Despite games monitor Chart-Track placing launch through gaming retailers at a paltry 500 units, Nokia have stepped-forth today and announced they are very pleased with the handheld's initial sales - stating that many retailers sold out within the first day of sale - as well as reporting strong order numbers from both retailers and distributors.

Sadly, the Finnish mobile giant hasn't been forthcoming with any specific figures - which might give a better indication than Chart-Track's result by including mobile phone retailers, where the best contract-subsidised deals on the N-Gage are available.

In related news, Nokia's recent financial reports revealed that the company had increased their share of the mobile phone market to something like 39%, and that the company's growth was strong at 23% - well above the 15% industry average. It is this increased growth in a flat-lining phone market that Nokia seek with the boundary-pushing N-Gage, and it is this widening of the their traditional market that is key to the firm's long term success, according to many commentators. Thanks to Eurogamer.net.

By Luke Guttridge