Nokia has got heavy into Location Based Services (LBS) of late, we have the internal trials going on at Kamppi in Helsinki, then there is the Nokia Image Space project, which allows you to share photos, videos and other content about specific places.

But did you think N-Gage would ever make the perfect platform for Location Based Services? Read on and discover a whole New World for Nokia Maps… 

Nokia has plenty of experience in the Location Based Services (LBS) department, as it has been buying up a bunch of small time developers of late (think Gate 5 or Plazes) and it seems they’ve been putting them to use a little more creatively than just standard maps.

PocketGamer recently attended Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, where a presentation was delivered by Tera Ojanpera (Executive Vice President Nokia) showing off a potential game that uses Nokia Maps and LBS as a backdrop for a racing game for N-Gage.

The game is called Nokia Maps Racing at this point, which isn’t very original but then it’s still in early development. The idea is that you take a map in your locale, create a racetrack on it and then ‘sprint’ or race around it. It sounds like a pretty neat idea and it’s a great example of Nokia putting a little more development into its tool merely than just delivering maps.

Like we say, it’s very early days for Nokia Maps Racing and other location-based N-Gage games but it looks like Nokia is putting those developer dollars to fun apps as well as core business ones!

Thanks to Symbian Guru for the heads up on this bit of news.

Via: Pocket Gamer