Today is Taco Tuesday. I couldn’t help but reminisce about a time when I not only ate tacos but played games on one, that’s right! A TACO!!! Thus leading into my next FreeThought.
The Nokia N-Gage
The Nokia N-Gage Gaming Phone, otherwise known as the TACO! The N-Gage is a hybrid mobile game console and cellular phone rolled into one. This device had fully featured games by real developers with some titles even including online and Bluetooth multiplayer. The extent of services included MP3, AM/FM player, app store, movies, and screen capturing. The most notable feature is the location of the microphone being on the side of the device, forcing you to hold it sideways thus kickstarting the term “SideTalking”. This device is not short of nicknames…..hahaMobilized online gaming in 2003
In 2003, the internet wasn’t mobilized on the scale it is today, especially in gaming. This “Phone” was the first mobile game platform with internet connectivity. This was HUGE. It was exciting for a group of friends to have multiple devices connected wirelessly in the same match. For reference the Nintendo DS came out in 2004 and the PSP in 05’. This was competing with the Game Boy advanced….. The closest equivalent at the time was the GBA transfer cable which was only really useful in Zelda 4 Swords Adventures.
During one poorly performing semester I was grounded from all things games, my parents had not known the extent of the N-gage functions thus turning it into my primary gaming device for that semester. During that time I allowed myself to explore some particularly heinous game experiences that I otherwise wouldn’t have succumbed too. Not all of them were as bad however. The most exciting memory surrounding this device was the multiplayer. Competing against my older brother and his friends. Playing a worms match with multiple N-Gage’s over Bluetooth felt too good to be true. Popup multiplayer in public at any time! When multiplayer wasn’t possible I was burying my head deep into the elder scrolls universe, barely making out what was in front of me on the tiny screen. Surprising enough the experience wasn’t that far off from Elder Scrolls 3 Morrowind which released the year before.
What made the N-Gage stand out at the time (besides it ugly design) was its unique library of REAL games up to and including the only co-op elder scrolls game to date! (If you don’t include the MMO) I’m talking about serious franchises here with online multiplayer! This kinda makes our current phone app store look like complete trash. How do you compare angry birds to Sonic, Elder Scrolls, Tomb Raider, Splinter Cell, and Tony Hawk?.... Man times have changed. My favorites are listed below, there was a total of 58 games released before the sad demise of the Nokia N-Gage. Let’s take a moment, bow our heads and wish our taco shaped device a beautiful after life as we enjoy some of the gems of its life cycle. 
The cult following behind the N-Gage has come and gone, what we have left is this website; paying homage to our beloved “SideTalkin”
http://www.sidetalkin.com/
Did you own an N-Gage? share your memories or hatred in the comments section
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