While games are a must-have function for future handsets, hardcore players still need special featured models.
[+] Play games anywhere
Back in the 1980s, the black-and-white handheld game console (HGC) that made only a monotonous beep sound got popular throughout Taiwan. Usually each model only had one game. You had to buy a new one if you wanted to play another game. Owners of this rare game device could often get envious eyes from other children.
Sometimes adults, too, played the gadget, but obviously the majority users were children, some of whom would even bring one during family outings to kill time on road.
Thanks to its continuous evolution, the device is upgraded from the black-and-white version to one that accepts add-on game cards, and then to a color one, with increasing number of colors, better stereo sound effects and diversified functions. Sony's latest released PSP even allows gaming with other people simultaneously through WLAN.
Parents of each generation are forced to buy the latest models. However, with the extension of functions, for example, music and movie playing, and the slow growth of the mental age of modern people, children are no longer the only consumers of mobile game consoles.
Will handset manufacturers ignore this big cake? In 2003, Nokia launched N-Gage, used as a mobile phone when held in one hand and a game console with two hands. Despite the criticism for its design at the beginning (the battery had to be removed for switching game cards), it still shocked the industry.
[+] A war between two industrial leaders
N-Gage offers a complete array of mobile phone functions, such as SMS and MMS, a built-in WAP browser that enables GPRS-based Internet accessing, and Java. It can play MP3 music and even play video streaming online, support POP3 and SMTP protocols to receive and send emails.
If those are all it offers, N-Gage could be nothing more than an ordinary handset. Restricted by hardware and the size of memory, handsets have not been able to compete with special handheld game consoles in terms of audio and video effects. For hardcore players, the mini Java games available for most handsets today are not enough.
Fully aware that the effect is exactly what players want, Nokia invests much on the hardware of N-Gage, making it powerful enough even for 3D gaming. While the top priority is the game display and interface, communication seems to be an accessory function of the handset. As for Camera? Of course not available.
Communication is what handsets exist for. In addition to stand-alone games, the N-Gage handset also supports MOG (Multi-player Online Game) through Bluetooth and GPRS (given that the game itself supports MOG). The former enables gaming with a few others, while the latter with anyone in the world through the Internet.
SONY PSP does not support making phone calls and SMS. In addition, without a web browser, it cannot send or receive emails, either. While it supports WLAN and allows connection with a small group of 16 PSPs through the ad-hoc mode. It allows gaming with players anywhere in the world through WLAN too, given that the game itself supports MOG.
The hardware specifications of both products are available at:
N-Gage: http://web.n-gage.com/en-R1/gamedeck/ngage/techspex/
PSP: http://www.us.playstation.com/consoles.aspx?id=4
[+] Who on earth are the buyers？
Personally, I do not believe that anyone would buy an N-Gage solely for making phone calls, nor a PSP for its MP3 function. Their HGC features are so obvious, that any buyer would have one very strong intension: gaming.
Here the market segmentation becomes crystal clear: those who use handsets mainly to make phone calls may need mini Java games to kill time; the built-in MP3 function would be sufficient, too. While games are a must-have function of future handsets, hardcore players still need special models.
It would be meaningless for handset manufacturers to introduce HGCs were it not a online game era (no matter download or play games online) However, for the way of wireless transmission, PSP selected WLAN, virtually shutting telecom operators out of the door.
It can be expected that before the completion of the deployment of WLAN hot spots, the GPRS network of telecom operators will remain the first option of MOG for players. In addition, telecom operators have been aggressive in handset marketing. Nevertheless, the expensive GPRS connection fee has stopped many potential buyers.
The decisive factor of the war among game consoles in the past decades, however, is not the performance of the consoles themselves, which has been mostly similar among competitors, but the number of games they support. Some ultra-popular games could even decide the fate of a console.
Will the story of the online game, which is now the mainstream for PC games, be repeated on HGCs? Due to the personal entertainment characteristic of most HGCs, which are used outdoor (instead of at home), where players have only a short period of time to finish a game, the most feasible option is the smaller MOG.
On the other hand, PC online game developers could consider such a mobile device as an extension for their products too, so that their users could enjoy themselves a little bit when they cannot have access to a computer. Such zealous players would consider paying for both the handset and the game.
2005/06/26 - By Digitalwall.com - Way to
China Internet/Telecom )
- Read More
Prev : Ultimate Mobile Device (1) Age of Hybrid Handset
Next : Ultimate Mobile Device (3) Video, Storage, Copyright Management
- Today in History
New Landscape in China's Telecom Market (3) Who's Gonna Be the Price Killer? - 2008/06/29
New Landscape in China's Telecom Market (2) Opportunities and Burdens for New China Mobile - 2008/06/22
Web 2.0 Think Again (5) Unearth the Value of "People" - 2007/06/24
Ultimate Mobile Device (2) Competition of Handheld Game Console - 2005/06/26
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment