Complaints mar Xbox 360 Elite launch, transfer cable now free

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpotPosted Apr 30, 2007 2:41 pm PT

Lack of data transfer cable, XBLA game and video content DRM turn has turned some early buyers of Microsoft's tricked-out console into vocal critics; Microsoft now offering data-transfer accessory gratis.

Though several retailers jumped the street date, the Xbox 360 Elite did not officially go on sale until yesterday. The new edition of Microsoft's popular console sports a sleek new black finish, a 120GB hard drive, and HDMI audio-video output. It also has a higher price of $479--$300 more than the stand-alone 120GB HDD sold separately to existing 360 owners.

Ironically, the 120GB HDD does come with a piece of equipment not included in the Xbox 360 Elite--a cable to transfer content from older 20GB 360 HDDs. This comes as no surprise, as Microsoft said the Elite would not come with the accessory when it announced the Elite back in March. The company's rationale was that the Elite is intended for consumers who hadn't purchased a 360 yet, so no transfer should be necessary.

Now, Microsoft is offering data transfer cables for free to Xbox 360 Elite owners for a "limited" time. According to a rep for the company, the offer is not in response to customer complaints but was "was always part of Microsoft's plan." To obtain a cable, though, gamers must first jump through a few bureaucratic hoops. First, they must download, print, and fill out an authorization form with both consoles' serial numbers. The form must then be sent via standard US mail to a redemption center in Indiana, which will then send out an Xbox 360 data migration kit gratis.

Once the kit is received, its cable is connected to the old Xbox 360 and the Elite's 120GB drive. Then the transfer--which can be performed only once--commences, erasing any existing data on the 120GB. Said data will then be replaced with all nonmovie content from the old 20GB, which is then itself blanked. The cable is thrown out, the 120GB drive is connected to the new console, and--voila!--the Elite is complete.

Though cumbersome, the data transfer process will likely prove only a mild headache to the tech-savvy consumer. However, some of those same key customers are voicing their frustration about a potentially maddening side effect of transferring Xbox Live Arcade Games. Said frustration has even prompted some Elite owners to swear off all future XBLA purchases.

Why all the fuss? As anyone who has ever brought a 360 HDD to a friend's house (or had to replace a broken system) knows, Microsoft's digital rights management (DRM) software ties each Arcade game on said HDD to a single console. When the HDD is removed and attached to another 360, the games are playable only in demo form unless said console is online and signed into Xbox Live. Even then, transferred XBLA titles can be played only with the gamer profile used to buy the game, not other profiles.

The widely read tech blog Ars Technica vented about the fact the DRM affects XBLA games transferred from regular 360s to Elites--even though the same person owns both. "Why can't this be something that turns on when you move the games, and then you can call and get them unlocked again?" Kuchera said. "If I bring my Elite to a friend's house that doesn't have ethernet in the living room, we can't play Geometry Wars? That's silly."

The DRM on XBLA games also affects television content downloaded on Xbox Live Marketplace--and is apparently permanent. "While all of your Xbox Live Arcade games and Xbox Live Marketplace TV shows will transfer [to the Elite HDD], you will have to be connected to Xbox Live (to verify your identity) in order to access that content," the company said in a statement. "This process is permanent and we advise [you to] not transfer your data if you wish to access it while offline."

While TV shows bought from Marketplace can be transferred to and watched on Xbox Live-connected Elites, movies rented from the service cannot. "In all cases, movie rentals downloaded from Xbox Live will not be available after content transfer," said Microsoft. "If you have movie rentals, watch them first!"

845 Comments

  • DJSMITH007

    Posted Jul 17, 2007 3:20 pm PT

    meh, no surprise

  • luisdcastro

    Posted Jun 7, 2007 12:24 pm PT

    I don t know what to do, in my country i have to pay 650 dollars by my 360 premium edition ( 20 HDD), and six months later it is crush, i have to fix it or buy an 360 elite? the news are I DON T HAVE MORE MONEY because i live in Costa Rica and i can t pay 800 dollars by an 360 elite. God forget mi.

  • bagman58

    Posted May 26, 2007 7:36 am PT

    I've always been a bit of an xbox 360 fanboy, until I got the red circle thing and then realised even if I get this version of the xbox the PS3 still has better quality audio and graphics, I have no idea what to do as Fable is my favourite game of all time and I don't know if I can live without Fable 2... Damn it.

  • silent_riku

    Posted May 22, 2007 12:25 am PT

    It's the real world people... though most of us try to say that this doesn't really count as 'GOOD ENOUGH' there will still be 360 owners who will also grab this Elite thingy whatever... I mean come on... I don't have that much money but I bet you anything that a rich kid who already has a 360 will still grab this Elite 360 because he's rich! I mean Microsoft... anything to make a BUCK and you can't blame them... it's part of business people... if they didn't have strategies to get rich people to keep buying a product that would other-wise be the same as its predecessor to people who think properly they wouldn't be as rich as they are now!! come on tell me I'm wrong and their just doing this cuz they want to help... yeah right?!!
    again I say... this is the world we live in and the rich will spend people yes they will spend...(SUCKS THAT I'M NOT ONE OF THEM....)

  • theKSMM

    Posted May 9, 2007 8:31 pm PT

    I would say that Microsoft made a major miscalculation here with the whole DRM thing. Even when it doesn't bite people personally, they find it repulsive on principle.

    Nonetheless, I do have to point out that most XBOX 360 owners are playing on standard television sets that are smaller than 37 inches. The HDMI 1.2 vs 1.3 debate is a moot point for them. And my casual observation suggests that on screens smaller than 50 inches, most people don't notice the difference between 720p and 1080p or they don't care enough about it to pay a premium for the enhanced resolution.

    I suspect that most of the people on this site are technophiles who care about that sort of thing, but we may just be a small, vocal minority. While the migration problems do suck, they're not problems that affect 10% of the 360 base.

  • DoctorFu

    Posted May 6, 2007 2:34 pm PT

    Microsoft knows it's customers!!

  • Crazy_McGee

    Posted May 5, 2007 8:42 pm PT

    Speaking as a person who thought that having a 20 inch television in their rooms was the height of gaming delight in the wee hours of the morning, I find most of the debates between audio and visual formats quite confusing. I'm ignorant (as in I don't know any better) about HDMI quality and the difference between DD and DDS-lossless; I only bought an Xbox 360 because I thought the games on that console suited my tastes more than that on the PS3. So, I sincerely apologize for my lack of intelligence, and ask that someone please explain some of these terms to me so that I can make an informed opinion about these things.

  • goatman455

    Posted May 4, 2007 11:48 am PT

    Wow I am ever more set on not getting the Elite now. All I wanted from Microsoft is UPGRADABLE HDMI support since my Sony tv does not support 1080p from Component (only HDMI or VGA, and surprise, Microsoft's VGA adapter "coincidentally" doesn't support 1080p on certain TVs (including Sony's flagship 1080p sets). Now I hear that if I get an elite, I can't play my downloaded content offline. Wow, sorry Microsoft, but my movie transfers and a majority of my games are going to be bought on Sony's service, because they have a much better transfer system. The nerve of such a big company to screw the customer like this is insane. These people had faith in you Bill, they bought your "Microsoft points" and purchased your online games, and now you are screwing them by not even allowing proper access if people get your Elite Xbox. I will let "# Early in the Xbox 360's life cycle, a Microsoft representative basically said that HDMI wasn't a necessary feature for the Xbox 360 to have. It was also said that if a the consumer demand for HDMI output was high enough they would provide a 'solution'. Jay (from http://jayfng.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!A5557A058F6EA78B!1475.entry)

    says it best:
    " Early in the Xbox 360's life cycle, a Microsoft representative basically said that HDMI wasn't a necessary feature for the Xbox 360 to have. It was also said that if a the consumer demand for HDMI output was high enough they would provide a 'solution'.

    The 'solution' to the "HDMI issue" is to purchase another $480 console... The Xbox 360 Elite. "

  • goatman455

    Posted May 4, 2007 11:48 am PT

    Wow I am ever more set on not getting the Elite now. All I wanted from Microsoft is UPGRADABLE HDMI support since my Sony tv does not support 1080p from Component (only HDMI or VGA, and surprise, Microsoft's VGA adapter "coincidentally" doesn't support 1080p on certain TVs (including Sony's flagship 1080p sets). Now I hear that if I get an elite, I can't play my downloaded content offline. Wow, sorry Microsoft, but my movie transfers and a majority of my games are going to be bought on Sony's service, because they have a much better transfer system. The nerve of such a big company to screw the customer like this is insane. These people had faith in you Bill, they bought your "Microsoft points" and purchased your online games, and now you are screwing them by not even allowing proper access if people get your Elite Xbox. I will let "# Early in the Xbox 360's life cycle, a Microsoft representative basically said that HDMI wasn't a necessary feature for the Xbox 360 to have. It was also said that if a the consumer demand for HDMI output was high enough they would provide a 'solution'. Jay (from http://jayfng.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!A5557A058F6EA78B!1475.entry)

    says it best:

    # The 'solution' to the "HDMI issue" is to purchase another $480 console... The Xbox 360 Elite. "

  • JaMMaNIII

    Posted May 4, 2007 3:42 am PT

    I'm confused. Is it saying that you have to buy the arcade game again in order to play it offline? What if you haven't bought any arcade games and then you bought it on your 120 gig that was transferred from a 20g, then could you play it offline?

  • hovan316

    Posted May 3, 2007 3:06 pm PT

    You can't upgrade it with just a firware update...
    What about the cable???

  • ekisom

    Posted May 2, 2007 11:51 pm PT

    look see!! this is all too confusing. correct me if i'm wrong. audio technology support for features such as dolby digital and DTS are by default a standard with HDMI capable systems like the xbox 360 elite right? and support for newer technology like dolby digital tru-hd and dts master lossless comes with version upgrades of 1.2 and 1.3? so in simple terms; support for audio technology depends on what version hdmi your 360 has and by default with no upgrades, an xbox360 with hd dvd player regardless of whether it is: core, premium or elite is hdmi 1.2 which supports which audio technologies?

    The xbox website does not have any details about this whatsoever. i would understand this because u buy an xbox to play games which rarely have very high audio tech. but still some of us would really want to know.

  • Serious

    Posted May 2, 2007 11:19 pm PT

    Microsoft is so greedy. They see an opportunity to make more money and they take it. I read that some of the 3rd party game have issued free content to XBL. However they have to submit it to Microsoft for review first. Microsoft then decides that they want customers to get use to paying for extra content so they slap a charge on formerly free items. Now they launch a even better Xbox, The Elite. Microsoft should promised that this is the final upgrade to the Xbox line. This is the exact strategy used for Windows 95/98/ME/XP/Vista. Can we expect the Xbox 360 "Optimum" next with a hdmi 1.3 cable 200gb hdd and maybe built in HD-DVD? If this "Elite" succeeds and Microsoft sees a payday believe me it will happen.

  • gmoney20xx

    Posted May 2, 2007 11:08 pm PT

    Some of you guys seem to have forgotten that M$ can upgrade from HDMI 1.2 to 1.3 through Dashboard updates.

  • Lamario

    Posted May 2, 2007 6:45 pm PT

    I find it funny, that so many people are defending M$'s choice to use HDMI 1.2 instead of 1.3. I remember when people said, "I have a VHS player, why would I want a DVD player." Or, I dont have that great of a tv, so why should I care about DVD." It's all about moving foward people, to all those people, go out and buy an old tv without a/v inputs, and connect your 360 via RFU. Since you seem to be okay with spending money on older technology, it should fit you well. I on the other hand, when I spend $480 on hardware, its important to me that I'm okay for the future. Would any among us go out an buy a television that only supports up to 720p? Thats what I thought.

  • Symphonycometh

    Posted May 2, 2007 6:32 pm PT

    K...Which one of my post were forced out...I don't think I see it...

  • lannyboy334

    Posted May 2, 2007 5:30 pm PT

    i agree with frost elf that is really your only option until MS lets up. people won't stop moaning and groaning, understandably, until the situation is fixed. this truly sounds like a headache, i feel sorry for all of you guys that got your 120hdd and transferred all your stuff before you knew this, i really do. i believe that MS will fix it, they are too quality of a company to take a turd this big on the gaming community at large.

  • mpeg3s

    Posted May 2, 2007 4:30 pm PT

    DRM is DIGITAL RIGHTs it was not designed to do peer to peer. For digital rights management to work you HAVE TO LOSE something. Otherwise, hackers or consumer can take advantage of it.

    However, MS could offer another solution. This would permit you to signup online on XBL account for a one time redownload dl of permitted content online from your OLD to a new system requiring the same XBL account to be used on both system.

    However this would blacklist the new system from being used on XBL from anyone else. If resole MS could require the new user to repurchase all old content before permitting XBL access.

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