Nintendo are dropping the price of the GBA SP in the USA, and Europe is sure to be following in the near future (reports the BBC). This puts the main rival to the N-Gage in the Christmas season at under £100 for the unit and a single game (not counting any seasonal promotions that might turn up to bundle Pokemon to the kids). What does this mean for the N-Gage?

A lot depends on how Nokia want to deal with this. The obvious thing to do is going to be to macth the price cut in some way, but to be honest, I think that a reactionary step is not entirely correct. What Nokia need to ensure is that the games coming on sale now are the best that can possibly be out there. People buying the QD units are likely to ask for "the newest game or two" when they buy the device, and their can't be any chance of a dud game getting picked up. (as an aside, this is a very good argument in favour of cancelling the Alien Front title, and delaying Virtua Cop till 2005 for programming changes).

What I think Nokia need to focus on is the bundling options that are available for the holiday season. In my mind, if they were to trade future sales of titles like Tony Hawk Pro Skater and Tomb Raider and place those MMC's in the box to show people who buy the QD what it can really do. They're strong 3-D titles, and are well known names. If they're in the box, and the bundle can be a realistic price then there's a good chance the N-Gage can shift another 500,000 to 750,000 before the Nintendo Dual Screen launches in March 2005.

They could also stress a few things - like you get a blank SIM card in the box so you don't need to have a Mobile Phone Plan to use the phone. Also,a lot of companies (in the UK at least) were offering the QD and a copy of The Sims at £150 when it launched. Now imagine a package where you got the QD, Tony Hawk, Lara Croft, and another game of your choice (go on Nokia, make sure Ashen can be chosen here) at the same price and you've got a very tempting gaming bundle.

It all depends on how deep their pockets are, and if they want to bring the fight to Nintendo and Sony. Nokia may have a start now, but they can't fight forever. I'm personally hoping Finland get stuck in and get really aggressive in the Gaming Market in Q4.