The ill-faited 'gamedeck' may have failed to get mobile phone users gaming to the point where Nokia could rival and Nintendo, as they might have hoped, but that doesn't mean the Finnish mobile giant have given up on gaming entirely. Instead, the is in the process of being revived as a gaming 'platform', technology and services to be integrated into a number of different mobile handsets.

Putting on quite a show at the GDC in San Francisco today, Nokia unveiled new tools and a testing platform for SNAP Mobile's Java platform, making it easier for developers to create N-Gage titles.

“We are reinforcing our commitment to this with two significant initiatives that will help the mobile games industry evolve. Our N-Gage platform will deliver a global games platform that leverages the performance of the tens of millions of S60 converged devices that we are shipping each year,” said Gregg Sauter, Director of Games Publishing, Nokia. “Likewise, our support for Java development continues to evolve with more tools for developers supporting SNAP Mobile.”

Gameloft’s Asphalt 3, Street Rules, Brothers In Arms, Hell’s Highway, Brain Challenge, Midnight Pool and Mobile’s 2008 count among the new titles being revealed for N-Gage at GDC, with publishers such as Glu Mobile, Indiagames and Wireless also promising new support for the platform.

“Working with Nokia on the N-Gage platform is a great opportunity for us to deliver great content for a global audience,” said Vishal Gondal, CEO, Indiagames. “We believe in Nokia’s vision of making it easy for people to find and buy high-quality mobile games and we are excited to bring some of our well-known brands to the N-Gage.” Gondal further adds, “Our games have been well received in markets across the world. Our association with Nokia would make access to them easier and take them to a much wider audience. We believe that there has been a great void in the experiential gaming space and that the new N-Gage platform would effectively address this and hence make mobile games entertaining and accessible to consumers.”

By Luke Guttridge