[quote name='ab12']so if u find someone to split the cost w/ you you still need both of the profiles to play on 2 360s right? i thought you can use the profile that owns the game to re-download it onto a different hdd but i guess that's not gonna work?[/QUOTE]
I'm not sure how to make this any more clear, it's all in the first post. But i'll try.
-When you buy a game on marketplace, every gamertag ever logged in on ONLY THAT xbox (ie the xbox the game was FIRST purchased) can play it without issue.
-Using the SAME account you bought it with, yes you can download it on another xbox and play the full version. But other accounts on those other xbox's CAN'T play that game UNLESS you are also signed in.
So now I will try to explain it using story mode because I am bored:
Let's say you go over to Carl's house and buy a game on his 360 using your gamertag. Now Carl, and his mom, and his little sister, and his boyfriend, can all play that game on THAT 360 with their own gamertatgs as if it was their game. Now, YOU go home and download the full version of that game (Which is free, because you already bought it with your gamertag earlier). However, your boyfriend, his dad, and your cousin can't just log in with THEIR gamertags when they feel like it and play that game UNLESS YOU are also logged in with a second controller. This rule will be true for EVERY Xbox after the first one that you download the game on. The first one is an exception.
Does that clear everything up?