All About N-Gage says: "This week we had something rather nasty confirmed to us by Nokia: when you upgrade to a new phone, the only way to keep your N-Gage games is to buy them all over again." And as it points out:
This is in stark contrast to Nokia's Music Store service, which does let you move your music library to a new phone. Why does Nokia treat a 10 euro album differently to a 10 euro game?
The site says: "Nokia's customer care department told us that they can only transfer games if a phone is replaced at a repair centre under the terms of its guarantee. Nokia will not transfer games simply because you've bought a new phone."
It is, of course, an anti-piracy measure, but it would obviously be better for users if game code was locked to a user account rather than to a specific phone. Most users change their phone every couple of years.
Still, it's a useful reminder that DRM (Digital Rights Management) systems basically mean you have no rights.
BBC News has covered the story in Gamer anger at Nokia's 'lock in'.
