Submission + - Microsoft's DRM (Xbox 360) [revised] (live.com) 1
JayFNG writes: "I'm a proud owner of a 60" 1080p high-def TV and an Xbox 360; however, my TV only accepts a 1080p signal via one of the 3 HDMI ports. When I learned that my Premium Xbox 360 would never see an adaptor that would allow for HDMI output I was ecstatic when I heard about the Xbox 360 Elite having one built-in; I was the first person in line to purchase an Elite on April 29th. On the 30th I printed and filled out the free Migration Kit form from Xbox.com and waited patiently for it to arrive from Microsoft. When it finally arrived, and all of my data was "migrated" from my previous Xbox 360's 20 GIG hard drive to the 120 GIG drive of my Elite, everything was working perfectly... That is, until my wife tried to play Jewel Quest.
(NOTE: I don't want my 9-year-old son using my profile due to Xbox Live, and my wife enjoys earning her own achievements and having her own friends list.)
When my wife and son used their own profiles, they could no longer play any of the 40 Xbox Live Arcade titles that I had purchased; not even when the Elite was connected to Xbox Live! Personally, I had no problem playing games or content until recently. While playing the Live Arcade game Castlevania SOTN, during a fairly bad storm here in Florida, my internet connection was lost. The game instantly went into 'demo mode' and would no longer allow me to save my game progress.
The following day I called 1-800-4-MY-XBOX and was told to download the content again and that would solve my problem. Since I had no way to connect to Xbox Live I took my Xbox 360 somewhere with an internet connection and downloaded all 40 Xbox Live Arcade titles as instructed. Upon returning home that evening, I learned that this did NOT solve the problem. (My wife, son, and I could not play any of the XBLA games.)
Later that evening I called Xbox support again and spoke with a different support team member. This time I was told that my original console profile IDs were tied to each game and that I'd have to purchase all 40 games a second time. First of all, the Xbox Live Marketplace doesn't allow you to purchase content twice. Second, why should I have to pay another $300+ for content I already purchased? The call was escalated, but even the supervisor explained to me that due to the digital rights management of content purchased through the Xbox Live Marketplace, I'd need to purchase all 40 games a second time with the profile of either my wife or my son.
I completely understand why Microsoft has this kind of security in place; however, I feel that this method is absolutely unacceptable. When I purchase music through iTunes it's tied to my account and PC, however I'm able to authorize and deauthorize up to 5 different PC's; why can't something similar be done with my XBLA games and content?
I look at it this way; if I purchased a movie on DVD then decided to upgrade to a new 1080p upscaling DVD player with an HDMI output a few months later, that movie should play just fine for everyone in my household; regardless of whether or not I'm connected to the internet or the only person watching it. If I wanted to watch the same movie on another DVD player in my house, I wouldn't have to purchase the movie a second time. This is EXACTLY what Microsoft is doing with downloadable content from the Xbox Live Marketplace, and nobody seems to be addressing the issue.
Is Microsoft working on a solution to this problem? Will everyone who upgraded to an Elite, or customers who receive replacement consoles (after a case of the Red Ring of Death) suffer the same fate? I feel that spending $399.99 on an Xbox 360, spending $300+ on content through the Live Marketplace (not-to-mention thousands of dollars worth of games), and then dropping an additional $479.99 for an HDMI enabled version should entitle the customer to a proper solution.... Solutions such as spending several hundred dollars more on content that were already paid for and disconnecting / reconnecting an old console just to use previously purchased content is absurd... Please help me find some answers.
I've contacted numerous news websites, Magazines, etc... Nobody seems to have any info, nor do they care to help... I suppose the next step is to contact the Better Business Bureau :("
(NOTE: I don't want my 9-year-old son using my profile due to Xbox Live, and my wife enjoys earning her own achievements and having her own friends list.)
When my wife and son used their own profiles, they could no longer play any of the 40 Xbox Live Arcade titles that I had purchased; not even when the Elite was connected to Xbox Live! Personally, I had no problem playing games or content until recently. While playing the Live Arcade game Castlevania SOTN, during a fairly bad storm here in Florida, my internet connection was lost. The game instantly went into 'demo mode' and would no longer allow me to save my game progress.
The following day I called 1-800-4-MY-XBOX and was told to download the content again and that would solve my problem. Since I had no way to connect to Xbox Live I took my Xbox 360 somewhere with an internet connection and downloaded all 40 Xbox Live Arcade titles as instructed. Upon returning home that evening, I learned that this did NOT solve the problem. (My wife, son, and I could not play any of the XBLA games.)
Later that evening I called Xbox support again and spoke with a different support team member. This time I was told that my original console profile IDs were tied to each game and that I'd have to purchase all 40 games a second time. First of all, the Xbox Live Marketplace doesn't allow you to purchase content twice. Second, why should I have to pay another $300+ for content I already purchased? The call was escalated, but even the supervisor explained to me that due to the digital rights management of content purchased through the Xbox Live Marketplace, I'd need to purchase all 40 games a second time with the profile of either my wife or my son.
I completely understand why Microsoft has this kind of security in place; however, I feel that this method is absolutely unacceptable. When I purchase music through iTunes it's tied to my account and PC, however I'm able to authorize and deauthorize up to 5 different PC's; why can't something similar be done with my XBLA games and content?
I look at it this way; if I purchased a movie on DVD then decided to upgrade to a new 1080p upscaling DVD player with an HDMI output a few months later, that movie should play just fine for everyone in my household; regardless of whether or not I'm connected to the internet or the only person watching it. If I wanted to watch the same movie on another DVD player in my house, I wouldn't have to purchase the movie a second time. This is EXACTLY what Microsoft is doing with downloadable content from the Xbox Live Marketplace, and nobody seems to be addressing the issue.
Is Microsoft working on a solution to this problem? Will everyone who upgraded to an Elite, or customers who receive replacement consoles (after a case of the Red Ring of Death) suffer the same fate? I feel that spending $399.99 on an Xbox 360, spending $300+ on content through the Live Marketplace (not-to-mention thousands of dollars worth of games), and then dropping an additional $479.99 for an HDMI enabled version should entitle the customer to a proper solution.... Solutions such as spending several hundred dollars more on content that were already paid for and disconnecting / reconnecting an old console just to use previously purchased content is absurd... Please help me find some answers.
I've contacted numerous news websites, Magazines, etc... Nobody seems to have any info, nor do they care to help... I suppose the next step is to contact the Better Business Bureau
