Licensing and Xbox Live Marketplace content

 

Over the past few months, forumers have reported issues with certain content items functioning improperly. Prevalent among these issues was the report that their purchased content was no longer being recognized as “purchased” by their boxes. The reason people seem to be having issues with these items is because of licensing.

 

When an item is purchased and subsequently downloaded for the first time, licenses to use the downloaded content are created and passed out to two separate locations. First, a license is created and issued to the console. This license enables all accounts to use this content freely, as long as the content is being accessed from said console – any profile being used on the console will be able to use the content while on the console.

 

Second, a license is created and issued to the profile used to purchase the item. This license is different in that it allows the profile to use the content on whichever console it currently resides on, but only if it is connected to live. Only the signed-in account can use the paid-for content – a license would have to be purchased on that console for everyone to be able to play. This seems to be where some people are getting tripped up – bringing a profile with a license on it to another console will not give the second console a license as well.

 

Example Scenario:

 

Say we have Consoles A and B, and profiles Player1, Player2, Player3.

 

Player 1 purchases the full version of Geometry Wars on Console A. Console A now has a license for Geometry Wars, and anybody can play the full version of the game on that console. Player2 and Player3 are both able to enjoy the game as well on console A, as the console is licensed.

 

If Player1 moves to console B, he can still play the full version of Geometry Wars while he is signed into Live, as his profile has the license for the game. Player2 and Player3 would both be able to play the full version on console B, as well, as long as Player1 is connected to live on the same console. Once Player1 disconnects, however, Player2 and Player3, can only play the trial version, because they do not have the license, and nor does Console B. The only way Console B can be licensed is if another profile (Player2 or Player3) purchases the content on the new console.

 

Hopefully, this helps to clarify some of the issues you folks have been having. I’ll do my best to keep actively reading the forums, and will try to help out in any way I can.

 

Millael (Ben Salem)

Comments

• Anonymous
  August 10, 2006
  Ben,
  
  Thanks for this - it's how I thought it was working.
  
  Problem I have - what do I do if the console I bought the content on was faulty and I now have a new console?
  
  I want my kids to be able to play the games I bought on their own accounts to get their achievements etc.
  
  Is there a way Microsoft can reset this?
  
  Thanks,
  CrystalHawk (Shane).

• Anonymous
  August 10, 2006
  Too bad Console A and B died, and I'm on console C...which means even though I'm Player 1 and originally bought the Arcade Games, I cannot play them when I take my 360 to the (offline) cottage....

• Anonymous
  August 10, 2006
  Cool, I was wondering how it worked.

• Anonymous
  August 10, 2006
  Nice post from Ben Salem at the Xbox Dev Team blog.  Helps explain why some things seem to work...

• Anonymous
  August 10, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  August 10, 2006
  this makes sense, but there is a 3rd scenario....what if your console gets replaced due to defect? this is where most users i know have problems. according to tech support, i have to create a new account to enable offline play on a new console after my original died. for this scenario, the license should be reset to allow use on the new console, while removing the ability to use the same license on the old console.

• Anonymous
  August 10, 2006
  Is there anyway to move the license from Console A to Console B?  
  
  For example I unknowingly purchased Geometry Wars under my profile (I brought my HDD over) on my father's console (Console A).  The problem I have though is that my father lives 1300 km away from me and I want my console (Console B) to be licensed so that I can use Geometry Wars when I am not connected to Xbox Live.  Is there a way to do that?

• Anonymous
  August 10, 2006
  Are there plans to change the licensing? aka when you redownload the content it loses the old 'console license' and it is transferred to the new console. (he; maybe even manually unregister the license from the old console and after unregistering it ties to the next console you sign in)

• Anonymous
  August 10, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  August 10, 2006
  A while ago the hard drive on my 360 died (it was replaced with a new HDD via warranty).
  
  What happens to the console version of the license in that case? Is it bound to the specific console or bound to the specific console's hard drive?

• Anonymous
  August 10, 2006
  So what happens if someone has to get a new console because their other one broke?

• Anonymous
  August 10, 2006
  Sounds like a very fair system.  
  
  I particuarly like the idea that so long as the content purchaser is signed in on the console anyone can use another pad to play the game. (as I understand it)  So they can still get the achievements.
  
  Its a shame Xbox Live doesnt operate the same way where so long as I am signed in anyone else on the console can share my gold account!

• Anonymous
  August 10, 2006
  Yeah, but what if my XBox 360 was defective and I was sent a replacement by Microsoft?  Now my kids can't play those games under their own profile, only mine.  They want to be able to earn their own achievements.  I don't want to have to pay for the content again.
  
  Dan

• Anonymous
  August 10, 2006
  Always great to here about the things under the hood. Perhaps this should be more obvious in the 360's interface.

• Anonymous
  August 10, 2006
  Your DRM seems quite fair actually.
  
  The simplest solution would be an allow migration to new XBOX feature. Limit it to so many XBOXes per year, or only when they call tech support

• Anonymous
  August 10, 2006
  Sounds like the only thing missing is a way to transfer the license from Console A to another Console B, in case Console A is broken, stolen, fire, etc..
  
  Hopefully Microsoft realizes that this is a problem and will address it in one of the updates.

• Anonymous
  August 10, 2006
  The one thing that isn't accounted for, what happens when MS 'repairs' your console, and you get a new one, and thus no license for the console itself anymore?

• Anonymous
  August 10, 2006
  Sounds like the only thing missing is a way to transfer the license from Console A to another Console B, in case Console A is broken, stolen, fire, etc..
  
  Hopefully Microsoft realizes that this is a problem and will address it in one of the updates.

• Anonymous
  August 10, 2006
  Wish I knew about this yesterday, before I took my account around my friends and purchased content there. Now I have to ask him to buy the same content on my xbox ... great.
  
  If only there was a way of using the profile that purchased the game to change which console was licensed to run it (give it say 3 times to change it before it's permanently locked, a little like the region changing on DVD drives)
  
  At the very least, it should give more warning that content is locked to the console, and that you need to use that profile when connected to live on another to use it.

• Anonymous
  August 11, 2006
  So what do we do when we have to send our console in for repairs after we purchased content?  Now my arcade games only work if my console is connected to live which a lot of the time it can't be.

• Anonymous
  August 11, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  August 11, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  August 11, 2006
  Would I be correct in saying that the only way to transfer the profile license to Console B is to use the office memory unit? Thxs.

• Anonymous
  August 11, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  August 11, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  August 11, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  August 11, 2006
  Will the console license be reissued after a hard drive format?

• Anonymous
  August 11, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  August 11, 2006
  yes but why can't they do something about this because for us gamers who had to send our console in for repairs and got a new one back cannot play our games unless connected to live, and the reissuing of points to another gamertag should not be the only solution.

• Anonymous
  August 12, 2006
  There's only one problem with the way licencing works.
  
  What happens if your xbox dies and you are sent a replacement by Microsoft?
  
  

• Anonymous
  August 12, 2006
  Only problem with the licensing comes when your 360 goes toes-up. Currently, MS support neither warns the user that all their purchased content will no longer work except for the GT that downloaded it, or offers a way to correct it.
  
  The only solution is to call support, get bounced around between departments, and demand that you be credited-back MS points in the amount equal to what has already been spent. Once you have the credit, you must repurchase all the content using a new GT account.

• Anonymous
  August 13, 2006
  More improvements to the way live accounts are handled is needed.  I still haven't figured out a way to have two live accounts on my 360 at the same time playing Ghost Recon.  I'm not complaining, but I guess that's what Dashboard updates are for.  Currently, trying to get two accounts playing the same game or even on the same system is a little too difficult.
  
  By the way, any news on the 360's Zune integration???  I'm dying to hear something on this.

• Anonymous
  August 13, 2006
  "The reason people seem to be having issues with these items is because of licensing."
  
  Ahh, DRM.  Once again, getting in between users and the content they paid for.

• Anonymous
  August 14, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  August 14, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  August 14, 2006
  PingBack from http://newsviablogs.com/xbox360/2006/08/12/licensing-and-xbox-live-marketplace-xbox360-content/

• Anonymous
  August 14, 2006
  That's all well and good. But what happens if Player 1's console A breaks and he ends up getting replacement console C. Hypothetically let's say that player 1 decides to cancel his internet connection at his house (He's a broke student and needs the money for ramen noodles and pizza instead :D). How is he going to be able to play the content he purchased on console C?
  
  He can't. Player 1 is stuck with nothing but trials until he forks out the 40 bucks a month for internet so that he can use his purchased content again.
  
  May i suggest that when the Player 1's of the xbox world have to end up replacing defective consoles with new ones, that the licenses are updated to account for the new console's serial number instead of being permanently locked to a broken console that's at the MS factory for repairs.

• Anonymous
  August 15, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  August 16, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  August 17, 2006
  Are there any plans to allow for the "console affiliation" to be changed from one console to another?  I bought my 360 on day 1, but I had to have it replaced a few months ago due to overheating issues.  While I have no problems playing games that I purchased before the console swap (using my personal profile), my family members (who have their own profiles) can no longer play those games.  I am using the original hard drive to which the games were purchased and downloaded.  I think this is going to be an ongoing growing pain for the digital distribution model as ownership rights are considerably less tangible than physical media.

• Anonymous
  August 21, 2006
  Nice post and very informative.  
  
  Only problem I see with this is if you 360 dies and you have to buy a new one.  You can re-download your paid for Live Arcade title but it wont give you a license on the machine (or have I mis-understood)?
  
  

• Anonymous
  August 22, 2006
  PingBack from http://www.timroschanski.de/?p=74

• Anonymous
  October 01, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  October 14, 2006
  Same situation here, bought content, sent 360 in for repairs and now i can't access my content offline. Just fraking great, Ms should have given this some thought before this sort of thing started happening. I will definitely not buy anymore content from now on, that is until they fix this in some of the ways already mentioned. As it stand now i'm waiting for MS to go through a big old process of refunding my gamerpoints in order to re-dl my content.

• Anonymous
  October 17, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  October 19, 2006
  Ok I'm living this right now. My 360 died, got it replaced an dnow after I re-download all my previously purchased content, I can't play it offline, I have to be online. MS tells me that they'll give me back the points, but I have to create a new silver member gamertag and the points will go to that. I am confused. Will I now have 2 gamertags on my system? WillI have to always login under that new gamertag to access the content? What about my original achievements and hig scores, what happens now? Can anyone shed some light on this or MS can you explain. Calls to the support desk are greeted with differen responses every time. I think Major Nelson should discuss this on one of his blogs so people know what they have to deal with when they have to replace their XBOX. I know it's all DRM and what not, but why as a legitimate 360 owner do I have to go through this?

• Anonymous
  November 05, 2006
  PingBack from http://trenddiary.com/games/2006/08/10/licensing-and-xbox-live-marketplace-content/

• Anonymous
  November 28, 2006
  My friend has a launch 360, it's not been replaced, he bought geometry wars on day1, he doesn't swap games or saves or anything with anyone. It has, in the past correctly been opened for all accounts on the machine. And it once failed and locked out all the others (despite still listing achievements and highscores of other accounts within their account). he complained to MS and they said it was an issue that would be solved, you'd have thought permenantly. (this was many months ago) now it's done it again! :(

• Anonymous
  December 10, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  December 10, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  January 05, 2007
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  January 11, 2007
  This also doesnt take into account those of us who have multiple consoles in the same household.  I have 2 360's, one of which all of my Live arcade games are downloaded onto.  If my GF or daughter want to play on the other 360 (which doesnt have the license) then they can't do it on their own Live account and earn achievement points.  

• Anonymous
  January 22, 2007
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  February 06, 2007
  I'm going through this bull also. I can only get broadband access at my brothers once a month and now that my 1st 360 died I can't play these games on my replacement. I can understand trying to keep people from taking advantage of the setup but there has to be a better way of handling this. With stories of people being on their 3-5 360s I can see this happening to me again in the future. If this DRM issue isn't fixed, I can't see my self buying any more marketplace content.

• Anonymous
  February 06, 2007
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  March 05, 2007
  This is so stupid! I have an X360, and downloaded ALL possible downloadable content for Oblivion, got very far into the game, but my X360 started destroying games when i put them in, so I got it replaced, it now won't let me access any of my saves with extra content, so is there any way I can use my extra content without having to be plugged into xbox live 24/7, and recover my saves?

• Anonymous
  March 21, 2007
  I think this page is dead... no one has even offered an answer...

• Anonymous
  March 24, 2007
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  March 27, 2007
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  March 29, 2007
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  April 04, 2007
  Having spent around 6000 microsoft points on oblivion content, my boyfriend and I can not play, Why? Because we had the hard drive in my brothers 360! We don't have internet so travelled a fair distance and figured it was a bit far to lug a whole 360... Now I wish I'd not bothered since around 6 level 40+ oblivion characters have been destroyed in the making (and breaking) of shivering isles!

• Anonymous
  April 09, 2007
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  May 02, 2007
  There's a petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/fixxblm that has recently gained momentum since the launch of the Elite and the resultant unmasking of this longstanding problem by those who choose to upgrade. MS is backpedaling now and saying that the Elite is not meant for current owners, but new purchasers. So, as another poster on a different thread noted, that must be why the first thing you see today when you log into live via the dashboard is an advertisement for the Elite? The problem has been around since launch, brought to MS's attention via their forums in December of '05, blogged about here 9 months ago, and now with the launch of the Elite may have the catalyst needed to actually get a true response from MS. The current kludge of a workaround with a Silver Dummy account shouldn't even be presented to the consumer but as a temporary stopgap until the real solution is presented. Well, in my book, temporary does not mean 17 months.

• Anonymous
  May 09, 2007
  Please fix the DRM so the profile I bought my $200+ worth of DLC with can access all of it without having to be online. I want to buy an Elite, but I don't want everything inaccessible.

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  November 25, 2007
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