It seems many insiders have known this was coming for a long time now, however, only just recently did it become official... no more N-Gage Platform and all roads lead to Ovi Store.

Obviously, the key aspect to the N-Gage platform and N-Gage community over the years was the Community aspect.. ie. N-Gage Arena and supporting services was a place where gamers  congregated and played... however, it may have been the community itself that killed N-Gage.

Myself, I was a huge fan of the original N-Gage device and am pleased to share that I was present in London a number of years ago (was it 2001 or 2002??) when the N-Gage [ aka. the Taco] was officially launched to the World - I still have images of me and Lara Croft posing for photos... and what ever happened to the Nokia employee that was struck by a car outside the N-Gage party that night?? It was pretty darned popular and in its day the device was awesome. It had a decent community of users and the titles were slowing coming around... that all changed though when N-Gage "evolved" into a platform. I think the key differentiator that made N-Gage a hit was the fact that it was a unique and eye catching device.. the gamers had their own device and they stood out in a crowd.. that's what gamers wanted. Instead, Nokia told them what they should want and here we are today providing the last rights... farewell N-Gage

Some key points from the N-Gage blog:

• If you’re looking for the latest apps, games and other mobile content, Ovi Store is available in more than 180 countries.
• N-Gage games can be purchased until the end of September 2010. While the N-Gage.com site together with the N-Gage Arena and other community features will remain in operation throughout 2010 
• N-Gage Arena will remain in operation throughout 2010 and players can e.g. keep posting their high scores until then.
• Your games are safe - all your purchased N-Gage games will continue to work on your N-Gage compatible mobile device 
• We are actively working on offering more community elements through Ovi and we encourage developers to use community features in their applications.

See more at http://blog.n-gage.com/