Nokia, a dominant force in the mobile communications hardware industry found the going increasingly tough by the 2000s. But increasing competition prompted Nokia to move into the seemingly lucrative but intensely competitive video gaming industry. Nokia spent tens of millions developing N-Gage and is spending another $100 mn promoting it. But it remains to be seen how it would fare in the intensely competitive gaming industry.
In early 2004, Jorma Ollila (Ollila), CEO of Nokia, the Finnish telecom giant, was thinking about his company's prospects in the multi-billion dollar gaming industry. Nokia, which provides high quality, easy-to-use communications products like mobile phones, is making an ambitious foray into games with its N-Gage game deck. Nokia is the world's largest maker of cell phones ahead of rivals such as Motorola, Siemens, and Samsung.
Nokia has two main business lines, mobile phones (wireless voice and data devices for personal, business, and entertainment uses) and networks (wireless switching and transmission equipment used by carriers). Besides cell phones, Nokia offers set-top boxes, home satellite systems, wireless network software, and cell phone displays. Nokia Ventures division invested in technology-related start-ups. One of Europe's largest companies by market capitalization, Nokia has set its sights on becoming the leader in third generation (3G) wireless network equipment. |
