Nokia's N-Gage to play Konami games

Nokia plans to add games from Konami to its N-Gage mobile games platform in the third quarter. The first title will be stealth action game Metal Gear Solid, Nokia said Tuesday.

More games are on the way but no details are available yet, according to a spokeswoman at Nokia.

Konami already sells games for other mobile phone platforms. Its mobile titles include Silent Hill, Frogger Evolution, Pro Evolution Soccer 2008, and Castlevania -- Aria of Sorrow, so those titles would be primary candidates for future N-Gage releases.

Konami also plans to supply Nokia with screen wallpapers and ring tones based on a number of different game franchises.

Nokia relaunched its gaming platform at the beginning of April this year. It allows owners of phones including the N81 8GB, N82, N95, and N95 8GB to download games.

Besides Konami, Nokia has big names like Electronic Arts and Vivendi Games on board.

Currently, N-Gage users can pick between ten games, including FIFA 08, World Series of Poker Pro Challenge and car game Asphalt 3: Street Rules. Another nine games are listed as "coming soon", including Brothers in Arms and Pro Series Golf, according to the N-Gage web site.

The five most popular games on the web site are: Tetris, Asphalt 3: Street Rules, Mile High Pinball, Hooked On: Creatures of the Deep and Brain Challenge.

The phone giant isn't releasing any sales figures yet, but is happy with the uptake the service has seen so far, according to Lenn Pryor, vice president for product marketing, services and software at Nokia.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.