And the boot-licking continues.....
Well, I've said it before and I'll say it again. In THIS country (US), you SHOULD be allowed to make one copy of a game you already own. The 360 has been known to damage discs (regardless of what the boot-licking fanboys say) and there has even been a class action lawsuit about it. Sure, M$ now SAYS they will replace the discs damaged by their machine, but getting them to actually do what they say is like pulling teeth.
Also, this BS line about "protecting the online community" is just that: BS. If they were so concerned about protecting the users of LIVE and ensuring they have a satisfying online "experience", they would be getting rid of the people who use Lag Switches, people who mod controllers, and people who attack other people verbally online (threatening, etc). I have seen a lot of complaints get issued by friends (and myself) when we were playing CoD4 online and that kind of crap was going on. M$ pretty much did nothing. They want the revenue from the non-pirate customers (belligerent, threatening, cheating = no biggie as long as they're paying).
I'm not trying to single out M$ for being a greedy corporation. Pretty much ALL corporations are greedy and unfair to their customers in one way or another. M$ just excels at it. They are a company that was built on THEFT to begin with: Bill Gate stealing the Windows architecture from Unix, etc. Don't believe me? Do some research and watch "Pirates of Silicon Valley".
In other countries, it is ok to make one backup for your own purposes. In the USA, nope. We're becoming more and more of a fascist, despotic country with each passing day (no matter WHO is President). I'm sure a lot of you who are outside the US would agree with that.
My views are:
Making a backup for your own use offline = yes. Going online with that backup = no (because games can be modified to allow cheating by certain savvy individuals).
Downloading games (Piracy) = no (Games are cheap enough now on the used racks at Gamestop, and other stores, that there really isn't a big excuse to pirate anymore. If I see a new game I want, I buy it. Period. And if you do download stuff, have the sense to not run your mouth about it. )