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Lik-Sang Back Online, Minus Modchips
DrEldarion writes "Lik-Sang is back, and it turns out that it wasn't just Microsoft that filed the lawsuit - Sony and Nintendo both joined in. The end result is that the modchips are gone."
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I'm glad these guys are back - They were a great source of legitimate goodies (LCD screens, etc) for my MP3Car project :)
~m
...but back again tomorrow. When will these people learn that they will never be able to stop people inclined to play around with new technology playing around with new technology?
learn to program the right way
Rake Free + Mac Poker: CardCrusade
Time to set up a non-profit to pass out chips from foreign countries... or just relabel them as accessibility devices.
;)
Sucks.. someone fix it
I noticed that LikSang sells joypads for the consoles. They should put the modchips in them - ie. bypass the console's security through the USB port - that way Microsoft, Nintendo, et.al. won't realise. Also, you wouldn't have to void your warrenty by soldering the modchip to the processor.
Sony and Nintendo are the bastard children of Microsoft
will sell cheap programers,instructions and blank bios chips and show ya how to find the code.
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B - D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
Are they waiting for a final ruling from the court? I guess the sentence above means that they'll wait to see which way the court leans before they bring the mod chips back.
Was Lik Sang the only supplier of X-Box mod chips that worked? Or does Microsoft now have to go and hunt down a dozen other distributors one at a time?
If these mod chips become any more difficult to obtain, I might have to buy the games I want...alright, fuck that, how much does a plane ticket to Hong Kong cost? Can't be that much, right?
Finally, math books without any of that base 6 crap in them.
I can understand Microsoft and Sony going against Modchips, but why Nintendo? A mod-chip isn't going to do anything to a gamecube. I haven't seen anyone be able to bootleg gamecube games yet. AFAIK they are mini-dvds that spin backwards. That's a tough one to copy.
It's also interesting how they go after lik-sang, but http://www.modchips.com aka http://www.gamegizmo.com is still up, and selling the best chips around. We modded our PSOne with one, and it works great.
It's just like the Napster thing. They go after Napster, but Kazaa, Morpheus, WinMX all get to live.
If 10 companies are breaking the law can't you sue them all at once?
The GeekNights podcast is going strong. Listen!
Cogito ergo sum in Slashdot.
All the Court Orders have been issued before hearing a single word from the company
remind me not to have legal problems in Hong Kong
I am suprised and dissapointed in sony et al for going after mod chips..
Try out fish, the friendly interactive shell.
Unfortunately, they have been forced to not only stop selling mod chips, but they also had to stop selling console development tools. Such as the Gameboy Advance linkers. I guess I wont be buying a BGA to write software for.
"...it turns out that it wasn't just Microsoft that filed the lawsuit - Sony and Nintendo both joined in. The end result is that the modchips are gone."
That must be plenty embarrasing to all the people that cried "MS is enforcing law in China!!!" when this whole BS started.
"Derp de derp."
Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
...... not for long, here comes /. :-)
--is not to be confused with user #672982 - Bame Flait
A quick search for the GBA/GBC ROM modules (like the Flash Linker) turned up nothing. The MultiBoot stuff is still there, but that's it. Unless these items were removed long ago, in which case I'll stand corrected.
Special discs that allow you to play imports without mod chips
Nero-burning ROM for Linux!
They're a great site for console game freaks like myself, I've ordered a ton of hard-to-come-by and import stuff from them over the years.
I can understand why certain mods are illegal, but not all of them.
Ie;
The xtender mod for xbox should be illegal. It's a bios replacement that contains a hacked copy of MS's copyrighted BIOS.
The openxbox/pc-bioxx 'mod' is a blank flashrom with a parallel header. It could not only be used on an xbox, but on any motherboard that uses 8mbit bioses and has an LPC bus. It has tons of uses aside from piracy or running linux on xbox. Ever want to try that crazy bios hack for your mobo that unlocks freakishly high FSB and vCore settings? Here you go.
Why can't they use the "primary function" clause to their benefit in this case?
Why not just say the primary function of the device is to replace/play with the bios on the mobo in your PC, and not mention xbox?
This isn't some shady trick to keep selling them, but frankly the truth. It really is a poor mans flashrom writer.
Anyhow, anyone who really wants his xbox modded (provided he has the early revision that can be) can do so himself quite simply, if he has a mobo around with a socketed bios that he can use to flash the xbox' chip with.
I worry the next step will be MS, Sony and Nintendo getting an injunction to stop them from exporting Japanese software to American/European markets. That'll really suck eggs.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
At September 16th a lawsuit against Lik Sang International Limited and it's directors has been filed in the High Court of Hong Kong by the companies Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft on infringing on copyrighted material and selling Mod Chips or other development and backup devices for the Plaintiffs consoles.
Hmm... sounds like they had to take all the cart flashers down too. And indeed, I can't find the Flash Linker Advance.
This SUCKS.
The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.
--Aristotle
Can they merely publish the code for people that can burn them ?
Or even sell *cheap* burners to go along with the code but not actually sell the 'mod chip'.
I still say its my hardware to do with as i please.. ( and that includes any included software, unless i copy it and resell it )
Somone with enough funding needs to just say no to being bullied, and get it to court. Perhaps then this sort of madness will stop.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Now the X-Box is going to suck again!
We will see a lot of kids getting hopped up on modchips and most likely addicted, only to suffer painful side effects like electrocution and intestine blockage due to the poor production standards of street fabs.
-Kevin
I'm also noticing that mod-chips for dreamcasts are gone, which is rather interesting, because I sincerly doubt that Sega would try to sue Lik-Sang in their current state. Looks like they're just gonna play it safe for awhile.
"Quoting famous computer scientists out of context is the root of all evil (or at least most of it) in programming." - K
Can't they just produce 'flashable' sets, and make the actual problem, the copyrighted code they use in them, float the free part of the internet?
Or even better yet, make it automatically copy the required codeparts from the bios itself?
Something like that Keep the modchips themselves clean.
Btw, wasn't there some kind of non-soldering flash-only mod? I'd consider that a killer app for xbox modding...
ModChips allow consumers to use the hardware in a way it wasn't intended to, or to add enhancement or new features to the hardware.
But then I see no difference with that and cutting up my PS2 and using the shell as a crap pot and using the circuits to make a mouse trap electrocuter.
Lik-Sang Wuz backm till /. posted there link.
Hint: It's not because they care if you play pirated games.
Frankly, it's not as though mod chips are a very good deal for the consumer. They're expensive, they're a pain in the ass to install, and whatever you "save" in money (which, given the expense and risk that you ruin your console in installing them is already marginal) you easily outspend in time wasted copying lousy games. Frankly, the biggest problem facing today's gamer is not "games are too expensive" but "there are too many lousy games out there, how do I determine which ones to play?" A few well-chosen rentals are a more effective way of saving money than spinning your wheels doing surgery or CD burning.
No. Very few consumers -- other than those addicted to piracy on general principles, or who get a kick out of feeling like they're getting away with something -- will ever install or use mod chips. The copy protection isn't there to prevent you from playing pirated games. The real target of copy protection in consoles is -- other game companies.
For every PS2 game made, Sony gets a cut. For every Gamecube game made, Nintendo gets a cut. For every Xbox game made, Microsoft gets a cut. The copy protection on these consoles is the console manufacturer's way of making sure that they are not squeezed out of the transactions between the game developers and the consumer, the way Atari was with 3rd-party 2600 games.
--peterb
There are about a billion other websites that pop up in your face if you want modchips whenever you go to a good ol' http warez site. Just close down enough porno banners and eventually you'll find a modchip site -- it's a lot easier to find than the actual warez on the site itself.
My brother installed a PS1 modchip when he was 11 years old, and it's not that hard at all to DIY.
Lik Sang does sell tons of other cool stuff; modchips aren't their only resource.
Lik Sang and it's employees couldn't even speak about the case due to an injunction of the High Court
and
All the Court Orders have been issued before hearing a single word from the company.
I can't talk about the case and the injuction is issued before can I say anything? Honk Kong really looks like a nice place to live...
If you're a homebrew GBA developer, you can still get flash carts from various sources listed in the replies to this message. Don't pirate software.
Will I retire or break 10K?
How may posts were there in the previous Lik-Sang threads that talked about MS being unfair, and that nintendo and sony would NEVER stoop to this level, blah blah blah?
Where are these people now?
Rumor is if you solder this and this it'll do the same thing as a mod chip...
What are the rules for 'obscuring' products like this?
I'm reading so much these days about Microsoft shutting down Lik Sang for creating XBox mods. So, I was very happy to find this story on Valve, who have supported the total conversion of Half-Life into Counter-Strike -- and made some good money in the process. I hope this open source movement will continue. It's really a win-win situation for everyone.
And indeed, I can't find the Flash Linker Advance.
I can. See my other comment.
Will I retire or break 10K?
So is the final ruling come yet? What I remembered the Court in HK may grant injunctions if there's one side evidence that harm is done. I wouldn't surprised if M$ etc. can show the court Lik Sang's business hurts them in a day, but it doesn't mean the case has it's own merit.
Hope things work out for Lik Sang. I still want my dreamcast data cable.
A sig is redundant.
For all yer modchip needs, there is still the good o'l www.easybuy2000.com/ or my name ain't Fair Deal Fred =) /me runs away as M$ lawers descend on easybuy
.
Live for the present, learn from the past, and dream of the future!
my computer has a javascript virus. i blame slashdot.
Why would Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft buy mod chips for their own consoles?
Oh, wait, I see what they mean. They mean "consoles made by the Plaintiffs, but then sold to purchasers with EULA's prohibiting modification in 2 point italic WinDings font on page 32 of the manual."
I see where the confusion is coming from. Well, now that we've cleared that up, perhaps Lik-Sang could just explain Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft's mistake, and we could get back to doing whatever the hell we like with the piles of plastic and copper that the Plaintiffs chose to sell to us, and which we now own.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
Which you own a license for, this is like Spectrum emulators, there ok to use on a PC (copyright BIOS etc...) so long as you used to own(but it's up in the lost) a spectrum.
No problem there....
So how the hell can there be a problem with those mod chips are people using them in something other that an X-Box?
thank God the internet isn't a human right.
They've also removed the GBA (etc) flashcarts.
I really can't see how those could've been considered illegal. It's completely empty media (flashram).
just selling an empty chip, and a small device that connects to a computer to program the thing?
Then they can make the code available over the internet. Considering the customer base they probably don't even need to do this from their web site but rather they can spread it on file swapping services.
Tor
Lik-sang still has pre-modded (Region-free) Gamecube consoles for sale. Did Nintendo give them permission to sell those?
Many of the modchip kits out (e.g. the Matrix Xbox modchip) have included "burner" (or more appropriately "flasher") hardware.
Stick burner on your parport, fire up software, flash on some BIOS, you're done. This is how Easybuy2000 is still selling modchips.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
"...it turns out that it wasn't just Microsoft that filed the lawsuit - Sony and Nintendo both joined in. The end result is that the modchips are gone."
... indeed it merely confirms their behavior. The fact that others behave equally despicably doesn't make Microsoft any less despicable.
That must be plenty embarrasing to all the people that cried "MS is enforcing law in China!!!" when this whole BS started.
By "MS is enforcing law in China" I assume you are either (a) disingenuously putting words in people's mouths no amount of perusing the old comments can corroborate, or (b) you were characterizing (for whatever reason) comments accusing MS of defining the law in China, export US law to China, etc.
All of which may be true, to one degree or another. No one should feel at all emberrassed to have made such accusations, which appear on may fronts to be demonstrably true. Now, if someone said "Microsoft is the only company defining law in China/exporting US law to China" then they should be quite emberrassed. After all, it is clear, at the very least, that the member corporations of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) have been doing likewise, and others may well be engaged in similiar behavior. Yes, even other software companies *cough* Adobe *cough* or, in this case, a trust of gaming companies.
The fact the Microsoft has been shown to be part of a trust, a consortium, or if you prefer, a cabal of corporations engaging in the same ill-mannered and obscene behavior shouldn't make anyone feel emberrassed for having pointed out the fact
The Future of Human Evolution: Autonomy
I knew that Sony and Nintendo were against modchips from the start, so it doesn't really surprise me to find out that they were part of this as well. Microsoft was still the big stick in this case, it seems. It is pretty strange that this happeend soon after people got Linux working on the X-Box.
Apparently the tools that you need to develop homebrew GBA apps are also gone, however. I don't think that Nintendo needed to do that. The ability to create homebrew apps ADDS VALUE to systems.
Not only is there a good selection of GBA games out there that I would be happy to go to the store and purchace, the fact that people have made tools that allow you to tinker with development make it an even cooler thing to have.
I'd wager that the majority of people who make homebrew GBA apps also buy GBA games and are longtime Nintendo fans.
At the very least, Sony provided a Linux kit to those who wanted to tinker with their Playstation 2 consoles. It might not be what everyone really wants, but it is still cool that Sony is at least meeting people half-way on the idea.
Nintendo and Microsoft could benefit by following Sony's lead. By providing development kits for their systems, they could make some money by selling the kits, and increase interest in their system by featuring "fan made" games online that could be played and offering the added value of homebrew app development.
"You spoony bard!" -Tellah
It appears that most people on here don't understand what it is that is "wrong" with the MS X-Box modchip.
... well too bad. If someone comes out with a modchip that contains NO Microsoft code AND doesn't need the MS SDK to compile then MS wouldn't have a leg to stand on. But until then (and that will be a while). It is no different than them going after people pirating XP. I am sorry RMS -- I am not a mechanic ... I am not a dishwasher ... I am not a tollbooth clerk ... I wanna get PAID for my programming ability.
A -- It contains MS Proprietary code that is copyright protected.
B -- It was compiled using the Microsoft SDK (which in order to have you must sign an NDA and a HUGE EULA)
So _PLEASE_ all the "It is my box I can do with it what I want" comments STOP! Sure it is -- if you wanna hack open your X-Box / VCR / DVD player / Microwave oven and "mod" it by all means do so. But oh -- wait -- you don't have the MS SDK? Or you don't know how to program
-- http://anonet.org -- The internet the way it was meant to be. Check it out, you may be surprised.
I remember when this news came out a week or 2 ago and all of you just bashed Microsoft left and right. Now it comes out Sony and Nintendo were involved I don't see any of you out bashing. Thats the problem with many of you on sites like this, you are so hateful of MS it blinds you. I think mod-chips should be stopped. They are being used to pirate games, and in turn thats going to hurt us in the long run since these companies make their money on game sales, not hardware. As for being able to play Japanese games, first there aren't really anything like that for x-box, second I do think we should be allowed to play them. I think there should be some kind of add-on sold by sony and Nintendo that allows people to legally play Japense games. I don't know about all this. I just wish some of you would open your eyes on issues like this.
i can imagine researching/breaking console protection (region/copy/whatever) takes a HELL of a lot of time from a lot of people. Sometimes it seems quite hard, as in, the Messiah is still the only normal modchip available for ps2 (magic2 chip etc are just messiahs really). They are being sold by people who probably invested a lot of time and money in cracking the protection, and want to make money/getr their research costs back by selling modchips. If you sell an empty flasher and offer your BIOS downloadable later, this means anyone can make their own flasher, download your BIOS and dont give you a penny. Whereas with modchips, you can just lock the rom chip and make it uncopyable, and sell them for $$$.
In other words, flashable modchips dont make sense really unless developed by fanatic hobby-hackers
For every PS2 game made, Sony gets a cut. For every Gamecube game made, Nintendo gets a cut. For every Xbox game made, Microsoft gets a cut. The copy protection on these consoles is the console manufacturer's way of making sure that they are not squeezed out of the transactions between the game developers and the consumer, the way Atari was with 3rd-party 2600 games.
Now wait - you say that modding the game console is a niche market (which it is) and that not a whole lot of people do it. I agree with this. So how are the game companies protecting their investments against 3rd party games? Niche markets don't drive game development. So any 3rd party game that was made would only be able to be played on a modded system. No game company is going to go to that trouble.
I don't really see big deal about mod chips. Now that there are legitimate uses (FAIR uses) for them, hopefully someone will market them as such. As long as it is marketed and sold as a legitimate use device (such as the GNU/Linux Xbox Chip) could MS go after the sellers? It isn't like you are installing another game system, it is a totally different environment. So it wouldn't even be about stifling the competition. Maybe that is what Microsoft doesn't understand. :-)
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
It has been shown through the courts that reverse engineering BIOS code is legal..thus on some gorunds MOD chips are certainly legal ..
Don't Tread on OpenSource
All of which may be true, to one degree or another. No one should feel at all emberrassed to have made such accusations, which appear on may fronts to be demonstrably true. Now, if someone said "Microsoft is the only company defining law in China/exporting US law to China" then they should be quite emberrassed.
/. Biased emotions lowers everyone's IQ.
Everyone was blaming Microsoft and said that Sony and Nintendo never do anything about it and didn't care.
I would be VERY embarassed since it was a 600+ threaded M$ flame. But one would expect this from
The idea is that a console without protection is a console that any idiot with a compiler and a CD burner can make games for. If your console gets flooded with a shitload of crappy indy games on the store shelves, your console dies (ref: Atari 2600).
Nathan
"All the Court Orders have been issued before hearing a single word from the company."
--Well, it looks like all the videogame companies joined the Tyranny that is Entertainment companies.
-----.----.-------
I'll
The parallel port & USB flash ROM tools also appear to be gone. This has nothing to do with BIOS, by the way. These are tools that allow you to upload binaries (either copied or original code compiled with GCC and other tools) to a flash ROM and run it on any GBA. These products are likely offensive to Nintendo because:
1) consumers could pirate games with them
2) smalltime and wannabe developers could create demos and games with them without forking out big money for the official GBA dev hardware
I'm sure #1 is the main concern for Nintendo. But they've really done a disservice to the GBA demo scene and developers & students that want to get their feet wet with a really great platform.
If you're unfamiliar with #2 (developing your own demos/games/apps for GBA), please take a look at some GBA developer scene links:
GBADEV
GBAEMU
Yahoo GBADEV Group
GBA Dev'rs
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?sp
Ranting about a misreading of a sentence and getting modded to +5 is just lame.
You gotta love Slashdot. And yes, the truth hurts.
Second...
To release software for any of these systems, you must be a licensed developer. Which costs money. Lots of money. This doesn't become much of a problem except everything you release must ALSO be offcially licensed through the parent company, which is where in lies the rub. When people mod their XBoxs (or any platform) this allows them to play and use virtually any UNLICENSED software people come up with: MAME, Pirated Games, Home-made games, Linux ports, you name it. Meaning - MicroSoft will NOT recieve a fat check for each of those titles you install, which they DEPEND on to make their system profitable (Currently, MicroSoft needs EACH XBox owner to buy 10 full price XBox games before they break even because they are selling the hardware at a $150 loss per machine (Source: TechTV Interview with director of marketing @ MicroSoft on XBox losses.). If everyone is just buying an XBox to run Linux and play MAME emulation, then this literally destroys the platform, and will eventually run it into the ground. Nintendo has learned a lot over the past years, and this time around they made sure they were making a profit on their GameCube and GameBoy Advance hardware so that any pirating or mod chipping will not damage their profit margin as much. Unfortunately, MicroSoft will learn the hard way, and even though they have 10 odd billion in reserves, they seriously do not want to spend it because everyone thought it would be "cool" to mod their XBox to play MAME or run Linux. This is why SONY, NINTENDO *an* MICROSOFT are all facing this together, it hurts them all. If you want to see the console industry to stick around, DONT mod your console and BUY lots an lots of games.
"Now wait - you say that modding the game console is a niche market (which it is) and that not a whole lot of people do it. I agree with this. So how are the game companies protecting their investments against 3rd party games? Niche markets don't drive game development. So any 3rd party game that was made would only be able to be played on a modded system. No game company is going to go to that trouble."
They worry about 3rd party companies circumventing their lockouts by other means then pointing to these methods and saying he who sees and does nothing gives consent. Or better yet "They are acting in an anticompetitive manner trying to quash a little third party developer." See the whole Sega versus Code Masters UK (I think) where any valid genesis game would generate a screen saying licensed by or produced by SEGA. They are all bullies about it.
i had no idea they inculded the stuff needed to flash them. that's really cool thanks for pointing it out.
-- john
Because MicroSoft is depending on the consumer to buy certain amount of software titles before it becomes profitable for them. If someone buys an XBox and mods it, and installs Linux and thats all they do, they are not paying in to buying actual licensed software for the XBox which MicroSoft wants a cut of.(Which is where they will eventualy make a profit on the HARDWARE you bought.) This is one of the main reasons the DreamCast died...
Not as much as failing to read the entire comment before showing your ass.
He was being sarcastic. Read more closely.
niche market? I don't know everyone single person i know that had PSX or Dreamcast had it chipped/had boot discs etc. Maybe I live in a hotbed of piracy. Though tbh the ps2 and xboxen don't seem to be being chipped as much, though i don't know as much people witht them
This is certainly OT -- But that is very cool. And just wanted to say so.
-- http://anonet.org -- The internet the way it was meant to be. Check it out, you may be surprised.
It *is* illegal to write software to run on these platforms. In order for it to run, you need the right key for the encrypted bios to allow the CD with your software to boot. To do this, you need to license it through the console owner. Bypassing this is illegal, and violates a few laws. Tengen did this with their TETRIS game in the mid 80s and Nintendo legally shut them down because they did not license their boot chip for the CART on the NES. Instead they made their own and broke quite a few laws. You can find more information about this on the web.
I noticed that Lik-Sang is still selling dreamcast Mod-Chips. (well they're still listed anyways but out of stock)
o du cts_id=68&
http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=42&pr
I understand that the dreamcast has reached the end of it's life. I also understand that most dreamcast consoles can run "backups" with no modchip whatsoever; however so have other consoles that had equipment designed for them removed from the site. Maybe sega just doesn't care, or maybe they overlooked it. Either way it's bold to leave anything out there when you're under the microscope like I'm sure these guys are right now.
Remember that you are unique, just like everybody else.
This is the "All Your Base are Belong to Us" effect. As anyone can see, the translation is a little buggy. I think what they meant was that they're not PLANNING on selling the questionable products in the future.
So where are the Nintendo fanboys now that they found out Nintendo also filed suit? I remember one poster who claimed he was buying a Gamecube instead of an XBox because Nintendo "cared" about their customers. Does this mean they don't care anymore?
My sig of choice is Marlboro
The last mention of this not only painted MS as the big bully that shut these guys down, but was also filled with posts about MS's crappy business plan that required strong anti-piracy|theft tactics. When we do our homework and realize that Nintendo and Sony were also involved, we easily ignore the fact that we spent 100's of posts bashing MS for "strong-armed" tactics. Why aren't we bashing the other two companies left and right?
There is no longer anything that can be done with computers that is nontrivial and clearly legal. -- Paul Phillips
You just described the Coriolis Effect, which does not affect planes (they move relative to wherever they are), as it would not affect a baseball hit to center field. The Jet Stream is the reason for the time difference.
Well, now that I won't be receiving my Flash Advance Linker thanks to Numbtendo, I think I'll throw it back into the box with the 3-4 games I had bought, and ship it back to N.O.A. demanding a refund. I was looking forward to cobbling together my own games for the little bugger, but now I would be forced to order from some shady asian weeners who lack Lik-Sang's reputation and track record, and who might just take my money and not send anything back.
It's not like my mother was going to buy one of these to copy games off the net.. it was more of a hacking tool than anything else. Once again the big corporate entity makes an ass of itself and alienates the people with the most disposable income : nerds!
-Billco, Fnarg.com
Lik-Sang unlike a number of other outlets not only sold modchips but also manufactured them and in doing so was infringing on the valid copyrights of the companies concerned. By being such a high profile player they were clearly just cresting the wave for as long as they could. MS & Co, didn't even force these guys out of business, all they did was prevent them selling the chips, seems pretty fair all in all.
There are no good guys, there are no bad guys, all there is, is business.
.) This is one of the main reasons the DreamCast died...
Yes, DC has a big hobbyist community(in relation to others anyway) but the # of hobbyists is miniscule... so tiny that it doesn't show up on radar in the states anyway. And I'd bet that Dreamcast probably has the highest game to console sell rate for any system ever. Why? Because a major portion of DC owners are very fanatical... NCSX just had a editorioal about how the DC community was and still is the most supportive console devotess. I myself have about 50 legal and purschased games.
I'm sad to hear lik-sang lost in HK court. In a way it proves big companies like M$, Sony and Nintendo regards consumers as "idiots" to be dealt with as sheep. Why can't they see the potential of consumers actually using their brain to make something good out of the products they are selling? We just started a community site for modchips and hope you will join/register... http://www.eurasia.nu ...there are Slashdot headlines (newsfeed) availabe, so you don't have to be nervous of missing out... :)
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Please tell me you're kidding, trolling, or just horribly misinformed.
whatever you "save" in money (which, given the expense and risk that you ruin your console in installing them is already marginal) you easily outspend in time wasted copying lousy games
A PSX modchip costs less than the price of one game, installed by one of many 'professionals'. Other systems are similar. In my city of 600,000 people, I know of at least 20 people who do this enough to declare it on their income tax return. Time spent to download and burn a game: maybe an hour tops. OK, say it's 4 hours - that's still well over $10usd an hour, far more than a good majority of console owners earn at their regular jobs. Fact is, modding and burning games saves a LOT of money if you know what you're doing (hell, even if you don't).
Very few consumers -- other than those addicted to piracy on general principles, or who get a kick out of feeling like they're getting away with something -- will ever install or use mod chips.
Sony sold something like 40 million Playstations. Estimates on the number of PSX modchips sold run well into the millions. Personally, I know very few people who haven't had their PSX modded, and this includes people without internet connections (some kid down the street is happy to burn you a copy of the game for $5), people who don't pirate anything else, and people who COULD afford the games, but figure hey, I can get it for free, so why not.
I don't know just what information you're drawing your conclusions from, but the fact is, modding a Playstation is cheap, easy, and pretty failsafe. Tack on the difference between $5 and full retail on a game, multiply that by the average number of games a person buys... there's a reason so many have modded their systems.
Endless arguments over trivial contradictions in books written by ignorant savages to explain thunder in the dark.
Sega have generally been easy on this.
They never persued Bleemcast for instance.
They went so far as to hire Steve Snake (author of the 2 best genesis emulators) to write the emulation layer for both the Sega Smash pack and Sonic Jam.
They've never persued mod chips, action replays or game genies.
The DC would quite happily play CDRs out of the box.
Some would maybe say : And look what happened to them.
Right. But the protection is there. You still have to get around it with a chip. Since the majority of Xboxes aren't chipped, I don't think any 3rd party game companies would bother creating games for it. I don't think that it should be totally open, but to continue to try and foil the hackers that want to hack on the box is stupid. Besides, even if it were open, and anyone could make a crappy game for it, it shouldn't be ILLEGAL to do so. I understand wanting to protect their investement, but don't make modding illegal.
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
1) MS release the XBox
2) Mod chips are sold to allow users to run unsigned code.
3) Lik-Sang become sole producer of upgradable mod chip that could overcome possible MS anti-mod detection.
4) MS Introduce mod detection code on games.
5) MS change XBox mobo so old mod chips cannot be installed.
6) MS shut down Lik-Sang.
Seems quite a comphrehensive and well planned strategy. If you buy an Xbox from a store today you can't chip it. If you have an old XBox you now can't buy the upgradable chip and the non-upgradable ones are illegal in most places due to them containing MS code.
I've absolutely no idea what the legal basis for the action against lik-sang. GBA flasher/PS chips contain no code copyrighted by the console producer and the XBox chips were being supplied unflashed for the last few months. Only justification would be their stocking of enigmah and such or preprogramming their pre-modded XBoxes.
Mental power tended to corrupt, and absolute intelligence tended to
corrupt absolutely, until the victim eschewed violence entirely in
favor of smart solutions to stupid problems.
-- Piers Anthony
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