Back in May, the N-Gage platform made it into the news, but not in the way Nokia intended.
You can only transfer N-Gage games once
The story so far...
Games on the next gen N-Gage platform are sold entirely as downloads. You download the demo version of a game free of charge, and if you like it you can buy the full version by selecting the "purchase" link within the game itself and paying either through credit card or your phone bill. After you've paid, the full game is activated automatically by an activation code, and a copy of the code is sent to your e-mail address for later reference (the code can be used for re-activation of games if you delete them). The activation code is locked to one particular phone using that handset's unique IMEI number, so if you try to use the code to unlock the game on any other phone it will not work.
In an editorial we ran earlier in 2008 we highlighted the little-reported fact that N-Gage game activation codes couldn't be transferred between phones. It seemed that if you had to change phones for almost any reason, Nokia expected you to either re-buy all your N-Gage games or lose them forever (transfers would only be allowed on faulty phones replaced by Nokia under the terms of their guarantee).
This came as a surprise to many N-Gage users, and they were understandably a bit upset. AAN wasn't alone in criticising the policy, many other technology bloggers and authors also posted articles expressing their bafflement, with perhaps the most amusing headline being "Scrooge McNokia". Mainstream sites such as BBC News rapidly picked up on this, and within a few days the new N-Gage platform was making headlines around the world... but for all the wrong reasons.
Nokia's eventual reaction was a "clarification" stating that people would indeed be able to transfer games by contacting their local customer service number. A more convenient solution was to come later, but Nokia didn't say what this would be or when it would arrive.
So, it seemed that all was well with the world. Customers had expressed their concern, Nokia had acted upon those concerns.
Unfortunately Nokia's action wasn't quite what most people assumed it to be. You can now transfer games through their customer services, but only once.
The N-Gage application, where games are stored and purchased on compatible phones
We've said this before but we'll say it again: Nokia Music and Nokia Maps allow unlimited transfers, so why doesn't N-Gage?
Over the past year Nokia has moved into the internet content business, and as well as phones they now also sell games (through N-Gage), music tracks (through Nokia Music Store) and route guidance data (through Nokia Maps). Both Nokia Music and Nokia Maps allow unlimited transfers of content, so you can move what you've bought from one phone to another as often as you like.
But this isn't possible with N-Gage games. Even after the introduction of transfers, these transfers can only be used once. If you buy an N-Gage game you can use it on your current phone and transfer it to your next phone, but on subsequent phones it disappears forever and you have to re-buy it if you want to keep it.
Why transfer limits are a bad idea
We went over this in our original editorial, but just to refresh people's memories here are some reasons why N-Gage games shouldn't have transfer limits:
- Nokia's biggest fans tend to buy new Nokia devices frequently, up to several times a year. Transfer limits would wipe out the game collections of such fans pretty quickly, and make Nokia fans feel punished for their enthusiasm.
- N-Gage's biggest fans tend to buy lots of games, spending tens or even hundreds of euros building up their collection. Transfer limits would put N-Gage fans off buying a new Nokia phone more than once, and make N-Gage fans feel punished for their enthusiasm.
- People forced to re-buy a game may feel justified in turning to piracy. In such people's eyes, using pirated games could be seen as legitimate and fair because they have already paid for a product, and simply want to carry on using it.
- Users may lose their phone in a way that isn't covered by Nokia's guarantee, for example it may be stolen. Even if the user buys a replacement phone and transfers the games to it, they can no longer do any transfers after that, so they will lose their game collection on any further phones they buy. The transfer limit is, in effect, punishing people for being victims of crime.
- Customers hate nasty surprises, and there is still no clear warning about any transfer limits when people buy the games. Nokia's lawyers will probably point to the N-Gage Terms and Conditions page, but that contains over seven thousand words (!) and the vast majority of people are extremely unlikely to read it, especially on the relatively small screen of a mobile phone. Even if by some miracle a user did read the entire document, as far as we can tell it doesn't actually mention the transfer limit anyway.
- Nokia's trying to sell N-Gage as the mobile world's answer to Xbox Live, with a strong sense of community and a large number of online players. Blocking access to games people have already paid for will harm both of these goals, as it will erode loyalty to the platform and reduce the userbase of online games.
What about that promised transfer solution?
When we asked them about all this, Nokia said that the "one transfer only" policy is only temporary, and that a more permanent transfer method will be put in place that allows more transfers, which would combine a user's current phone's IMEI number with their N-Gage username to establish who owns a game at any particular moment.
However, Nokia won't say what this method actually is, or when it will become available. AAN had expected an announcement to be made about it at the recent Nokia Games Summit but no such announcement appeared, so it seems the one transfer policy will continue until further notice.
To be honest it's a bit difficult to see why this new transfer method is taking so long, all it really needs to do is replace one fifteen digit IMEI number in N-Gage's customer database with another IMEI. That shouldn't have ever required customer services, people should be able to do that themselves just like changing the password on an e-mail account.
If anyone from Nokia is reading this, please please announce and release the new transfer method as soon as possible, or at the very least give us a clue as to when it will become available.
The N-Gage-exclusive fishing game "Hooked On: Creatures Of The Deep"