Illegal Downloads?

[raydenblade]

hey guys.. I usually do not like posting stuff that other people have mentioned, but I did not see anything on the first couple of pages... unless I am blind.

One of my friends just purchased rockband, and had asked me if I would give him the songs that I have downloaded and put it on his xbox. He told me it was "legal" but I paid for these songs and now he wants them for free.

I am not sure if you knew, but if you downloaded a song from your account, and then recovered an account to another xbox you can download those same songs to another xbox and it would look like somone actually paid for them.

I do not think that I will let him do it, because I paid a lot of moolah for my songs, and let him get his own! but can someone reply and share your thoughts on what to do, and what you think of the situation?:confused:

[whofan]

What your friend is suggesting is piracy and could potentially land you in a lot of hot water due to copyright infringement issues. You purchase those songs for use on your X-Box and not on anyone elses.

Regardless, let the cheap bastard buy his own damn tracks. Don't let people mooch off of your hard earned dollars.

[Catch-22]

It would be illegal but more importantly it wont work. If he wants to play those songs after the procedure you listed, he'll have to be signed into XBL with your account.

[raydenblade]

hey, thanks for the quick reply! he will not go near my songs!

He told me that he seen it done, some one would put the songs from recovering their account... and when the other person logged in, under DLC it would say "purchased" I dont know, I just know that i am NOT going to let him do it for sure now!

[Draelik]

I would like an official response on this, as well. I drove 2 hours to my friend's house for a weekend and took RB with. I recovered my account and redownloaded my songs so we could play all of them. Mind you, this was well before he had RB. Now that he does have RB, he's able to play the songs that I had downloaded.

I'm sure it's not legal by any stretch, but to Harmonix, are you guys working on something to prevent this? We in no way intended to steal songs. My friend and his brother even went back to the music store and purchased several of the songs that we were playing.

[raydenblade]

I dont want to be a "post hog" but I would like to clear it!

[Draelik]

...but more importantly it wont work. If he wants to play those songs after the procedure you listed, he'll have to be signed into XBL with your account.

This is incorrect. Read my previous post, it certainly does work.

[TheBlueFalcon]

Seems to me like there is an alteria motive for your thread. I don't see your reason for asking other people their opinions on the situation. If you don't intend to do it, then other people's opinions are meaningless. What are you really asking?

[ledzepboy]

don't be a dick and just let your friend have the songs.

[willthegreat]

I would like an official response on this, as well. I drove 2 hours to my friend's house for a weekend and took RB with. I recovered my account and redownloaded my songs so we could play all of them. Mind you, this was well before he had RB. Now that he does have RB, he's able to play the songs that I had downloaded.

I'm sure it's not legal by any stretch, but to Harmonix, are you guys working on something to prevent this? We in no way intended to steal songs. My friend and his brother even went back to the music store and purchased several of the songs that we were playing.

When your friend plays these songs you downloaded, is he using your XBL account? I own RB on PS3, though I also own a 360, but the way I understood it, until today with the release of the DRM kit, you had to connect to the XBL account that purchased the content to access it. If that's the case, then your friend is basically saying he's you to play the songs...I wonder if you removed your XBL account from his machine if he would still be able to play the content? Of course, he may be able to use the new DRM tool to remove that lock but I think THAT would be illegal.

[MooTrain]

don't be a dick and just let your friend have the songs.

Don't be a cheap asshat and shell out the two bucks for the songs.

[raydenblade]

Seems to me like there is an alteria motive for your thread. I don't see your reason for asking other people their opinions on the situation. If you don't intend to do it, then other people's opinions are meaningless. What are you really asking?


Well, I already stated that I will not do it, but i am interested in seeing what others people thought of the idea, it brings up a lot of other topics like piracy, and whether you can do it for other games, or if it already had done. I guess I just like to over think, and I am very interested in this topic. I do not download songs from the internet, and I think i am one of the few that buys their music and songs completly legit through purchasing it. This has almost the same premis, so its almost like "talking about the same topic, in a different situation"

and I have no idea what the DRM tools are... from the post under it, haha, i am not that technical with stuff like.. whatever that is

[TheBlueFalcon]

But if you are "that" type of person, why do you want to discuss it? I don't download anything illegally. I have over 1000 CD's and well over 2000 DVD's, as well as hundred of games on various platforms, all of which are originals. I don't see the point in discussing the such a thing, unless you want to be educated on the subject or if you are trying to find out who is breaking the law. What I find funny is that you are discussing illegally sharing DLC in a forum run by the people that you would be defrauding. Very clever I must say!!

[maskofskin]

Your friend is mistaken. If you log onto his console, and redownload songs, he'll be able to play them as long as you are signed in. If you recover your gamertag back to your original console, not only will the songs not work, it will lock up his system if he tries to play them (for some reason they still show up in the menu.)

The only way you can "share" music is if you purchase songs while logged in on his console and download them there first. However, this will make you have to be signed in on Live to play them, unless you do the DRM license transfer (which you can only do one a year). If your friend gets a new console, he will not be able to recover those files.

This "sharing" method is known by Microsoft and their content providers, and they are aware that it's possible for two versions of content to be out there, and they are fine with it, even if it is kind of shady.

[whofan]

But if you are "that" type of person, why do you want to discuss it? I don't download anything illegally. I have over 1000 CD's and well over 2000 DVD's, as well as hundred of games on various platforms, all of which are originals. I don't see the point in discussing the such a thing, unless you want to be educated on the subject or if you are trying to find out who is breaking the law. What I find funny is that you are discussing illegally sharing DLC in a forum run by the people that you would be defrauding. Very clever I must say!!
Will you stop busting his chops about this? He wants to discuss the matter and see what others on this forum say, is that so wrong?

[TheBlueFalcon]

Will you stop busting his chops about this? He wants to discuss the matter and see what others on this forum say, is that so wrong?

I guess not. I've said all I need to say anyway, so people can take from that what they will. If you don't see my point then I guess you either don't want to admit it, or are just too stupid to realise. Enjoy your discussion.

[raydenblade]

But if you are "that" type of person, why do you want to discuss it? I don't download anything illegally. I have over 1000 CD's and well over 2000 DVD's, as well as hundred of games on various platforms, all of which are originals. I don't see the point in discussing the such a thing, unless you want to be educated on the subject or if you are trying to find out who is breaking the law. What I find funny is that you are discussing illegally sharing DLC in a forum run by the people that you would be defrauding. Very clever I must say!!


I would not have wanted to post it if i did not want education on the subject, "reasons for posting - to find answers, or give opinions". I also do not want to know if other people has done it, it is their choice what they do with their games, I simply just wanted to see if it is allowed to be done. My origional post stated that my friend said it was "legal" I wanted to find out if it was, so in a way if i mislead this post I apoligize. judging by what someone else has said, they also did it, but obviously not in the way that my friend wanted to songs, but still got the songs on another system through recovering the gamertag.

So, if you think it is legal, or illegal just discuss it, I really do not want to find out if you had done it or not, just what you think of the option of doing such a thing.

[LtDansNutz]

But if you are "that" type of person, why do you want to discuss it? I don't download anything illegally. I have over 1000 CD's and well over 2000 DVD's, as well as hundred of games on various platforms, all of which are originals. I don't see the point in discussing the such a thing, unless you want to be educated on the subject or if you are trying to find out who is breaking the law. What I find funny is that you are discussing illegally sharing DLC in a forum run by the people that you would be defrauding. Very clever I must say!!

Congrats on all your discs :rolleyes:
And if you don't see the point in discussing....well...then don't discuss it. That's the beauty of these forums isn't it? You're not required to participate in every single thread that's created. If you don't see the point in talking about this, just pass it by. Don't make this world more complicated than it already is. :cool:

[whofan]

I guess not. I've said all I need to say anyway, so people can take from that what they will. If you don't see my point then I guess you either don't want to admit it, or are just too stupid to realise. Enjoy your discussion.
I'm not saying that I don't see your point, however you don't have to bust this guy up over it.

He's told you his reason for wishing this discussion and it seems to me to be valid, what more were you looking for in a discussion about the legality of sharing songs?

[Draelik]

Your friend is mistaken. If you log onto his console, and redownload songs, he'll be able to play them as long as you are signed in. If you recover your gamertag back to your original console, not only will the songs not work, it will lock up his system if he tries to play them (for some reason they still show up in the menu.)

This is incorrect. It just does not happen. I'm not advocating doing this, and truly hope Harmonix is working on something to protect themselves from piracy. However, I have been logged in to my XBL account at my house, and my friend was logged into his XBL account at his apartment. And we have played songs through band quickplay that he did not purchase, that I had downloaded when I was there logged into my account.

[jmiscavish]

I didn't even know this was possible. Unfortunately, I'm the only person with the 360 version of RB that I know of...

[raydenblade]

I have the 360 version, this is the version I am talking about, by the way, should have mentioned that earlier

[IIISZABOIII]

I would like an official response on this, as well. I drove 2 hours to my friend's house for a weekend and took RB with. I recovered my account and redownloaded my songs so we could play all of them. Mind you, this was well before he had RB. Now that he does have RB, he's able to play the songs that I had downloaded.


A bit off topic but just curious to know... If you packed up all of Rock Band to take over to his place which is 2 hours away, why wouldn't you just take you HD as well? Would have made things a lot easier I would think!

[XFuzion]

It also doesnt seem fair that if you purchase the music, you also have to maintain an XBL account. What happens if your account expires or you just get sick of your old gamertag and make a new one? Then all the music that you did download and paid for with your MS points wont play?

[Draelik]

A bit off topic but just curious to know... If you packed up all of Rock Band to take over to his place which is 2 hours away, why wouldn't you just take you HD as well? Would have made things a lot easier I would think!

You're probably right, but my wife and 7-year-old play a good bit on the XBox as well as watch movies, and it was like pulling teeth just to get the OK to take RB with me, lol.

[CaptainSpeedy]

This is incorrect. It just does not happen. I'm not advocating doing this, and truly hope Harmonix is working on something to protect themselves from piracy. However, I have been logged in to my XBL account at my house, and my friend was logged into his XBL account at his apartment. And we have played songs through band quickplay that he did not purchase, that I had downloaded when I was there logged into my account.

It does happen. You just need the right scenario. I took my HD round my dads house and played on his 360 and downloaded some songs onto my HD from his profile which we had transfered onto my HD using a memory card. When I took the HD back to my house on my 360 the 2 songs I had downloaded on his profile locked up but the ones I had downloaded on my profile are fine as long as I am signed into live. I am pretty sure that if I had taken my 360 and HD round this would not happen.

[Hugoku]

Change your XBL password so he won't be able to login to your account.



yes, i'm a dick

[TheBlueFalcon]

I'm not saying that I don't see your point

I think you really did miss it.

Let's say I am interested in how people rob banks and get away with it, not because I want to rob a bank, but just out of interest. Now, even though I would never plan on doing such a thing, doesn't mean I would go into a bank and start an open discussion infront of the staff with all the other customers about how it could be done and if they think it's right or wrong to do so. Somehow I don't think you would be walking out without an escort and a ride to the nearest police station.

Think about it.

Don't say I didn't try to warn anyone.

[IIISZABOIII]

You're probably right, but my wife and 7-year-old play a good bit on the XBox as well as watch movies, and it was like pulling teeth just to get the OK to take RB with me, lol.

Ah - Makes Sense!

[MartyMcFly77]

Guess this is the ONE advantage of having the PS3 version over the 360 version.

360: Voice chat, ranked leaderboards, guitar compatibility.
PS3: The ability to trade songs easily.

[Draelik]

It does happen. You just need the right scenario.

Yeah, I probably should have stated that it didn't happen in our situation.

[raydenblade]

I think you really did miss it.

Let's say I am interested in how people rob banks and get away with it, not because I want to rob a bank, but just out of interest. Now, even though I would never plan on doing such a thing, doesn't mean I would go into a bank and start an open discussion infront of the staff with all the other customers about how it could be done and if they think it's right or wrong to do so. Somehow I don't think you would be walking out without an escort and a ride to the nearest police station.

Think about it.

Don't say I didn't try to warn anyone.


My intention was, once again; not seeing if people have did it, but since it obviously is possible, what is their thoughts on it. I do not really care if they did it, or want to do it, but what is their thoughts on doing it.

I can see what you are saying, and I did apologize for implying that i wanted to know if they did it, but it was just a simple discussion of my friend wanting my account so he can get the songs, and wondered if it was legal to do it.

So this is my last "apology" on this subject, what people say about their accounts and how they use them are up to them, I just wanted to see if a simple answer would be fine, and most said "no" and thanks for the answer. However, I do not like trying to be "degraded" by someone who thinks that applying metaphores will try to sway my origional intent to something that was never intended.

Thanks for your opinion, and I hope that you continue to purchase all of yoru cd's and DVD's... but since this is an open discussion I am going to say that you say "no" as well, which would have been simpiler, but happy that you have addressed that I have "asked" my question wrongfully and I did so change it. You seem so bitter on this thread that you just want to continue talking about something that was already ruled out posts ago that you continue to bringing it up.

As for anyone, and for all of our sakes from "TheBlueFalcon" saying "i told you so" in the end it is probably not the best thing to discuss if you actually do get these songs from the way that is mentioned, but reather just leave an opinion on if this would be considered piracy.

Hopefully harmonix will fix this and end this discussion, and actions towards it.

[maskofskin]

I've done all kinds of DLC purchasing on the 360 and here are my results:

1) Logged in with my Gamertag on my console: DLC works for me and any other gamertag that "lives" on my console.

2) Someone else's recovered Gamertag purchases songs while signed in on my console: I continue to be able to use those songs as long as my console doesn't change as the songs are licensed to all tags on my system. The other person can redownload those songs for free, but must be signed into Live to play them, or transfer the License using the DRM Transfer tool. These songs do not show up in my purchase history, so I can't redownload them without buying them. The opposite is true if I buy songs while my Gamertag is on another console.

3) I take copied files, or redownload songs from my purchase history on someone else's Gamertag. These songs will play for me and everyone else on that console as long as my Gamertag is signed into Live. When I recover my gamertag back to my own console, the files will remain on the other console, and show up in the menus, but cannot be played because no license exists on that console to play them. This results in freezing.

[strugz]

My buddy signed into my XBL account on his machine one day and he was able to play all my DLC...
When I recovered my gamertag later that day, he couldn't access the DLC anymore. Period. And he still can't. Your profile can only be used by one machine at a time, so I know he isn't using my profile since I want to be able to use it whenever I want and not have to wait for my buddy to sign off.
Can't imagine why anyone would let a friend freely use their gamertag whenever they wanted...I wouldn't be cool with it.

[simmias]

Think about it.

Don't say I didn't try to warn anyone.
Where's Dynomutt? He was always less melodramatic.

[jeccaneko]

Friends don't let friends be idiots.

My boyfriend technically gets to use my DLC for free under his own gamertag, but that's because he's using the DLC console license. We live together and use the same Xbox. So what we're doing is completely legit. But using DLC on multiple Xboxes and multiple gamertags is not.

[LtDansNutz]

I think you really did miss it.

Let's say I am interested in how people rob banks and get away with it, not because I want to rob a bank, but just out of interest. Now, even though I would never plan on doing such a thing, doesn't mean I would go into a bank and start an open discussion infront of the staff with all the other customers about how it could be done and if they think it's right or wrong to do so. Somehow I don't think you would be walking out without an escort and a ride to the nearest police station.

Think about it.

Don't say I didn't try to warn anyone.



You know....for someone who originally said they didn't see the point in discussing this....you sure are doing a lot of discussing about it. Move on to the next thread Falcon.

[TheBlueFalcon]

Nice try to some of you, but I don't get wound up so easily.

Also, I don't remember asking for an apology from you raydenblade.

Oh look, there's a new thread....

[swings1940]

The DRM will allow the music to transfer over to another machine, but you need to be logged in with the XBL account that downloaded them in order to play.

[WhiffleBallTony]

don't be a dick and just let your friend have the songs.

How is it being a dick? If you let him have them, you're being a dick to Harmonix and the people that put all of the time into making these charts. The kid can pay for his own **** if he wants to. Tell him to get a job.

[raydenblade]

[QUOTE=TheBlueFalcon;786620]
Also, I don't remember asking for an apology from you raydenblade.
QUOTE]

The apology is for anyone who is posting and got mislead

I should have made a poll for this, but then again, I think that "no" wins by a landslide

Thanks for the comments people

[ledzepboy]

sharing is caring.

[Ryan Maiden]

It does work, but you have to trust somebody having access to your account and password. And why in the hell would you suggest Harmonix do something to fix this? You know how they're going to fix it? You pay $2 for a song to buy it, or $3 if this price raise is really going to happen. Then you pay an additional $1 or maybe even $2 to download it. So lets say you've purchased about 20 songs, and your Xbox craps out on you (wouldn't happen to a PS3) you'd have to pay for all your songs again. Already Harmonix has it so you can't copy your game save data for Rock Band which is stupid, i like having backup copies of all my data. So in addition to having to buy all your songs again you'd have to start BWT all over again and remake your characters.

[BigJohn17]

Lets take a look at this topic from a different angle. I have Rockband and a friend of mine has rockband. Recently I went to his house with a group of friends and we played rockband(ps3). I brought my guitar only, now I have songs that he doesn't have and vice versa. So I re-downloaded some of the songs i wanted to play while I was there not all of them. The way I look at it is if I buy a cd or a game It's completely legal to play the music or games on someone else's radio or console, so why not a couple songs. If he can play them at a later date then so be it, he wouldn't use them unless I was there any way, because they are songs he doesn't like. So if I am completely in the wrong which I think I'm not. it will no longer happen, but I think Sony believes you should have your content on up to five different consoles for that reason or they wouldn't let you do it at all.

[BrainDamaged]

One of my friends just purchased rockband, and had asked me if I would give him the songs that I have downloaded and put it on his xbox. He told me it was "legal" but I paid for these songs and now he wants them for free.



Sounds to me like he's not much of a Friend, as he is trying to get you do something dishonest, and possibly illegal. Have you even considered that this may inevitably ruin your ability to use your DLC or even purchase more?

[dagware]

It's fascinating to me that HMX hasn't shut down this thread by declaring that it discusses piracy. It makes me wonder what HMX's take on all this is.

Dan

[Electric_Zen]

This is not a piracy thread. Like 99.99% of all XBox 360 users, I purchase all of my DLC and don't give it out.

However, when we consumers purchase DRM content, it is important for us to understand how that DRM works, whether it be iTunes songs, or XBox Live Marketplace files, or DVD's.

Here's the thing. For most DRM content on the XBox 360, it gets tied to the gamertag that made the purchase, and the machine that it was originally downloaded to. If I recover my gamertag on a friend's machine, I can download and use the content there, and it will authorize against my gamertag. When I go home and recover my gamertag on my own machine, the content will no longer authorize on my friend's machine.

______________________________________________

That's not how Rock Band DLC works.

Why? Because with most XBox 360 games, when you start up the game it attempts to authorize all of the content for that game. First, it sees whether the content is authorized for the machine, and if not, it checks to see if it is authorized against any of the gamertags logged in. Since most games will only have a few pieces of content installed, if any, it's not a problem.

But after Rock Band had been out for a few weeks, this started to become a huge pain. People had acquired a few dozen items of DLC, and on startup Rock Band had to authorize each individual song before you could play. The dreaded 'Loading Content...' popup began to take longer and longer and longer. It was obvious that once DLC numbers got into the hundreds, the game would become unplayable.

So in March, Harmonix released a patch for the game. Among other things, the patch caused the game to cache the results of the authorization process for DLC. Once DLC is authorized for a console, the game remembers it, and it does not attempt to reauthorize the content each time you start the game. No doubt Harmonix got a special exemption from Microsoft to do this, and Microsoft agreed because Rock Band generates a significant portion of the revenue for the Live Marketplace.

I immediately noticed this, because I had an RROD last December, and when I got a new box the songs I had downloaded before would now authorize against my gamertag, but not against my box. When my wife and kids attempted to play, they couldn't access these songs unless my gamertag was logged in. After the patch, they could once again get their Buddy Holly fix without bugging me.

I hadn't thought about it until today, but the same thing would apply in the situation where you had recovered a gamertag at your friend's house. If you authorized the songs over there, the authorization is cached, and your friend will continue to be able to play them once you are gone.

I don't have any moral or legal judgements on sharing in this way, just two observations:

1) The whole 'Recover Gamertag' thing is really, really janky on XBox Live, and people who use it a lot have reported problems accessing their saved games and their content.

2) PS3 users pay exactly the same amount as we do for DLC, and they are freely allowed to share the content on up to four other machines. Sharing content on XBox Live is such a pain (and involves sharing account information) that I doubt there will ever be a serious piracy problem on XBox Live.

[Zechman]

EDIT: Electric_Zen posted his message while I was typing this, so I don't want this to be taken as though I'm challenging what he posted. I agree with his first three paragraphs 100% and I was previously unaware that Rock Band worked any differently.

--

When you purchase content (and by "purchase" that includes free content) from XBox Live, it gets marked with two things: (1) the serial number of the XBox that it is purchased from, and (2) your Gamertag. It doesn't matter whether you download to your hard drive or a memory card.

When playing, you can use that content if either of these two things match (and it doesn't need to be both).

This means that on that console only, anyone at all can use the content (because of the serial number match).

This also means that you can move or copy the content to any other console and use it, but only if you are signed in with the Gamertag that originally purchased it.

There are three problems with this scheme.
1) If your XBox dies and is replaced or you decide to buy a new one, then you can copy your content (including moving the entire hard drive) to the new system, but the serial number won't match anymore and you won't be able to play unless you're signed in. The new DRM migration tool is intended to address this situation.

2) If you are signed in to someone else's XBox and decide to purchase something that you've not previously downloaded, then it will be marked with the serial number of your friend's console, even when you go home and re-download it on your own system. This creates the unintended (or perhaps mistakenly intended by raydenblade's friend*) consequence that anyone at all can continue using that particular download on the other console, but you can only use it on your own console if you're signed in. The DRM migration tool can be used to correct this situation as well.

3) If you own more than one XBox, then you are forced to live with situation #2 above on one or the other of the consoles that you own--and you don't even have the option of paying for it twice unless you maintain two XBox Live accounts.

As for the legality of it, I Am Not A Lawyer. From what I read, it is an allowed Fair Use to share content with family and friends, but sharing with the public (i.e. the whole damn Internet, or generally people with whom you have no prior relationship) is a violation.

--Dwayne

*I say "mistakenly" because anything that raydenblade has already purchased will only work on the friend's XBox using raydenblade's Gamertag, which I'm trusting that the friend is not using on a regular basis.

[SoB]

I don't have any moral or legal judgements on sharing in this way, just two observations:

1) The whole 'Recover Gamertag' thing is really, really janky on XBox Live, and people who use it a lot have reported problems accessing their saved games and their content.

2) PS3 users pay exactly the same amount as we do for DLC, and they are freely allowed to share the content on up to four other machines. Sharing content on XBox Live is such a pain (and involves sharing account information) that I doubt there will ever be a serious piracy problem on XBox Live.

I'd like to quote and add another point:
This DLC thing is going to kill the second hand market... And I'm not sure that's fair...
For example, I have GH3 with a bunch of downloaded song packs... now that I have RB I'll probably never play that thing again so I was thinking to sell it... but then I can't sell my downloaded content and it would go wasted...
And that's the same for everything bought on marketplace... well, it feels more like renting than buying...

--
Fra

[master2uall]

Im just surprised none of the (its illegal) people arnt running for congress or something since you want to pass you morals on to others. As for sharing your songs, have you not ever let someone borrow a game before? What the hell, next maybe only on one machine will a game play with this kind of thinking.

I share with my friend, because in this day and age, i need more money for gas, cigs, beer, rent, life, etc. And now that im at 210 songs, thats alot of money to just be playing online for no reward other than playing, so yes we share, he buys, then i buy.

Thank god he got this week 24 and some change, guess i got to get a couple weeks in a row.

HMX is making a killing off this game, so shut up and let us poor people share and enjoy something for once. Its not like i got tons of cash to go out to eat or theme parks or anything ok?

[PlanetHill]

As for sharing your songs, have you not ever let someone borrow a game before?

Not the same thing. The scenario outlined by the OP is like making a copy of your game to take to a friends house, and then leaving it there. Borrowing is one thing...you can't play the game while your buddy has it.

Duplication is another thing entirely.

[dagware]

Its not like i got tons of cash to go out to eat or theme parks or anything ok?

Perhaps if you're short on cash, then NOT buying every DLC might be an option? Did you know there are people who actually do without things they can't afford?

Dan

[TheBlueFalcon]

Sounds to me like BrainDamaged and dagware are the only ones that understood where I was coming from so far. At least I am not alone!!

[ewave14]

PS3 for the win

[xerichx07]

make him pay for them, duh!

[Kilyle]

I, for one, am glad that this thread came up with very detailed explanations of how DLC works. Now that I understand what is being done and why, I won't be caught so unprepared when it does something that seems counter-intuitive, and I won't run to the forums to complain about a "bug" that is really an intended feature.

I'll also have a good idea of what actually is legal (e.g., downloading songs I bought onto my friend's console while I'm at his house, so I can play what I actually own even if I don't have my system with me) versus what is not, so if my friends suggest doing something like that, I'll know whether or not it's legal. That's a big deal with me because more than once their answer to "is it legal?" is "don't worry, you won't get caught." I sometimes wonder whether they understand the distinction.

And yet... I've had a legality discussion on another forum regarding the GH guitar controller and whether it's okay to use it for other games, so I understand wanting to find out the details on something that is apparently against the rules, and how that question is not exactly the same as whether or not it's right.

[dagware]

Sounds to me like BrainDamaged and dagware are the only ones that understood where I was coming from so far. At least I am not alone!!

I can't speak to that. :p All I can say is that the logic used by master2uall to justify his actions was spurious at best. Plus just plain funny.

Dan

[TheBlueFalcon]

I can't speak to that. :p All I can say is that the logic used by master2uall to justify his actions was spurious at best. Plus just plain funny.

Dan

Okay, so we agree without realising then, in a way.

I see what you mean about master2uall, he really seems like he takes care of his priorities before wasting his money!!

[TheBlueFalcon]

I've had a legality discussion on another forum regarding the GH guitar controller and whether it's okay to use it for other games

Using a GH game controller for another game and "sharing" DLC with someone else are two completely different things.

[Dzhokhar]

Perhaps if you're short on cash, then NOT buying every DLC might be an option? Did you know there are people who actually do without things they can't afford?

Dan


Using a GH game controller for another game and "sharing" DLC with someone else are two completely different things.

I fully endorse both of these statements.

[PacoL250]

DRM issues. 'nuff said.

If you don't know, the serial number of your system is tied to your Xbox. Plus not to mention your GamerTag. The thing is, if he has the content on his system, but he's not logged in under your GameTag, he can't use it. If he's logged into your GameTag, then yes he can.

The thing is, if you've recovered your GamerTag on another system, I don't know how it works if you haven't actually physically moved your GameTag from your system. Somebody else might know, but my guess is that your GamerTag may not register on the system even though it's physically taking up space on your system.

Again, I'm not 100% sure about it, and I'm not 100% sure if what I said even makes sense.

[Ryan Maiden]

Actually if you look you're allowed to download each song you buy 5 times. I guess this is for if your system craps out on you and has to be replaced you don't have to buy the song again. Not a problem for PS3 owners though, since they work.

[Dzhokhar]

Actually if you look you're allowed to download each song you buy 5 times. I guess this is for if your system craps out on you and has to be replaced you don't have to buy the song again. Not a problem for PS3 owners though, since they work.

Um, that's only true on the PS3. The Xbox360 has a completely different DRM system. Also, the intent of the 5 DL policy is to account for people who own multiple systems or who replace one system with another. I suspect that letting your friends DL tracks that you purchased violates the EULA.

[Ryan Maiden]

Um, that's only true on the PS3. The Xbox360 has a completely different DRM system. Also, the intent of the 5 DL policy is to account for people who own multiple systems or who replace one system with another. I suspect that letting your friends DL tracks that you purchased violates the EULA.


Well in my situation, i'm in college and live in an apartment and my roomate has rock band and a PS3. I also own a PS3 and rock band but i leave mine at home for my brother to use since there's no point in having 2 PS3's on one tv. So any songs i buy on my roomates PS3 he gets for free and i redownload them later. I see nothing wrong with what i'm doing as it's just my living situation.

[rob l]

I just wish online people could play any song that at least one member has instead of everyone having to buy that song.

[Dzhokhar]

Well in my situation, i'm in college and live in an apartment and my roomate has rock band and a PS3. I also own a PS3 and rock band but i leave mine at home for my brother to use since there's no point in having 2 PS3's on one tv. So any songs i buy on my roomates PS3 he gets for free and i redownload them later. I see nothing wrong with what i'm doing as it's just my living situation.

I was specifically referring to people who buy one copy and then share it with all of their friends so they can play online with each other/have all of the DLC without buying all of it.

[Ubernator]

If he puts your songs onto his hard drive, the songs WILL NOT WORK unless you are signed in on the same console as he is. If you're not on his console, and he has your songs, they will show up in his game, BUT HIS GAME WILL FREEZE IF HE USES ONE OF YOUR SONGS.

I know, because I've tested it out with my friend.

[SilverChris]

I believe it is not ILLEGAL...

When you go to download a new song, read the very fine print and if I'm not mistaken, it says after you purchase the rights to the song, you are allowed 5 downloads onto any machine...

If thats right, (mind you that Im not looking at the quote right now and it could be different), then I woulod say they open a little room for gamers say in the same family to maybe share with brothers or sisters....

One thing I do know, because I have seen this is if someone buys a song, and you download it onto your machine. You will have it, however your account will not know you have it so it will not be marked as purchased...

I could be totally wrong on this, I just wanted to help if I could so we can come to a conclusion. I too, would like to know the answer to this...

Harmonix, what's the deal...
Help, protect some of your gamers butts here...