sales and brand recognition, they are not expecting an overnight smash hit to propel N-Gage into the mainstream.

Whilst comparisons are often made between N-Gage and Xbox Live, I think a more useful comparison might be between N-Gage and iTunes/iPod.

Granted the iPod is not really a gaming platform, but the success that Apple seem to be enjoying with both gamers and publishers alike, points toward the iPod and probably the iPhone, become a vibrant gaming platform. Take this recent quote from Sega of America boss Simon Jeffery, “The iPod is arguably the most pervasive cross-demographic piece of consumer electronics today,” said Jeffery. “There are no age or fashion barriers to iPod adoption, and making Sonic available to tens of millions of iPod owners really is a fantastic opportunity for us.”

Let’s look at a few reasons why gaming on the iPod works and what Nokia could learn from Apple when it comes to N-Gage...

1. iPod games are carefully selected.

There is a nice smattering of classics amongst the new and unusual. This helps in two ways. First, it provides an instant boast in credibility to iPod’s gaming credentials. Secondly, and more importantly, it makes the purchasing decision ridiculously easy. Everyone’s played Sonic, Bejewelled and Bomberman, if you’re a Sonic fan why would you not purchase this classic for your iPod? It’s a no-brainer!

2. Pricing.

95% of all iPod games are priced at £3.99, there are no demos, but do you really need demos when the actually full games are priced so competitively?

3. Video previews.

As mentioned, there are no demos, however, thanks to a short, perfectly edited, video preview, you get a good sense for how the game looks and feels before purchase.

4. Security.

All games are stored on your Mac/PC and can be synced to any number of iPods, therefore reducing the chance of you loosing the game forever.

5. Standardised features.

Practically all iPod games share a similar feature set, the UI for the menu options feel familiar and uncluttered.

6. Ease of purchase.

Most iPod owners have an iTunes account, if only so they can get access to the free album artwork. This makes for simple ‘one click’ purchasing.

In summary, Apple has made the barriers to iPod (and soon iPhone) gaming extremely low. The games are familiar, nicely presented with video and feature lists, the cost is minimal and purchasing and syncing is painless.

N-Gage has great potential, not least because the game purchase can be made on the device itself without the need for Mac/PC intervention, but also because it has something that currently the iPod gaming experience does not, a social aspect. However it needs to be refined and tightened up considerably if it is to become a widely used S60 application.

Have you tried the new N-Gage platform? What are your thoughts on the games available so far and the overall user experience?