Hi Ray Hayes,
I've never heard of a Microsoft policy to distribute free universal
game licences to gamers. Gamers are their market base afterall.
I think I can validate your suspicion about that yahoo email, but
if you still have any doubts, you could call Microsoft support. :-)
--
Cheers, *Windows_XP_MVP_Shell/User*
Jimmy S.
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
Visit my MSN Zone.com and Gaming Help Site:
http://mvps.org/nibblesnbits
MS Games Help and Support Center:
http://support.microsoft.com/?pr=gms
My advice is donated "AS IS" without warranty; nor do I confer any rights.
_________________________________________________________
Ray Hayes Wrote:
=================
| I bought a laptop on ebay that came with Age of Empire II supposedly legal.
| I wanted to upgrade it but cannot locate a product id or serial number and in
| the Age of Empire II folder, I found crack.zip.
|
| Directory of C:\Program Files\Age Of Empires II
|
| 02/28/2006 10:14 PM <DIR> .
| 02/28/2006 10:14 PM <DIR> ..
| 09/01/2000 01:16 AM 2,643,424 age2upa.exe
| 08/08/2000 03:13 AM 2,695,213 age2_x1.exe
| 12/31/2005 05:04 PM <DIR> AI
| 12/31/2005 05:02 PM <DIR> Avi
| 12/31/2005 05:04 PM <DIR> Campaign
| 09/01/2000 01:47 AM 1,173,558 crack.zip
| 12/31/2005 05:02 PM <DIR> Data
| 12/31/2005 05:04 PM <DIR> DOCS
|
| He sent me the following explanation:
|
| From: John A. Castro [private.php?do=newpm&u=]
| Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2006 7:27 PM
| To:
(E-Mail Removed)
| Subject: Re: Fwd: Macromedia Customer Service Request [8500854]
|
| The Age of Empires 2 has an encrypted license that is universal and does not
| require any kind of transfer. It is not a crack or pirated game, it is the
| kind of license that is uniquely distributed to "audience samples" for free.
| You see, whenever a company as rich as Microsoft is about to risk a lot of
| money by distributing a game, they want to make sure it's a good bet. So,
| they distribute games with Universal licenses to individuals, schools,
| companies, corporations... and sometimes even government offices for
| universal use. The licenses are permitted to be re-distributed to create
| "hype" about the game, while regular consumers purchase the product at the
| stores. This is about the only relationship Microsoft has with serious
| gamers and hackers, because believe it or not, gamers and hackers are the
| ones that make games popular. Having them think highly of your products,
| despite not actually purchasing them, will generate revenue. This universal
| license was given to me directly from Microsoft Headquarters. It is now
| yours.
|
|
| So is the game legal or what? My guess is probably not. Thanks.
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