N-Gage voted "fading star" by mobile execs

Nokia's N-Gage has been labelled a "fading star" by a panel of 147 senior mobile games executives, who said that a number of mobile platforms would have to move fast to avoid obsolescence against Apple's iPhone and Google's Android.

Approximately 48 per cent of the panel, brought together by the Multimedia Research Consultancy, voted the N-Gage negatively, with a further 22 per cent voting that Java is "unlikely to be around in five years time", while only 15 per cent thought that the Palm was "here to stay".

"Some of the scores attained by individual developer platforms and operating systems were nothing short of dismal and will raise alarm bells amongst their management teams," commented Vic Whiting, MD of the Multimedia Research Consultancy.

"We acknowledge that these results represent industry sentiment at a particular point in time and we do not expect rival developer platforms and operating systems to simply lie down and die," he said.

"However, they will all have to raise their games quickly and forcefully if they are to counter the momentum and impact being achieved by the likes of Apple's iPhone and Google's Android."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ed-fading-star