Microsoft's DRM issue, and how it affects XBox 360 gamers:
What is the DRM issue on the 360? It's simply an anti-theft device built in to the XBox Live downloads to prevent people from copying and distributing the downloaded content on any machine other than the one the items were purchased on.
Unfortunately, there's a glitch. When Microsoft released the XBox 360, there were literally millions of defective units from launch till now that needed replacing. Sadly, I was the victim of this on both the systems I own and each has had to be replaced twice.
When you download something from the XBox Live Marketplace, the download is linked to not only your gamertag (the name you choose when you create an XBox Live account), but it is also linked to the system you purchased it on. So what this means is that if you take a memory card, or your hard drive from your system and put it on another system (like a friend's system) then the requirement is that you must be connected to XBox Live in order for your gamertag to validate that it is you who is using your downloaded materials. Fair enough, but here's where the problems begin.
If your system was defective, like so many of us have had happen multiple times, then MS kindly sends you a new system (I must give MS credit here, they have really stepped up and taken care of the broken systems in a timely manner!). The problem is that your new system that MS sent you as a replacement no longer is tied to the downloads you bought off of the marketplace. This hoses your downloads in two ways. First, you MUST be connected to XBox Live in order to use them. The next big problem is that your other profiles will no longer have access to your downloaded materials.
This doesn't seem like such a huge deal, until you get smacked with it! I have, over the last couple of years, downloaded about $500 worth of materials including their cool arcade games, movies and television shows, and gamer pictures and themes for my system. If I'm not connected to Live, then these downloads do not work. Simple as that.
The solution should be simple. Just keep the download history in a data base (which they have) and make it a simple process to link the downloads to your current machine. For some reason, MS is dragging their feet on this issue and it's frustrating beyond belief.
I understand the need for security and the need to protect the copyrights of the programs that are available, but what is the point when it hoses the very people that are making the downloadable content a success? Nintendo and Sony both have downloadable goods, and from what I've read, they have absolutely no problem with transferring the digital rights to a new machine if problems arise.
I have been fighting with MS for well over a year now trying to get this issue resolved. Calling the 1-800-4MY-XBOX does you absolutely no good, as they are just farmed out call centers in India that have absolutely no clue what you're talking about beyond the basic cues they have on their monitors in front of them. I was persistent and they eventually "escalated" my problem to MS and told me that they could no longer help me.
I have tried emailing various MS people about the issue and the only one who responded was Major Nelson, and even then he never followed up on my issue.