(Column) - Nokia recently announced a bundle of six games for its N-Gage mobile platform to attract consumers into purchasing the otherwise bulky N-Gage device, a failure from all perspectives. It’s beyond me to understand why the global leader in handsets would continue to push a device that’s been dead since its launch day. It never received any attention, and there’s no community around it to make it worth Nokia’s while to launch a series of games as a final step before killing the platform.

Defeat is never easy, but a smart company accepts it, learns from it and moves on. With the number of handsets Nokia designs and launches every year, failure is part of the game. Sure, the N-Gage gets the limelight because it’s a Nokia unit, not because it’s a must-have product for all mobile gamers. Unfortunately for Nokia, it’s own smartphones kill the N-Gage without much effort. The company’s N series phones are better for mobile games than the N-Gage, and as such, N-Gage serves no purpose in Nokia’s portfolio, other than to show off its stubbornness to kill an unexciting product.

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Undoubtedly, Nokia is a great company with a lot of talent for innovative products. It’s unnecessary for them to continue to invest resources into a product that’s on life support. Seriously, Nokia, pull the plug on N-Gage and let’s see a new mobile gaming device, if that fancies you.

While I’m at it, do they really think a few games here and there will revive the N-Gage? Of course, not. Once the announcement is over and Nokia sells a few units to uninformed consumers, what then? These consumers will be in for a disappointment when the reality of lack of games hits them. Besides, eventually, Nokia will have to let go of N-Gage. That’s when these people will be fired up - a bad move for a company with so much at stake.

Normally, I’m sympathetic towards companies, and I have a soft heart for consumer electronics, so it’s always difficult to see so much resources and excitement flair into extinction, but on the other hand, let’s be realistic and let go off products that are never meant to be home runners.

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