How to download and play N-Gage games on Nokia N82

Nokia's newly revamped N-Gage mobile gaming platform provides a sophisticated gaming experience with great graphics, multi-player interactivity, and much more. As well as being able to connect to other players, swapping tips, messages and screen shots, you can get free trials of games to try before you buy.

With this N-Gage platform Nokia is enabling owners of N82 to download a First Access trial version of N-Gage -  and a handful of sample games to play.

It's easy to download and install the N-Gage First Access application and games. All you have to do is visit the Nokia N-Gage site, download the application to your PC, and then copy it over to your phone. You can then be one of the first to try out the new N-Gage exerience for yourself  - and, if you like, tell Nokia what you think about it...

Downloading the N-Gage application
First you have to download the N-Gage application to your PC or Mac. You can download the application with four trial games - Space Impact: Kappa Base, System Rush: Evolution, Hooked On: Creatures of the Deep, and Block Breaker Deluxe - all in one bundle, in a Zip file. It is available from the N-Gage website at www.n-gage.com/firstaccess or by clicking on this download link.

Installing the N-Gage application and games
You can install the games from your PC onto your phone by using supplied Nokia PC Suite software and the USB cable boxed with the phone, or simply by dragging and dropping files into the phone's mass storage memory when the phone is connected via USB. The second method is required if you're using a Mac rather than a PC. The application and games should be stored to the mass storage memory rather than the device memory.

Using PC Suite
If you're using a PC you need to ensure you have PC Suite version 6.84 or better installed on your computer. You can download the most recent version of PC Suite here.

Nokia's instructions for installing N-Gage First Access to your Nokia N82 are simple:

1. Start PC Suite on your PC.
2. Connect your device to your PC using the supplied USB cable.
3. Select PC Suite Mode in the dialog box on the N82.
4. Click the Get Connected button on PC Suite and follow the on-screen directions to enable the connection to your device.
5. Click the Install Applications icon on PC Suite.
6. Follow the on screen directions to transfer and install the N-Gage application (.sisx) file from your desktop to your device.
7. Start the N-Gage application on your N82 by clicking the N-Gage icon in the Applications Folder.
8. Now you are ready to install the games. Double-click the N-Gage game file (the .n-gage file) on your PC, and follow the on-screen instructions.
9. The on-screen instructions will remind you to have the N-Gage application installed, and prompt you to finish the installation on your device.
10. With the N-Gage application running, install the games to your N82's mass memory or memory card (note: the N82's mass memory is displayed as a memory card).

Complete the installation and start the game.

If at first you aren't able to complete the installation, you may need to attempt this process several times.

Using Mass Storage Mode/Data Transfer (for PC and Mac users)

1. Connect your N82 to your computer using the supplied USB cable.
2. On your N82, select Data Transfer (Figure 1). Your device should now appear on "My Computer/Finder" as an external drive or removable disk.
3. Copy the N-Gage install file (.sisx) from your computer to a folder on your N82's mass memory, such as the Others folder (Figure 2).
4. Disconnect your device from your computer.
5. From the File Manager application on your N82 (under the Tools menu), navigate to the memory card/mass memory tab (Figure 3). Open the N-Gage install file to start the installation process (Figure 4).Follow the on-screen instructions on your N82. It may take several minutes or more to install the application. You will be notified when the installation is complete.
6. Run the N-Gage application once to verify it is working. This can be found in the Applications folder in the main menu (Figure 5). Click on the N-Gage icon to launch the app (Figure 6).
7. Now you are ready to install the games. Re-connect your N82 to your computer using the USB cable.
8. From your computer, copy the N-Gage game files (the .n-gage files) to the N-Gage folder on your mass memory/memory card (Figure 7). This folder is created the first time you run the N-Gage application.
9. Disconnect your device from your computer.
10. Start the N-Gage application on your N82 by clicking the N-Gage icon in the Applications folder. The N-Gage application will detect your games and prompt you to install them (Figure 8). (If you are not prompted to install the game, use File Manager to open the game install file and start the installation process.)
11. Complete the installation and start a game (Figure 9).

It is possible to transfer the application to the N82 via Bluetooth, but not the games files.