Microsoft responds to XBL bans over modded 360 consoles

Personally, I would ban anyone who played Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust even if it was a legit retail copy as punishment for supporting shit games that don’t deserve to exist.

hmmm 20 mill XBL and 1 mill ban. 5% user drop is rather significant. A well timed ban for a Holiday sales bump

Good for Microsoft get those pirates!!!!

Microsoft can you explain why people still get the RROD and other errors out of the blue for just playing their games they bought legally. Can you explain why live is still a paid for service while you throw fast food ads and stupid IGN ads in everyone faces?

When the pirates strike back we’ll see who’ll be laughing the hardest then.

“Microsoft can you explain why people still get the RROD”

Because they can’t sneak into people’s houses and replace old hardware with new?

…and really just exactly how are pirates going to strike back? By modding a newly bought console again? Vs Microsoft doing nothing, that harms them exactly how?

I’m with MushroomStamp. While I applaud MS’ actions in banning thieves and crooks, I do wonder if the prospect of selling several hundred-thousand new consoles to banned gamers wanting to get back in to the game (no pun intended) in the next month or two encouraged them to take such bold and decisive action.

Of course it did Cort. You think the consumers are the only crooks. M$ is robbing them too. They just stole $50,000,000 dollars form their consumers. When you buy a piece of hardware its yours. If you want to blow it up, throw it out of a window,or mod it you can. You bought it plain and simple you do what you want with it.

It no longer connects to Live, and can still play games, so yeah, that’s the same as what you’re talking about… You think they don’t have the right to remove people from their service? I guess the bans that everyone else uses are out of order too?

You know… like this: http://www.psu.com/PS3-owner-sues-Sony-after-being-banned-from-PSN-News–a007794-p0.php

That poor guy wasn’t even a pirate… just an asshole. Shame on you Sony for robbing from your customers.

theevilaires: And there’s nothing stopping you modding your Xbox 360 if you want to. Just like MS are quite within their legal and moral rights to stop you using their online service that they run, host and maintain. Being banned from XBL does not stop the console itself from working.

@ MushroomStamp and Cort

Yep it does seem like that, particularly at this time right now, when since the Slim’s introduction the 360 is the slowest selling console out there in all regions.

Live has a TOS, if modding your console violates that then they’re perfectly at liberty to do so.

I don’t really think this does anything to counter piracy with any great or lasting effect though.

Think about that cunt off the BBC piece who said he’d pirated 30-40 games, even taking a low-ish average of £35 per game, that’s over a grand.

Making them buy another console puts a bit of green in the MS coffers, but it does nothing for the developers whose work was pirated.

This sort of move also does nothing to tackle the causes/reasons for piracy, which contrary to popular belief isn’t purely greed.

For a laugh microsoft should ban everyone playing modern warfare 2 for a day and see what happens.

What are guys talking about of course the system still works I’m talking about the live subs $50×1 million=$50,000,000 they just stole. Most likely everyone who paid for it only used it about half the time anyway.

Live is tied to the account, not the console TEA. Your XBL Gold is still very much valid, and not stolen from you.

Which is strange really, because given the pirate has breached the ToS, they could just as easily take that away too.

Psychotext,

I’m just guessing here, but I bet that was only a user ban, not a console ban like the xbox ones. Other than that though, I’m with you. You want to mod you xbox and play online, you accept the risk.

In this case the ability of the console to access Live is removed JL, rather than the profile. The profile stays intact.

Think he meant the Sony asshole banning.

Oh… no, Sony can (and do) completely remove the ability of a console to access their network too.

It’s not the first ban wave…. and surely won’t be the last.. but figuring the last time for me was 2 years ago, it is worth it. Although I won’t be getting a new box this time. I just don’t seem to care enough.

Armitage said:

Yep it does seem like that, particularly at this time right now, when since the Slim’s introduction the 360 is the slowest selling console out there in all regions.

Never mind armitage another 10 years and the PS3 will have taken over the 360.
What a turnaround.

A pirate is a pirate.
Let them head over to PSN for the free gaming.

@reask

Yeah OK.

yea ban the console because we know pirates have a good stock of consoles on hand just in case they get banned. I guess they save all their money from not buying games to have a spare 360 in the other room. Everyone has that right?

MW2 is about to release soon/M$ bans a few consoles

MW2 360 edition is announced/M$ watches pre order sales

People renew their live subs/M$ “then” warns about piracy

People just get disc ver/M$ mad doesn’t move 360′s and flips the switch.

Cheap tactic to boost hardware sales in that order I bet!

Hmm. Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

reask said: A pirate is a pirate. Let them head over to PSN for the free gaming.

you forgot to also add at the end of your sentence – and a system that won’t scratch your disc,break down for no reason every year, and a clean crisp 1080p naive UI that they can’t hack or pirate because sony builds their machines the right way without rushing there product market.

@tea

As both a PS3 and a PC gamer, I have been looking forward, as a neutral party, to a showdown between yourself and bdh. Why have you both disappointed?

They’re perfectly within their rights to do this.

A mate of mine got caught out doing it, so he broke the fans in his 360 and forced a RROD, then claimed a new one. Supposedly.

Its just plain stupid. You’re gonna teach somebody a lesson by not letting them use your online service that you get money from…FU.CK.ING SMART

I guess the pirates are gonna stop their MW2 *SP* campaign and just say to themselves…you know what M$ is so fucking great they’re teaching me a lesson oh boy!

Yet oddly I know plenty of people who have gone out, bought a new console and a legit copies of the games they play the most. It’s about making it more hassle than it’s worth for a lot of people. Playing with their friends online is obviously a big draw for some.

Those who want to pirate will still pirate, some will “go straight” and others will move on. But for Microsoft it only takes a few extra game and console sales to make the whole thing worthwhile.

LOL.. here’s the thing.. to replace the 360 that was banned was only 99$.. yup.. walmart was running a special right after the ban where you get $100 Gift card back. And since you don’t need new HD, you just get the arcade system. soooo.. $60 for a game or just get a new system for $99 and be on your way again…. silly I know.. but it is what it is.

That guy i know who got ban plans to sell his console and probably get a new one, flash it and start over. Funny thing is he’s probably going to use the forced down time to use what ever hack he’s doing and get full gamerscore in every game he’s not bought.

No co-incidence when those deals started running I reckon.

@Gekidami: The only problem with that (and I guess he doesn’t know this yet) is that when he tries to move his profile (and new gamerscore / achievements etc) onto his new console it’s going to tell him that it’s corrupt… so he’ll lose all that epeen he’s been building up.

No its not man. Someone will find a way to get their 360 to be undetected by M$. It’ll happen its M$ FFS, makers of window vista.

1st it was the hardware failure problems

Now its the piracy problem

then it’ll be the tech problem where the system can’t compete and every game will require a second disk or you’ll just be force fed DLC.

They didn’t think it through, they just don’t.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpOvzGiheOM

Trust Me It’ll never change

@Psychotext:
Hum? Dont know where you’ve heard that. He’s put his HDD on another system since and had no problems.

Psychotext is correct. Anyone that tells you otherwise is full of crap. I tried it and had 2 other friends try it.. same result. You move over to valid console it says your game save etc is corrupt.. .but you put it back on the ban system and it works again.. Achievements acquired on a Banned system will be locked out and not able to upload with a valid system.

Yes the HD will work on a new system, but any saves and achievements from the banned system will not.

I think it only applies to those affected by the latest banwave though. I’m not sure how they could do it to machines that were banned earlier.

Well actual achievements arnt saved on the system itself but online servers. So it surely wont affect that (and has from what i’ve seen). Chances are its possible for actual game saves though. Or maybe its just the pirate game saves? And legit saves still work?

He was banned by in the latest wave to.

Well, yeah because when your console is banned from Live it can no longer communicate… therefore your profile never gets updated online (which is why people used to switch to a legit console).

You can still download your profile from the servers, but obviously that’s only going to be accurate up to the last time you were able to connect to live.

As for what, it’s your entire profile. Legit saves or not (there’s no way they could differentiate). Apparently you can move the stuff as of when you get banned… but as soon as a save or profile is updated by the system, it’s locked. (So don’t play anything if you get banned and want to move your stuff over)

Achievements are stored on the Local.. then uploaded when connected. If you play off line you still get the achievements, you just can’t upload them. So for all that Achievement Points do for you (absolutely nothing), you can still run up your points … just noone will see them

So i am now currently racking up my Steam Points for MW2 WOOT

Hum, sound plausible.

So any Achievements gained AFTER the ban are void as are any game saves on the banned system.