Posted on 11/14/2009 8:30:54 AM PST by canuck_conservative
Beware of banned Xbox 360s loosed in ballooning numbers on auction sites and distribution lists featuring online classified ads. In the wake of Microsoft's ban of "a small percentage" or "around 600,000" or "up to one million players" (depending who you read), the Xbox-excommunicated are apparently leaping overboard to offer their 'modified' Xbox 360 systems rife with dozens of games, extra controllers, special revs of custom firmware, all for anywhere from a buck to the price of a new system on up to boutique (perhaps joke) pricing of over a thousand dollars.
Last Wednesday, November 4, Microsoft's Larry 'Major Nelson' Hryb explained the company had been "actively banning consoles from Xbox LIVE that have been modified to play pirated games." Hyrb also noted that "the warranty on an Xbox 360 console is not transferrable, and if you purchase a used console that has been previously banned, you will not be able to connect to Xbox LIVE."
The systems haven't been "bricked," in other words, meaning they'll still turn on and players can still use them to play pirated games offline, but their ability to connect online--even employing an unbanned Xbox LIVE account--has been permanently compromised.
The race is on to to offload banned systems, apparently. A search on "modded xbox" run against the the New York City Craiglist portal brought back over 200 listings from November 5. Another through the Chicago Craiglist portal returned 195 listings for the same period.
"[I'm] looking to sell my banned modded xbox 360," reads one New York Craiglist ad. "[I] own all the originals...but wanted to have extra incase [sic] the originals got scratched."
The "backups" include games like Forza 3, Call of Duty: World at War, Halo 3: ODST (on two discs), Batman: Arkham Asylum, and Brutal Legend, as well as movies ....
(Excerpt) Read more at pcworld.com ...
I don’t necessarily disagree with what M$ is doing but these actions contribute greatly to driving customer to look elsewhere for comparable products. I also think their pricing scheme across all their products contributes greatly to the pirating problem.
That’s what I was thinking too - still a good disc-player in there, and Christmas is coming up ...
The first batch of XBox 360’s were plagued with faulty chips causing the “red ring of death” to light up on the unit, making them worthless. Microsoft made it exceedingly difficult for owners to exchange their XBoxes under warranty. It was a bit of a scandal and probably pushed many owners into the arms of righteous piracy. Now MS is all holier than thou like a happy house dog with a mouth full of canary feathers. Why reward the same sense of ethics that drove our country to the brink of economic destruction? Punish the b@st@rds.
I’m wondering if you can play against your buds who bring their XBoxes over for a beer and Halo night?
What I don’t get is how MS can even get away with this (banning people from Xbox Live because of warranty voiding) - were the two originally promoted together? Otherwise this is a class-action lawsuit, no?
Microsoft extended the warranty several times in recognition of the problem. I had no difficulty getting my XBox 360 repaired - it was relatively painless.
It was a bit of a scandal and probably pushed many owners into the arms of righteous piracy.
"Righteous piracy"...really? That's twisted logic. If your XBox has the RROD, you can't play any games, let alone pirated ones. Besides, as mentioned above, it was pretty easy to get a console repaired under warranty. That's no excuse for crime.
Except Halo 3’s appeal is due to its online matchmaking feature. I still haven’t even started Halo 3’s campaign. I’ve played several thousand games online.
My brother mods all his gadgets, including his 360. We’re waiting for him to get banned.
You can still use those modded Xbox systems for LAN parties with your buddies. You just can’t play over the internet.
Using pirated software is against the Xbox Live terms of use (not that anyone reads those). People are being banned for violating that rule, not for voiding their warranty.
I know I would never buy an MS game system now. ANY GAME SYSTEM ever!
I don’t play video games but they just made sure I would never consider buying one. Totally banning a system forever is really stupid. I don’t pirate games but any of this big brother crap is a turn off to me.
If your experience was normative, then why were the gamer boards alive with bile about Microsoft dragging their feet to the point that an underground infrastructure of tips and tricks on fixing the problem yourself erupted. Some of the problem was with inadequate cooling, so fan mods were offered. But most of the problems were with faulty chips on the motherboards that MS admitted to by changing their MB design and suppliers. How a company that big could release an untested unit is a scandal. But, hey, they do it with their operating systems, must be part of their corporate culture to commandeer a market to the point that a 10%-20% failure rate is just “collateral damage”. If they were selling medical equipment, they’d be dead.
BTW, as regards the “illegality” of pirating XBox games- Microsoft sets the moral standard, I’m perfectly willing to treat them to their own ethical baseline.
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