N-Gage reports strong interest from ME

Nokia N-Gage is witnessing strong growth and response from the Middle East after the mobile gaming platform went live with their download portal earlier this year.

In 2003, Nokia released the N-Gage gaming smartphone but later discontinued manufacturing the device. N-Gage was then re-launched in 2008 as a gaming software platform that could be installed on a number of different devices. It comes pre-installed on most Nokia Nseries models and can even be downloaded for free through their website on to compatible devices.

The Middle East in particular holds a lot of promise for the service. “Users here are very very tech-savvy and you can see the level of engagement they have with their devices. I think it is a really ripe market for N-Gage to grow and evolve as a service,” said Gregory Horoupian, business manager of Services, Software and Games for Nokia MENA.

Pointing out that users from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates are all logging on to the N-Gage website, Horoupian is quick to point out that it’s not limited to just a few countries and that there is uptake across the Gulf region.

“From day one we’ve seen a lot of traffic coming from this part of the world and it’s a really good region for this kind of service. In Saudi Arabia, one of the top twenty websites is a mobile gaming website and in Kuwait, they have a hugely popular online card game. In general, we think this region holds a lot of opportunities for us,” Horoupian added.

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