More N-Gage retail incentives offered in the USA

Nokia has launched a new incentive to drive sales of the N-Gage in North America, offering three free game titles of the consumer's choice with each device sold - on top of a $100 rebate already being offered by key retailers.

The promotion will run through key online retailers EBGames and GameStop, and effectively sees the price of a standalone N-Gage dropping below $100 - since those retailers are already offering the device for $199, and each game retails for approximately $34.99.

Here in the UK the N-Gage has been subsidised by a number of network operators, and can be purchased for an initial payment of well under £100 - however, these prices, unlike the American prices, are conditional on signing up for a monthly operator tariff, usually for a minimum period of 12 months.

US website GameSpot reports that other retailers in the United States are also offering discount bundles for the N-Gage, with Wal-Mart selling the device online bundled with three games, a 64mb Multimedia card and a carrying case for the original retail price of $299.

It remains almost impossible to judge the success of Nokia's handset so far; there's little doubt that the launch of the handset was weak, but the mobile phone giant has resolutely refused to reveal sell-through figures for the N-Gage. This is thought to be in line with the company's general policy on releasing sales figures for mobile devices, but makes it difficult to compare the N-Gage on a like for like basis with other gaming platforms - and raises suspicions that the device is continuing to underperform badly.