Microsoft Disconnects Xbox Gamers

[webfact]

Microsoft disconnects Xbox gamers

Xbox Live allows gamers to play against one another

Thousands of gamers may have been cut off from Microsoft's online gaming service Xbox Live for modifying their consoles to play pirated games.

Online reports suggest that as many as 600,000 gamers may have been affected.

Microsoft confirmed that it had banned a "small percentage" of the 20 million Xbox Live users.

Microsoft said that modifying an Xbox 360 console "violates" the services "terms of use" and would result in a player being disconnected.

"All consumers should know that piracy is illegal and that modifying their Xbox 360 console to play pirated discs violates the Xbox Live terms of use, will void their warranty and result in a ban from Xbox Live," Microsoft has said in a statement.

"The health of the video game business depends on customers paying for the genuine products and services they receive from manufacturers, retailers, and the third parties that support them."

Many gamers modify their consoles by installing new chips or software that allows them to run unofficial programs. Some chips are specifically designed to play pirated games.

Reports suggest that the ban does not stop the console from working and only affects a gamer's Xbox Live account.

Industry figures suggest that piracy may cost the video game industry as much as £750m a year.

In other news, a UK court has dismissed a man's appeal against an earlier conviction for selling modification chips - "modchips" that allow gamers to play illegal games.

Christopher Gillham's earlier conviction was upheld by Hereford Crown Court which found that playing counterfeit games on a modified console infringed copyrights.

-- BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8354166.stm

2009/11/11

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[orosee]

Well... dear BBC, how exactly is this "News"? MS has been doing this (banning from Xbox Live) for many years already. And apparently the only way to get back on is to either buy a new Xbox, or "steal" some hardware code form a friend/shop and use special software blah blah... I lost my Xbox Live access when Halo 3 came out, bought the game copy from a different than usual vendor who gave me an unstealthed disk... bang! A week later I could have gotten a safe copy from my regular pusher

What is really mean though is that MS will continue to renew your annual Xbox Live (Gold) subscription until you cancel it (which is not a simple process at all). In this respect the article is not accurate. The hardware (Xbox) is banned. The gamer, player or Xbox Live account is NOT. It will continue to work but not from the banned machine of course.

Without Xbox Live it is also harder to update the Xbox 360 via internet, and to download more (paid for) games.

I'm now running a PS3 instead. No cracked games but less time to waste anyway.

[nikster]

Wow... disconnecting 600k users takes guts... good reason for me to not get an XBOX 360, ever.

Financially it makes perfect sense of course, with the hardware barely breaking even on the sale on a console, and the software making all the money. Hacked consoles are a loss to Microsoft, plain and simple.

[phazey]

+1

Mine got banned.

And nikster - go ahead and get a unmodified 360. Won't get kicked off then. I just ordered another from Singapore, where i know it will not be modified.

[surface]

+1

Mine got banned.

And nikster - go ahead and get a unmodified 360. Won't get kicked off then. I just ordered another from Singapore, where i know it will not be modified.

Awww, I'm selling mine now. Should have said something.

[quiksilva]

with updates twice a year its inevitable that modded boxes are going to end up banned. I used to play on line with a modded original xbox but only using tunnelling software call kai from teamxlink, but as soon as I found out that wasn't an option with the 360 I went original from day one.