Nokia drops price on N-Gage, games

Nokia is apparently hoping the luck of the Irish will rub off on the poorly selling N-Gage QD. The mobile-communications monolith announced yesterday that as of March 17, St. Patrick's Day, retail outlets will be selling its cell phone/game deck hybrid for just $99. Currently listed at $199, the QD was previously available for $99 only with the purchase of a one-year service contract from select carriers.

"Having the N-Gage QD available in the US market at $99.99 as a prepaid wireless alternative provides a very simple 'cash and carry' solution and is also a very attractive consumer price," said Andrew Elliott, senior manager of the American division of Nokia's Games and Channel Business Development division.

To further entice gamers to try the less-than-spectacularly selling QD, Nokia also announced that it is cutting the prices of N-Gage games. As of today, the previous standard price of $34.99 for N-Gage games will be lowered to a variable price range of $14.99 to $24.99, depending on the game. Nokia's announcement also said that the forthcoming Splinter Cell Chaos Theory will be "the first new N-Gage game to launch with the adjusted pricing levels."