The handset manufacturer will launch N-Gage into the world's biggest mobile market later this year, but remains unsure whether it has found the right business model. Initially it will launch on a pay-per-game basis, in line with N-Gage in the rest of the world. However, Dan Wong, vice-president for services and software, China, says the company will experiment with different systems due to fears Chinese customers will be reluctant to pay.
"We're looking very closely at the market dynamics in China," said Wong, pointing to the amount of pirated content. "There are a lot of deep conversations within Nokia about how we create value."
Potential alternatives include a pay-per-month model that charges users a set fee for
unlimited games, or a system that gives away games for free then makes money by selling items within the games.
Wong said that Nokia would look for business alliances with local companies to expand the range of content available on the platform.
For the full story see this month's Digital Media magazine.
