Nokia unveils N-Gage QD @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on April 14, 2004

News: Nokia is stepping to the plate one more time with an updated version of the N-Gage. The first details inside.

Nokia has revealed that they have no plans to go quietly into the video game abyss as they announced the N-Gage QD. The QD, which I am not making this up, stands for "quaque die" (Latin for "everyday"), will address many of the issues gamers had with the original N-Gage.

But first things first, the QD is not a replacement for the N-Gage, all games will be compatible with both the N-Gage and the N-Gage QD. The system itself, however, will be smaller and sleeker, much more like a standard game system. A "Quick Load Game" button will be included to smooth out the process of starting a game. The directional pad has been tweaked for better control and the screen has been made brighter (but it's still the same size and orientation). But in a move which I think is their best yet, Nokia has also added a slot to the bottom to load game cards into, so no more battery juggling to play games.

It also should be noted that Nokia is no longer requiring N-Gage owners to spin it on it's side to use the phone. The mouthpiece has been placed at the bottom of the unit for more normal looking phone conversations. The only major loss the QD suffered was that the MP3 Player has been cut to make it "more strictly a game device".

The QD will ship sometime in the summer (EB Games has a date of June 28) for a retail price to be determined by the store (again, EB Games has a list price of $199.99). Many cell phone outlets are predicting that the system/phone will retail for $99.99 with the purchase of a cell phone contract.