I was just doing a search for my game's title and came across this...

http://www.yesasia.com/global/rbr-fading-memories-us-version/1019600113-0-0-0-en/info.html

On the same search page was Solar, too...

http://www.yesasia.com/global/solar-us-version/1019600110-0-0-0-en/info.html

I guess they are simply purchasing the titles, putting them on memory cards, and then shipping them off to people? I thought that wasn't possible, though. So, any ideas what's going on (besides people potentially getting ripped off - especially when chargin $17.99 for the game of mine, RBR... @_@ it was just meant to be a mini-game!).


And they've even got the box art for "The Perfect Match"...

http://www.yesasia.com/global/the-perfect-match-community-games-us-version/1019600687-0-0-0-en/info.html

Is that even possible... I thought that download content only worked on eitehr the xbox that downloaded it, or the gamertag that downloaded it.

I'll escalate to Microsoft and see if they can work out what is going on.

Hmm, I'll ask a couple of legal pals of mine about this - boxart is copyright to the author, as is the summary text.  As I understand it NO copyrights are transferred to MS as part of submission/publication (please correct me if I'm wrong about this!) and if so this "YesAsia" is in breach by using box art and description text.  Should say that there's a difference between being charged for something, and getting that something and being able to play it ;0)

However I might well be interested if there IS a way to get CC games out and about like this - my game would sell billions in Asia and damn your eyes I WANT THEM THAR DOLLARS!

Regards,
Mike

Interesting that they are $20!

DrMistry:

However I might well be interested if there IS a way to get CC games out and about like this

This is somewhat worrying.

Also $17.99 each - what are these guys smoking!

Mark

MarkMD76:

DrMistry:

However I might well be interested if there IS a way to get CC games out and about like this

This is somewhat worrying.

Carrum's massively popular in Asia.  Almost everyone in India has played that game at least, and it's actually a televised sport in India and Shri Lanka.  I can't get a date for when XBLCGs go live in India so if I can find another way to get the game to market there which is legal and within the MS rules, I would be absolutely insane not to take it. 

Regards,
Mike

Hmmm... top agents are looking into this. Thanks for the heads up :)

xxoo
~kathleen sanders
XNA Community Manager

I wonder if it's a scam... pay for the game, get either a DVD that doesn't work or nothing in return. Even if they could distribute via a memory card, financially it doesn't make much sense.

Community Games still need to be connected to Xbox LIVE to work, don't they? That's why you can't play them offline. So how are these meant to work?

This is encouraging though. Just like the REAL industry, we get affected by pirating. Community Games is all grown up :) lol!

"This product cannot be cancelled or returned after the order has been placed."

is my favorite line on that site =)

Looks very scammish to me.

Eckish:

"This product cannot be cancelled or returned after the order has been placed."

is my favorite line on that site =)

Looks very scammish to me.

Of course it's a scam. There's basically one of two ways this works:

1) They download it with their gamertag and you can't play it because it's tied to their account.
2) You give them your account info and they steal your gamertag.

Either way you lose. :)

Other possibilities:
3) They sign up as reviewers, download all the games, and ship the creator's club bits.
4) They have some hard drive snarfing technology that actually breaks the Xbox protection.
5) They're actually sending you a box of toothpicks with a colorful wrapper.

jwatte:

Other possibilities:
3) They sign up as reviewers, download all the games, and ship the creator's club bits.
4) They have some hard drive snarfing technology that actually breaks the Xbox protection.
5) They're actually sending you a box of toothpicks with a colorful wrapper.

Could they be setting up a silver account, buying the game on it, and then re-selling the account? So when you buy it from them you get the login details to that account.

#3 That jwatte suggested might be the way they download our stuff from here for free...

But normally you have to have a premium account to run this.  Unless they package it the right way so it is like when developer around here package their game to bring to friends/families house to show.

But reselling our stuff is really bad, I don't even think its legal from MS perspective, maybe they want to do like Amazon is doing now for XBLA title (which I am sure they got some signed contract with MS).

Hopefully MS will resolve this situation soon.

Fred

I wonder if they're signing up for a new US account (with free 1 month gold trial) and purchasing the game.  Stick both on a memory card and ship that?  Not sure what the pricings would be and not entirely sure what would be illegal about that - I presume MS would have something in their T&C which prevent you from selling accounts?

If they're getting them from review, you only need a trial account to push to the Xbox. So they could probably farm out some Dreamspark trials or something and hand those out with the stuff.

Ultimately though, as a developer, I don't care. I'm sure Microsoft has a lot of reasons to be concerned, but the only people who are going to spend $17 on even an 800 point game are people who can't buy it anyway. Anyone in US, UK, Canada, France, Italy, or Spain with any sense is just going to spend points on it instead of dealing with this big hassle. So as a developer I haven't lost a sale at all and I doubt anyone else has, for that matter.

You could always call them and act like an interested customer.  Ask them what you get and how it works.

Customer Service Support Telephone Number

Calling from North America

Toll Free within the Continental US: +1 866-440-8388
Toll Free In Canada: +1 866-468-0889

Monday through Friday: 4:00pm - 6:30am (Pacific Standard Time)(GMT -8)
Saturday and Sunday: 4:00pm - 12:30am (Pacific Standard Time)(GMT -8)

Nick Gravelyn:

Ultimately though, as a developer, I don't care. I'm sure Microsoft has a lot of reasons to be concerned, but the only people who are going to spend $17 on even an 800 point game are people who can't buy it anyway. Anyone in US, UK, Canada, France, Italy, or Spain with any sense is just going to spend points on it instead of dealing with this big hassle. So as a developer I haven't lost a sale at all and I doubt anyone else has, for that matter.

The site is claiming copyright to something that they do not possess, and I do find that troubling, as an independent developer.  I clicked one of the links, and found the following text after the little blurb describing the game:

This original content has been created by or licensed to YesAsia.com, and cannot be copied or republished in any medium without the express written permission of YesAsia.com.

Based on what I've seen in this thread, people are most definitely not licensing any of their content, including text or box art, to the site.  If they were simply giving these games away in territories where they can't otherwise be bought, like Japan, I wouldn't really see that as much of an issue from my standpoint as an independent developer.  However, when someone is taking advantage of your work to make money  without your permission (which is essentially a form of exploitation), and they are claiming copyright or right of useage to things which they have not been granted, that part I do think is troubling.

The Shape of Games to Come:

Nick Gravelyn:

Ultimately though, as a developer, I don't care. I'm sure Microsoft has a lot of reasons to be concerned, but the only people who are going to spend $17 on even an 800 point game are people who can't buy it anyway. Anyone in US, UK, Canada, France, Italy, or Spain with any sense is just going to spend points on it instead of dealing with this big hassle. So as a developer I haven't lost a sale at all and I doubt anyone else has, for that matter.

The site is claiming copyright to something that they do not possess, and I do find that troubling, as an independent developer.  I clicked one of the links, and found the following text after the little blurb describing the game:

This original content has been created by or licensed to YesAsia.com, and cannot be copied or republished in any medium without the express written permission of YesAsia.com.

Based on what I've seen in this thread, people are most definitely not licensing any of their content, including text or box art, to the site.  If they were simply giving these games away in territories where they can't otherwise be bought, like Japan, I wouldn't really see that as much of an issue from my standpoint as an independent developer.  However, when someone is taking advantage of your work to make money  without your permission (which is essentially a form of exploitation), and they are claiming copyright or right of useage to things which they have not been granted, that part I do think is troubling.

Oh, I hadn't even looked at the site so I didn't know they were claiming copyright over it. That I do have a problem with. Hopefully Microsoft gets this sorted out because I doubt that website is going to care at all if we start emailing them.

if the company resides in a country with no copyright law then there is nothing anyone in this country can do. if said company ships product to person in country where product is copyrighted, said person is liable for copyrights infringed upon.

Well, if they are nabbing these out of peer review and playtesting, then that sounds like another good reason to implement an expiration date on those ccgames.

Those .ccgames should have a 7 day limit imo (only for playtesting/review of course), gives the review enough time with it (there shouldn't be a reason you download a game and don't give a review within a week.)

The Zedox:

Those .ccgames should have a 7 day limit imo (only for playtesting/review of course), gives the review enough time with it (there shouldn't be a reason you download a game and don't give a review within a week.)

there are lots of reasons why it takes longer than 7 days to do a review, but that is a discussion for another thread

Cookiecups:

Hmmm... top agents are looking into this. Thanks for the heads up :)

xxoo
~kathleen sanders
XNA Community Manager

Any news on this Kathleen?

Thanks,

Mark