Nokia piloting N-Gage successor

Customers in Finland are already testing Nokia's next-gen mobile gaming technology in a live pilot running until mid-March.

Communications specialist and Nokia partner Elisa Corporation is combining its technology with the new N-Gage platform in a live trial to test quality, access to games and performance.

"The core of the Nokia games strategy is to make it easy for people to find, buy and play great quality mobile games and we're excited to expand our relationship with Elisa to help make this possible," commented Jaako Kaidesoja, director of games at Nokia.

"This pilot will help us to further refine the N-Gage experience for our commercial launch later this year," he added.

Nokia is expected to officially unveil the new platform at GDC next week, with the intention to launch in the second half of 2007.

"Our goal is to give our customers a new and unique experience they cannot get anywhere else," said Mikko Mattinen, head of consumer products at Elisa.

"People who enjoy mobile games are often the same customers who enjoy experimenting with new mobile services and content. Elisa can provide a wide range of content and services to meet their needs."