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Nokia's exceptional success in the cell phone business has thus far failed to translate into any sleepless nights for Nintendo. The manufacturer of the handheld gaming market leader, the Game Boy Advance, sits way, way up at the top of the heap and is preparing to meet the next wave of wireless wonders head-on with its Nintendo DS. Nokia has certainly helped raise the bar when it comes to what is expected of a portable system, but the company has found the next foothold a bit unsteady. Everybody snickered when the GBA came out with two face buttons and an unlit screen, but the system's gaming pedigree and its lock on third-party developers ensured massive sales. The snickers that followed the N-Gage's introduction still linger. It's also easier to overcome cynicism when a large part of your market is prepubescent, as is the case with the GBA. Winning over a hip adult crowd that thinks it already knows all the answers is much harder.

The advantages the N-Gage has now - wireless multiplayer, downloadable games, multimedia messaging - are becoming standard features as the next crop of handhelds comes to market, so Nokia must rely on the quality of its games and the community that develops around them. Redesigning the orignal unit to be more gamer-friendly in ease of use and price certainly helped, and the company is aggressively promoting its Arena service as a one-stop for competition, forums, chatrooms, and cheats. The company has sworn to stand by the system, come what may, through the end of 2005. Like Microsoft and the Xbox, Nokia is pushing for mindshare even as it realizes that it won't win the war outright.

So now that the QD has addressed the hardware concerns, what's the outlook on the software front? There's a definite effort to hit as many of the popular genres and licenses as possible. Tom Clancy, Tiger Woods, Tony Hawk, the WWE, King of Fighters, and Civilization are all in stores or in the works. Let's take a closer look at four titles due out this fall.

Pathway to Glory (October 2004): The greatest N-Gage buzz probably revolves around this turn-based World War II game, developed in-house. It's a technical accomplishment for sure: 800 sprites, thousands of photographs and illustrations, sixteen in-game languages, the movements of 160 motion-captured soldiers, and authentic weapons, uniforms, and missions. The soldiers boast unique voices and personalities, and they can gain experience and earn medals. Ground-based fighting and air strikes, reconnaisance missions, and supply transport take place in fully destructible environments.

Of course, it has full online capabilities, but you can pass one system back and forth if there is only one cartridge available for local play. The game even keeps you involved during your opponent's turn by allowing you to save some action points for defense.

X-Men Legends (November 2004): This action-RPG lets you pick from a wide range of current and classic members of the mutant superhero team. Up to four can play via Bluetooth, taking the X-Men through various missions and training in the Danger Room. New individual and team moves come with time, and you can go back and tackle a mission with a different combination of heroes as you fight to put down Magneto and other troublemakers.

Pocket Kingdom: Own the World (November 2004): Sega brings the N-Gage its first MMORPG - in fact, the first worldwide MMORPG ever on a mobile system, complete with chat and rankings.

You start out in single-player against AI, then when you've got the knack you can challenge thousands of players from all over the world. The combabtants are made up of over one hundred fantasy characters like golems and elves, and there are tens of thousands of possible item combinations. Unused items can be auctioned off in the Arena. Best of all, bosses guard the way to more advanced levels of play, so your competition will be worth your time. Stick with it and watch your kingdom's area and economy grow.

The Elder Scrolls Travels: Shadowkey (November 2004): A new exclusive storyline, new locations, and the classic Elder Scrolls races and classes will hit the N-Gage this fall. Four players can work together over Bluetooth in a large open-ended adventure across thirteen dungeons and five 3D terrains with monsters and marauders all around. (Nick Vlamakis)