Codehead
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There have been a few threads recently about the problems with Marketplace content and replaced/refurbished/upgraded consoles. I thought I'd try to gather all the info in one place.
For those of you that don't know, content that is downloaded from the Live Marketplace is tied to your Gamertag AND the console that it is first downloaded to. This is the infamous DRM (Digital Rights Management) that prevents copying/piracy of paid-for content.
If you upgrade to an Elite or suffer the 3 reds 'o death and get a replacement console, you can re-download the content from the marketplace as Live knows that your gamertag has paid for the item.
However, the content will only work offline on the first console that it is downloaded to. In order to play your live arcade games or DLC on any console other than the first, you must be connected to XBL.
'Not a problem' you may say, 'I'm always on Live.'
Well,
* A few months back, just after I'd replaced my 1st broken 360, Live went down (server upgrade) for a day and a half. Guess what? No Live arcade games.
* I recently changed ISP and was off the net for a couple of days, again, no Live arcade games, no additional songs in GHII.
* If you take your Xbox away from home, no live arcade games, no DLC.
* If MS remove a game from the MarketPlace. Chances are, you'll no longer be able to play it, even though you have paid for it. (Pointed out by RottenFoxBreath)
* And finally, one day in the future, when MS releases a new console and shuts off live support for the 360, you'll lose all your paid for content.
I personally think this sucks. I know MS have to protect themselves against piracy, but this is too much. The consumer has rights too. With 360s failing as often as they do, many people will fall foul of this heavy handed protection scheme.
I have contacted MS support on numerous occasions to resolve this. They have a policy of refunding MSPoints to a temporary silver account, the temp account can then re-download the content, re-binding it to the current console in the process. However, getting those magic points is not easy. RottenFoxBreath has managed to do it more than once. I am still in the process.
For those of you that don't know, content that is downloaded from the Live Marketplace is tied to your Gamertag AND the console that it is first downloaded to. This is the infamous DRM (Digital Rights Management) that prevents copying/piracy of paid-for content.
If you upgrade to an Elite or suffer the 3 reds 'o death and get a replacement console, you can re-download the content from the marketplace as Live knows that your gamertag has paid for the item.
However, the content will only work offline on the first console that it is downloaded to. In order to play your live arcade games or DLC on any console other than the first, you must be connected to XBL.
'Not a problem' you may say, 'I'm always on Live.'
Well,
* A few months back, just after I'd replaced my 1st broken 360, Live went down (server upgrade) for a day and a half. Guess what? No Live arcade games.
* I recently changed ISP and was off the net for a couple of days, again, no Live arcade games, no additional songs in GHII.
* If you take your Xbox away from home, no live arcade games, no DLC.
* If MS remove a game from the MarketPlace. Chances are, you'll no longer be able to play it, even though you have paid for it. (Pointed out by RottenFoxBreath)
* And finally, one day in the future, when MS releases a new console and shuts off live support for the 360, you'll lose all your paid for content.
I personally think this sucks. I know MS have to protect themselves against piracy, but this is too much. The consumer has rights too. With 360s failing as often as they do, many people will fall foul of this heavy handed protection scheme.
I have contacted MS support on numerous occasions to resolve this. They have a policy of refunding MSPoints to a temporary silver account, the temp account can then re-download the content, re-binding it to the current console in the process. However, getting those magic points is not easy. RottenFoxBreath has managed to do it more than once. I am still in the process.