I sent an email to Realtime Worlds yesterday, requesting a patch to enable Crackdown to be installed and played from the hard drive. Crackdown is coming as one of the full 360 download games (at least according to MS's E3 picture).
This means that they have fixed/removed whatever was preventing it from working before (probably the Halo 3 beta). In the software domain, almost anything is possible...If hackers and pirates can break DRM before a game even hits the shelves, then surely the developer of a game can figure out how to fix their own product.
If the problem is outside their control, then MS should easily be able to fix the problem, seeing as they have complete control of the platform and OS software.
I have held off playing Crackdown, because it won't install. I can't stand the drive noise, and I like keeping my 360 as cool as possible to prevent RROD and wearing out of the dvd drive.
I'm not going to pay $20 or $30 for a digital download of Crackdown, when the new service rolls out in August. I've already bought the game once...
If you agree with me, please send Realtime Worlds an email requesting a fix/patch to enable this game to install to the HDD.
http://www.realtimeworlds.com/contact/