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May 04 UPDATED: Important Spring Dash Update Info - Xbox Live Marketplace Content Control Beefed UpUPDATE: Clarified that only licensed Marketplace content will be affected by the changes.
You’ll probably be aware that the Spring Dashboard update is set to go live soon – it’s currently scheduled for the week commencing May 7. It’ll bring with it a heap of new features including Messenger integration (for a fuller list of the new additions, click here) and it will also bring in some new behind the scenes stuff.
That’s what I want to talk about here – If you have signed up for an Xbox Live account is a country different from where you live you should make sure you read the following info.
Even though you’re technically not supposed to do it, it’s no secret that since the Xbox 360 launched it has been possible to sign up for an Xbox Live account in a different country to where you actually live. For some people that means they’ve set-up a second Xbox Live account in a country like the US or the UK so they can download Xbox Live Marketplace content that’s not available in their own country. In particular, I know loads of people have signed up for an Xbox Live account in the US so they can access TV and movie content from Video Marketplace.
I should point out that this is not endorsed or advised by Xbox, and (without being too dramatic) it’s actually illegal for someone to do this. The reason for that is that when you set up an Xbox Live account you are asked to agree to the terms of the contract which says that the details you have given (ie where you live) are accurate. That said, no one’s going to get arrested...
BUT: If you have signed up for an Xbox Live account in a country different from where you live you need to read the following carefully. When the Spring Dashboard Update goes live we’re making some big changes to the way Xbox Live accounts work. Within around 24-48 hours after the Spring update hits you will no longer be able to access Xbox Live Marketplace content that is not licensed in your region. That means that, for instance, if you live in the UK and you want to download content that is only licensed in the US and not available in the UK, you will no longer be able to do it.
This is because when that content goes up on Xbox Live Marketplace in only (for instance) the US, it is ONLY licensed for the US. That means that if people outside of the US can download it Xbox is breaking its licensing agreement with whoever provided the content. Therefore, we need to stop this from happening, because if we don’t it will jeopardise the quality of content we can deliver through Xbox Live Marketplace - in every country - in the future.
I understand that there’s often great content that you, me and my cats want on the US Marketplace (like Video Marketplace) that isn’t on any of the European Marketplaces – but if people are able to download content in countries that it’s not licensed for, people get upset, content gets pulled, cool new content doesn’t get uploaded to Marketplace, and everyone ends up unhappy. So, just to reiterate, what does this actually mean? Within a couple of days of your console being updated with the Spring Dashboard update you will no longer be able to use a foreign Xbox Live account to download licensed Xbox Live Marketplace content from a country different to the country in which you live.
One important thing to note – if you have in the past downloaded licensed content from an Xbox Live Marketplace in a country different to that in which you live, that content WILL remain on your hard drive. It’s yours for keeps. But you will not be able to download any more.
And another important point: If you do have an Xbox Live account registered in a country other to that in which you live, that account will not be closed down. It will continue to exist and work and you will need to keep paying any pending subscription fees. The only difference is that you will no longer be able to download licensed content from that country’s Xbox Live Marketplace.
I know you’ll have lots of questions about this, and hopefully I'll have a good in-depth Q&A for you very soon. Until then I hope this all makes sense. If you have any questions, drop them in the comments box and I'll see what I can do. Comments (126)
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