Video Games

Nokia is going to try to raise the Titanic.

The cellphone company plans to make a third attempt with its N-Gage portable gaming platform later this year.

The first attempt a few years ago resulted in a taco-shaped phone that was so badly designed it debuted to more amusement than contempt.

The second iteration was when the contempt began.

Both phones were uglier than a vulture-hyena hybrid, and the games were worse.

The first phone was such an engineering nightmare that you had to remove the battery in order to swap game cartridges.

Nokia's demonstration booths at game-industry trade shows such as E3 were always deserted, and the handsets never developed a cult following.

Now, the N-Gage is set to rise from the dead.

This fall, Nokia will unveil the new and (please) improved N-Gage. Rather than being a single phone, though, the new N-Gage will basically be a software platform that can run on several Nokia phones.

Apparently, big-name publishers, including Electronic Arts, have been hoodwinked into making games for the new N-Gage.

Truthfully, it doesn't matter whether the new N-Gage is better than a Nintendo DS and Sony PSP rolled into one. The brand has become so synonymous with embarrassing failure, I can't imagine any self-respecting gamer spending money on it.

But you do have to admire Nokia's sheer pigheadedness.