Okay, Monday's release of Crash Bandicoot Nitro Racer 3-D takes the gloss very slight off what I'm about to say, but I'm going to put the release date down to it being the festive season, which plays around with what day it is even in my head.
But my point is this. The last few N-Gage game releases have all happened on a Friday, and they've been equally spaced out, one every seven days. That has built up a certain amount of anticipation. Throughout December the question has no longer been "when is the next N-Gage title coming out," but "what N-Gage title is coming out on Friday." One of the simplest goals of marketing is to build a sense of expectation and a demand for a product. By having a regular release schedule, Nokia have created a small patch of confidence in the N-Gage.
Not only that, but the titles coming out are strong genre titles. Boom Blox has a strong pedigree thanks to its design input from Steven Spielberg. Both Resident Evil and Metal Gear Solid have huge recognition in gaming circles, even casual players will know these names mean something. And now Crash Bandicoot, while less well known to the public, is a recognised multi-platform franchise in gaming circles.
Now there is a worry that rather than the beginning of something approaching common sense relating to the release schedules, this was clearing the cupboard before Christmas. No matter what decision started this regularity, the short term effect will be to that anyone with a new N-Gage capable phone on Christmas Day is going to open up the client and see the big names from above. The question is what will happen in January?
Lets assume all the PR and Office closures mean that getting a release processed this Friday (Boxing Day) was never going to happen - hence Crash on Monday. And you wanted to have the big hitters ready for Christmas morning. I'd even argue that the Friday following that, January 2nd isn't going to happen either (at least in Scotland we sensibly have the second as a Bank Holiday because we know nobody in the country will be fit enough to even add up numbers).
So the date to watch is going to be Friday January 9th. If we have a marketing team that has enough ammunition, that has a remit to give a regular fix to mobile gamers, that understand how to build up a good vibe around a platform, then I fully expect to see a strong title released then.
If we don't see a release then, we're back into a circle and wait for scraps, like hungry vultures in the desert. This could be mitigated by some statement of release dates from Nokia, in a similar way that other gaming platforms do. That keeps the anticipation option available for others, I don't see why the Finns won't adopt it either.
-- Ewan Spence, Dec 2008.