I was very happy when Amazon offered a boxed set of Gurren Lagann Part One. I had become a fan of the show during its run on the SciFi Channel, and was eager to hear the original Japanese cast.
I ordered the set, pre-ordered the second set, and got ready to be entertained.
Only...I couldn't. Apparently Bandai Entertainment's new copy protection means the discs won't play properly on my DVD player or my sibling's X-Box 360.
After returning and replacing the set three times, Amazon gave up, emailed me that lots of customers were having this same problem, so they're just going to give me a refund.
Emailing Bandai directly has resulted in spare email questioning which version of the set I purchased, but no real info on if they're aware of the problem or can solve it.
I'm a bit frustrated. I had a similar problem with the WALL*E DVD earlier this month. Fortunately, Disney was aware of the problem and immediately mailed me a label in order to return the disc in exchange for one that will play on my system.
There's no sign I'll be able to do that with Gurren Lagann.
I could obtain bootleg rips of the show easily, but I'm very uncomfortable with that.
*end vent*
[ December 06, 2008, 11:17 PM: Message edited by: Puffy Treat ]
Posted by Elmer's Glue (Member # 9313) on :
Free song downloads from Walmart came with my mp3 player that I got for Christmas a few years back. I tried downloading songs but I couldn't get any of them to work because of DRM. I got angry after an hour of trying to make it work, then just went to Kazaa and had all the songs working and on my player in ten minutes.
The moral is you tried, just get the bootlegs.
Posted by Sterling (Member # 8096) on :
If it's available for rental, perhaps you could see if there's software available (like Disk Decrypter) that would allow you to burn a copy that would play on your hardware, and then re-buy the set commercially, satisfied that your back-up copy would play?
Posted by T:man (Member # 11614) on :
He has yet to realize his diviness...
Trying to buy movies...
Puffy can just make them from thin air!
Posted by Sterling (Member # 8096) on :
I almost had to laugh, speaking of such things- I bought Bioshock with a twinge of trepadition, having heard about problems and frustrations others had had with the copy protection. (It worked fine on my computer, fortunately.)
A friend of mine just played a cracked copy off of Bit Torrent.
I can't say I entirely approve, but there's an increasing sense that all the "security" measures many media companies are putting into their products largely mean that consumers are getting shafted, and pirates are getting a superior version.
Posted by The White Whale (Member # 6594) on :
Puffy, I say if the company can't make a product that works with legitimate equipment that you have, then they deserve to get their product bootlegged and ripped off until they fix their problem.
You've done everything you can to do the right thing, and now they are disrespecting you by not fixing the problem.
Posted by Foust (Member # 3043) on :
Digital copyright is a stupid fantasy. Stop playing that game.
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
PC gaming and other PC copyable media are a lose-lose situation. As it stands, we're approaching the point where only 10% of games and movies on computers are acquired legally and paid for — to say nothing of the percentage of songs on computers that are pirated — and this level of endemic illegal file trading is hampering the creative process and draining up the incentive for people to really get into those formats. The first losers are the indie developers, and the industries involved typically get scaled back and homogenized and are less inclined to take risks or do original things, because you have to guarantee profits as much as possible to the holding companies and quirky side projects just get drained out into the hands of pirates.
Then at the same time attempts to rectify this with DRM just piss everybody off and drive more people to piracy because it only really effectively punishes the legit buyers. The games and movies involved are always hacked to hell and back, usually before public release, even, and traded around.
It's a total 'we can't have nice things' situation.
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
I say buy it, then download the bootleg. I've done that a couple of times, and I feel morally justified.
Posted by Foust (Member # 3043) on :
I don't see this as a bad thing. The time will come when everyone - everyone - will recognize that attempting to profit from digital information is a failing enterprise.
Trying to profit from digital information is just as foolish as attempting to profit from water.
The product that bottled water companies sell is not primarily the water - rather, it is the convenience of the bottle and the apparent purity of the water.
The only product that the media has to sell is something similar - the physical CD, the theatre experience, the DVD packaging. All of the digital information is like the water in the bottle - you can turn on the tap and just get it for free.
This is truth, and all the moralists and lawyers in the world can't change it. The age of digital profit has come and gone.
There will always be artists, massive recording companies or not.
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
How did entertainment anime suddenly become classified as a not-for-profit product?
Back up a little. Changing the label doesn't change the actual thing.
Posted by Foust (Member # 3043) on :
Entertainment anime?
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
Step 1: Purchase the Game from Direct2Drive Step 2: Install it. Step 3: Get really frustrated when the game doesn't work. Step 4: Download an Illegal version, use legit key and play contently.