Nokia's N-Gage Software Platform Delayed

In August, Nokia announced it was reviving the N-Gage brand, this time as a software gaming platform compatible with several of the company's phones. The service was supposed to go online this month, but Nokia told Next-Gen today that the service has been delayed until later in the year. "This is because of a delay in software testing," a Nokia rep told the site. "It's been pushed back a few weeks but the website will launch globally before the end of the year." Game giant EA has a few ports of titles lined up for download when the service launches, including portable versions of The Sims 2: Pets and FIFA 08. Participants don't need to buy any N-Gage hardware, as long as they have a supported Nokia phone. After downloading the N-Gage application, users receive an Xbox Gamertag-like user profile for competing and tracking awards earned in the N-Gage Arena.