Report: Nokia Workshop To Herald N-Gage Return

Following a promise last year to re-enter the portable games space, a report from the UK has suggested that Nokia is currently trying to court major publishers and developers to the company’s new games technology. The company’s N-Gage portable console/mobile phone hybrid was widely considered a high-profile failure, despite some specially commissioned games of a higher quality toward the end of the handheld's lifecycle. Following this, the company has long claimed that it will continue to target the games market - initially via a range of new N-Gage compatible mobile phone handsets, with more public information likely at March's Game Developer Conference in San Francisco, and an N-Gage Futurewatch page already providing some details. However, a new report from consumer website Pocket Gamer suggests that the company recently hosted a secret two-day workshop for publishers and developers in Santa Monica last week. The event was reportedly a chance for Nokia to unveil their new platform for the first time, believed to be running on a range of Nokia mobile phones. According to the report, companies attending the event included EA Mobile, THQ Wireless, Square Enix, Capcom, Vivendi Games, Namco Bandai, Sega, Sony Online Entertainment, Buena Vista Games, Tecmo, Glu Mobile, and Digital Chocolate. Nokia’s own first party developers were also apparently in attendance. The website suggests that a second two-day event is scheduled for Madrid next week, with speakers including Nokia's director of publishing Gregg Sauter, senior title marketing manager Nick Malaperiman and marketing manager Simon Etchells.