The launch of the Nokia's N-Gage gaming-platform-cum-phone this week might not have been accompanied by the kind of sales flurry and attention that its creator would have liked, but it does highlight the growing importance of portable gaming as a way of capturing the much sought-after "casual gamer".
2003 has definitely been the year of portable gaming, both on handheld machines and mobile phones. Mobile gaming alone is estimated by industry analysts Screen Digest as being worth £50m in this country by the end of the year, rising to £211m by 2006.
Alongside the N-Gage launch, we've also seen the release of Nintendo's GBA-SP in April and the announcement of Sony's PlayStation Portable (PSP), which was excitedly hyped-up by Sony Computer Entertainment's CEO, Ken Kutaragi, as "the Walkman of the 21st century".
This new-found emphasis on building up the portable gaming experience has resulted from a two-fold need. First, the desire to give people more to do with their mobile phones, especially after basic mobile games such as Snake and Tetris have proven very popular. Second, there is a general move towards pushing gaming forward in different areas, in order to reach a more mainstream audience.
"Mobile games, commonly considered the simpler cousin of the PlayStation generation,...are opening up gaming to the masses," explains journalist and TV presenter Aleks Krotoski, who has just finished travelling the country with Vodafone's Live Arcade tour, which hosted the world's first mobile gaming championships.
"This tour has been about exposing people to the leaps and bounds mobile gaming has made, and events like this represent the first step in a mainstream acceptance of gaming."
The tour itself was about introducing those who are already playing games on their phone to the wider world of gaming, which is at the heart of the mobile gaming boom. Due to their penetration and social acceptance, phones are being seen as a "softly, softly" way of coaxing people into playing games, without bombarding them with technology they're not used to.
On the other side of the gaming gap sits the target audience for the GBA-SP and the PSP, the more dedicated gamers who don't need to be coaxed into anything and enjoy the play-anywhere approach.
So far the signs are pretty good; sales of the GBA-SP have hit the 2 million mark in Europe, with a worldwide figure of 9 million, while the PlayStation Portable, which is due to be released next year and will also be able to play music files (as well as films, according to the rumours) is currently caught-up in a whirlwind of hype and anticipation - like so many Sony products.
Nokia has made a brave move in trying to bridge the gap between phones and more hardcore gaming, and the N-Gage is very obviously being pushed as a "proper" games platform.
Many critics, however, believe that in Nokia's rush to produce the ultimate gaming phone, they haven't delivered well enough on either feature; it is priced at a hefty £255, and inexplicably requires the user to take the battery out to insert or swap games and, to top things off, it is also pretty cumbersome to use as an actual phone.
But time will tell whether Nokia can successfully occupy this shaky space between the softcore and hardcore gamer.
Another interesting aspect in the development of portable gaming this year is the way it's grown up in terms of packaging and marketing. The GBA-SP went for a sleek and compact look, while targeting an older age group by advertising in many lads' magazines.
The N-Gage's advertising slogan is "Anyone, anywhere" and its price certainly puts it out reach of most kids. The PSP, meanwhile, is seeking an audience of its own by offering a range of other entertainment features as part of its overall package.
As we watch games grow up, portable gaming must surely represent the puberty period, where the most visual changes are occurring and a new audience (outside of the usual living-room crowd) is targeted. If the industry can sustain this pace in 10 years time, gaming will have developed into a very different creature indeed.
Charts - full price software
Official UK Leisure Software Charts (c) ELSPA compiled by Chart-Track
1) Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 (PS2, Xbox, PC, GC) Electronic Arts - £37.99
2) Soul Calibur II (GC, PS2, Xbox) Nintendo/Electronic Arts - £37.99
3) Hulk (PS2, Xbox, GC, PC) VU Games - £20.99
4) Formula One 2003 (PS2) £20.99
5) Conflict Desert Storm II (PS2, Xbox, PC) SCI - £39.99
6) Eyetoy: Play (PS2) Sony - £39.99
7) Colin McRae Rally 4 (PS2, Xbox) Codemasters - £39.99
8) Freedom Fighters (PS2, Xbox, GC, PC) Electronic Arts
9) Medal of Honor: Allied Assault: Breakthrough (PC) Electronic Arts - £19.99
10) Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior (PS2, PC) - £34.99
