Topic: Mission: get a JPN buy-on-demand game in my USA XBox 360

[S-U-P-E-R]

I got a crazy idea for buying IdolM@ster, the BEST GAME EVER, and playing it on my USA 360 and getting those sweet achievement points on my profile. The disc version of the game is region-protected, but I have a hunch that I can get it to play on my machine with the following trick shot setup:

1) Buy the game from games-on-demand with a legit JPN account (I can make this happen)
2) Recover the account onto my USA 360 and download game from the account history

I know that in the past it's been possible to circumvent region exclusitivity for downloadable content and I don't see why this wouldn't work, but I have yet to find a comfirmation or denial after a buttload of googling. Anybody seen this done?

[BranDonk Kong]

Who's to say the download version won't be region protected too?

[S-U-P-E-R]

It IS region protected. What I'm looking for is circumvention, and I think I found a method. I cannot buy it directly from my XBox, but I think I may be able to buy it from the online store web version or a Japanese XBox and then retrieve the account onto my US XBox. I think it has a decent probability of working, since I've seen other-region content run on XBoxen just by swapping hard drives.

[MegaByte]

I have no idea how the 360 region protection system works, but I know this wouldn't work on a Wii because it checks the region everytime you load it (nothing a little homebrew can't solve).

[S-U-P-E-R]

For downloaded games, I'm pretty sure the XBox never checks when you try to run the game. It checks your system region (and maybe IP) when you try to buy it. I don't know if it checks if you try to download it after already having bought it (from a different console or the web-based XBL store). I think I'm going to go ahead and give it a try when I get ahold of one of my buddies in Japan.

[BranDonk Kong]

Right, but the region protection of disc-based games is in the executable (I believe), which cannot be modified (yet). Even though you'll be downloading the game from XBL, it's still a disc-based game, so the already-in-place protection will probably be exactly the same. If your plan doesn't work, you could try having the dude by it in Japan using *your* GamerTag, then either pop the HDD out of the case, or use an adapter (they're cheap) to hook the HDD up to an SATA port on a PC, copy the game, burn it to a disc/upload to the net, have you download it, put it on your 360's HDD (same way he got it off of his), and then play it using your GT signed into Live. This will only work if the protection isn't in the game, and you can't download it from Live. I'm sure given the relative close proximity to Hong Kong, these adapters should be easy to find in Japan. You could also simply send him your HDD, have him buy it on there (using your GT, again), then send it back. That would be the most plausible way of doing it.