If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

N-Gage shipments pass the million unit mark

<b>EGN:</b> Nokia has announced that shipments of its N-Gage game decks have surpassed a million units worldwide, with strong uptake of the new N-Gage QD hardware driving significantly improved sales in the past months.

Nokia has announced that shipments of its N-Gage game decks have surpassed a million units worldwide, with strong uptake of the new N-Gage QD hardware driving significantly improved sales in the past months.

The company's senior vice president for games, Ilkka Raiskinen, announced the achievement at the European Games Network trade show in London yesterday - where the firm is also showcasing its forthcoming N-Gage line-up.

While the figure represents shipments rather than sell-through, company spokespeople indicated that channel inventories are quite low, so the installed base isn't far behind the million mark.

Raiskinen also revealed that around 150,000 N-Gage users have signed up to the N-Gage Arena service, representing around 15 per cent of the installed base of the system, and that the game deck has had a global tie ratio of "more than one, but less than two" software units.

One slightly surprising revelation was the fact that the N-Gage has performed most strongly in the United Kingdom, with sales of the system here far outstripping sales in any other territories. Europe remains Nokia's strongest territory overall for N-Gage, but the company believes that early figures from N-Gage QD suggest a reversal of fortunes in the USA, where N-Gage has so far failed to gain a foothold.

Nokia also chose the European Games Network event to unveil a new addition to its Christmas software line-up, with Gameloft's Asphalt Urban GT providing the platform with a 3D racing title which features over 20 licensed cars which can be fully customised by buying new parts in the game.

Related topics
Author
Rob Fahey avatar

Rob Fahey

Contributing Editor

Rob Fahey is a former editor of GamesIndustry.biz who spent several years living in Japan and probably still has a mint condition Dreamcast Samba de Amigo set.