General Gaming News
Ngage Not Doing So Well
By KNYTE
Oct 22, 2003, 08:39

Just a quick post about the sales of the Ngage as reported by IGN.

Independent research firm Arcadia Research reports that the N-Gage sold less than 5,000 units across the United States in its first week on the market.

Nokia representatives could not validate or dispute this dismal sales figure. If accurate, it would coincide with earlier reports (now confirmed) that the N-Gage sold approximately 500 units in the UK in its first week at retail.

Price may be a major factor in the N-Gage's reported poor sales numbers. At $299.99, the N-Gage is currently the most expensive game system among the crop of major game consoles (including PS2, GameCube, Xbox, and Game Boy Advance).  

October 15, 2003 - The first UK N-Gage sales numbers suggest that Nokia's new handheld was off to a very rough start in its first week at retail. Out of 6,000 game stores polled in the UK, less than 500 N-Gage units were sold in its launch week. While the N-Gage's selling performance in game stores is quite bleak, the figure of approximately 500 units does not include mobile phone stores, where N-Gage owners would have to go to activate service for their new systems. Compared to Nintendo's Game Boy Advance sales numbers in the same week, the N-Gage was outsold by approximately 30:1, even without any major GBA game releases. We wont know truly how well the N-Gage sold until (and if) Nokia releases its combined sales figures from game stores and mobile phone retailers, but judging by the current numbers, Nokia faces a major uphill battle.

Stay tuned for more news on the N-Gage.