Microsoft’s DRM tool…sorta fixes DRM

Last month, Major Nelson gave word of Microsoft’s much-needed, new content license transfer tool. It promises a simple, 2-part process that involves transferring your licenses on Xbox.com and then on your Xbox 360. But is it as easy as Microsoft says it is? Test drive!

Believe it or not, it is that easy. The thing that surprised me was that I thought I needed to download the content again, but it turns out you only have to download the license. This makes the process extremely quick. Another problem that I ran into was how everything you’ve ever downloaded with your gamertag is displayed. It turns out I download a lot of stuff, and wading through all the crap in order to find what I actually wanted to download again was tiresome. It’s basically one huge list of everything you’ve ever downloaded.

Is this tool the end-all DRM problem-solver? Not quite. It’s hard to find what you’re looking for in the long list of stuff you’ve downloaded and forgotten to delete (if you’re like me). Another problem is that you can only transfer licenses every 12 months. The 360 has been out for almost 3 years and I’m on my 4th Xbox 360. This means that I’m probably going to need to do this again in less than 12 months! What will I do then?

Also, this whole DRM debacle wouldn’t normally be that big of a deal but strict DRM, the Xbox 360’s Red-Ring-of-Death, and Microsoft’s slow reaction (almost 3 years?) to get this tool released has made this problem a big eye sore.