Truth Serum – Digital Rights Management DRM
It’s time for an injection of that special serum into a subject that I’m sure is a personal one for many of you. You don’t read very much about it but it affects everyone who owns an Xbox 360. DRM, as most of you will recognize it, stands for Digital Rights Management. It is a technology used by many publishers and copyright holders to limit the use of digital content/devices and in some cases restrict use altogether. I’m here to say that it sucks especially when talking about how it affects some Xbox 360 owners.
Do you really own the things that you download from the Xbox Live Marketplace? Is that really your copy of Rez HD that you purchased from the Xbox Live Arcade? The short answer should be yes after you’ve obviously spent your Microsoft Points to obtain them. However, the long answer is that instead you’ve been punked by the DRM system currently in place on the Xbox 360.
No, you don’t own that content or rather you do until you have to replace your console through the repair process or some other reason. Repairs, new purchase Elite data transfers…whatever the reason you’ve ended up with a new console, it results in being punked by DRM.
Downloads via the Marketplace or Xbox Live Arcade are tied to your console’s serial number and require profile validation in order to give you access to them. It doesn’t sound like anything out of the ordinary until it’s time for you to use your content outside of that same console. Once you try to access the content you’ve paid for by way of a friend’s console or a new/refurbished console, you’ll get a taste of how DRM is a pain. When the content license tries to match itself and authenticate, it won’t. It won’t unless you’re signed in to Xbox Live. The more glaring issue and example of this is with Xbox Live Arcade titles. DRM forces you back to trial versions of the game if you’re not signed in.
No big deal right? Some argue, “hey, I’m signed in all the time anyway”. Well what happens if one day Xbox Live experiences some issues that prevent you from signing on? What happens when you just don’t want to continue with the service or if you run into hard times and can’t afford your DSL service anymore? You’re just out of luck and you can say goodbye to the money you’ve spent and the time you’ve invested in all your downloads. For those of you with families, this is even more of a pain because no one will be able to access the content without you authenticating via Xbox Live sign in.
Believe it or not there are moments and occasions when I simply don’t want to sign in to Xbox Live. But I’m forced to now if I want to finish that last level of Omega Five or if anyone wants to do anything with Xbox Live Arcade titles I’ve downloaded. I shouldn’t have to maintain a subscription to Xbox Live in order to have full access to content that I’ve paid fully for. I’d like to look into an Xbox Original but what motivation is there for people who aren’t lucky enough to have their original console last?
Why bother downloading content when there’s no solution to keeping ownership of the content? Why updgrade to an Elite when you’ll get punked? The DRM Chronicles sums up the basis of this problem for those out there who are experiencing this. Xbox Support doesn’t have a unified solution to deal with this and I’m not sure if one will ever come. Their suggested method of redownloading the titles from your history doesn’t work. They’re not issuing Microsoft Points to correct the issue anymore. And the last rumor of having them reassign your console’s serial number to the titles is still stuck between that rock and hard place.
I don’t know if this issue is being worked on but I do know that something needs to be done about it. I know several people who refuse to purchase from the Arcade because of this issue and even more who are choosing not to purchase an Xbox 360 Elite as well.
DRM is a necessary evil for some parts of the industry but when it begins to restrict access on a level that it does with the Xbox 360, then it becomes a problem instead. I shouldn’t have to pass an Xbox Live test in order to fully access content I’ve paid for.
This has been a Truth Serum injection. What say you?
lvl 61!
February 4th, 2008 at 11:01 am
I still haven’t figured out which is worse – the DRM issue or the way Customer Support handles it!
The first time I replaced my console they actually refunded me all my MSPs back – all 10k+ of them. The second time no such luck! The process took over 3 months of dealing with bad responses, put off excuses, tier 2 callbacks, total lies – including being told to create a new tag and use it’s download history to redownload my main tags content! Which I found intellecually insulting, when I explained why it was ‘the most stupid reponse I have ever heard’ I was put on hold for 15 minutes with the music so loud that my wife in the room next door complained! 3 months of insults before some-one had enough guts to tell me they they don’t do refunds and then sent me a compensation game which they actually sent me the wrong one!!
February 6th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
i have a new article coming to hopefully shed some additional light on DRM SimonJ.
February 8th, 2008 at 9:48 am
[...] had quite the discussion concerning the Truth Serum DRM article last week. You’ll be surprised at a few things I was able to get the scoop on about [...]
February 8th, 2008 at 11:24 am
[...] that Digital Rights Management (DRM) has presented a few issues to Xbox 360 gamers. I posted a Truth Serum article recently about it and had a very interesting show last Saturday about it. It was a shocker to [...]
February 8th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
The truth? You can’t handle the truth = I got banned for it!
The truth is that Microsoft is losing fans because of their many stupid decisions, & they are allowing Sony to turn from bad to good in the eyes of most at every gaming forum I visit. People are buying games for their Ps3 first, because they can’t trust the reliability of the 360. Sony’s Ps3 will surpass the 360 in sales by 2010 worldwide – Count on it.
You guys suck!
February 8th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
lol come on Mike. you’re better than that dude. tell you what. i’m lifting your permaban because i happen to be one of the guys who actually understand you.
and well i am the boss lol. just do me a favor and please cut out all the personal attacks when someone doesn’t agree with ya. deal?
February 8th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Well thanks bro, but I don’t know – Shouldn’t the People who personally attack me get the ban instead of myself who is just stating my opinion on a gaming related subject?
You tell me what is right & wrong?
February 8th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
i’ll keep an eye on it.
February 8th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Well I can’t promise that I won’t defend my opinion like anyone else. I mean like, isn’t that the point of a game forum is to give your personal opinion on a gaming related subject?
It’s funny… but when I do, I have people come out of the woodwork just to hate me & call me names = I only fight back when that happens because I can’t understand it & I can’t stand that ignorance.
You will see pro 360 threads/posts & anti 360 threads/posts from me… The same will go for the Ps3 = I will not show bias intentionally to one console or the other.
I’ve always been like that, many people just don’t see it.
March 27th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
[...] myth believed about Xbox MVPs. In fact, I’m going to prove that myth wrong right now. DRM sucks on the Xbox 360! See…it’s not true. Contrary to popular opinion, there are no [...]
April 21st, 2008 at 10:20 am
[...] I figured I’d remind everyone that Xbox Live and Xbox.com’s message boards will be down until 2PM Central Standard Time (or roundabout). That’s 12PM Pacific and 3PM Eastern. The pain is almost over so just sit tight. You can check on the status of Xbox Live here. The maintenance is supposed to be nothing so don’t expect anything “new”. It’s perhaps getting things ready for the Spring Dashboard Update. My sympathy goes out to those of you stuck in DRM hell. [...]
May 22nd, 2008 at 4:05 pm
[...] allowing offline play. I’m eager to see if this goes as well as planned. No more getting punked by DRM? We shall see. Posted by DeaconBlade on May 22nd, 2008 Filed in Xbox Live Arcade [...]
May 31st, 2008 at 1:22 am
[...] considered, especially with the 360, I’ve been fortunate, and that’s something too many people cannot say. Even with full support, Microsoft’s DRMed games, combined with the awful failure [...]
June 26th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
[...] content. Well, Microsoft released that tool today. You don’t have to worry about getting punked by DRM it seems. I give you the Content License Transfer [...]
September 15th, 2008 at 12:29 am
Case in point. I downloaded seasons 1, 2, and 3 of Star Trek Enterprise, as well as the first season of Star Trek Voyager and both seasons of Jericho from Xbox Live Video Marketplace.
However, after the second RROD replacement for my Xbox 360, when I attempt to access the shows that I paid serious money for, they are no longer available. Not anywhere. The episodes on my HD will no longer play, and attempts to play them generate a lovely error that the license for the product must be renewed… although there is no way to do so since the episodes (in fact the entire series) are no longer available on Xbox Live Video Marketplace.
At least had I downloaded it from iTunes, it would still be resident on my PC’s hard drive and I could still enjoy the show I “purchased”.
September 15th, 2008 at 6:20 am
they’ve fixed this problem Trekker. you can easily transfer your licenses now.