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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
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.
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?
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?
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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.
Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
I think that the accessibility devices idea has merit. The same strategy is used to sell macrovision removal devices in the north american market without trouble from the mpaa.
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!!!!
Their trouble is that Nintendo control the manufacturing process for the mini-DVDs, and Nintendo don't want Freeloader to exist. Consequently, they're blocking it.
There have been ads for Freeload for a while, but the release date constantly 'slips'. My opinion is that we'll never see a release at all.
Cheers,
Ian
I think Open Source Modchips would be a much better idea. After all, aren't most of them just code running on generic microcontroller chips?
--
"Open source is good." - Steve Jobs
"Open source is evil." - Microsoft
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.
This is not about playing with new technologies. MS, Sony or Nintento couldn't care less about a small percentage of users modifying their consoles -- it's the mod chips that enable playing pirated games their biggest, and may I say, legitimate conserns.
There're lots of rich people in China who can't wait to shell out money for a console. However, depsite this potentially huge market, both MS and Sony have so far decided _not_ to release PS2 or X-box in China. Want to guess why?
What I don't understand is why is Microsoft more concerned in making a petty cut, when it is not able to sell the XBOX in the first place. I believe that the prospect of mod-chips and linux on XBOX fuelled the interest in XBOX and might have actually helped its sales. Well for a moment I was considering buying it. But now it remains doubtful.
Seriously, if were Microsoft, I wouldn't bother spending a huge amount of money on some petty lawsuits, that too away from america in some foreign country. I'd actually use that money to secretly fund these kind of guys to make more research for these kind of mod-chips. In return I'll try to understand their techniques and make my product more secure in future (But I personally want Microsoft to fail always!). In the process fuel interest in the product and sell it more.
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
As I recall, the modchips aren't 100% devoted to pirating. Some of them defeat region controls similar to DVD in order that people can play games from other regions i.e. that Japan-only release of Final Fantasy 5 that won't play on an unmodified US console. ( No, I don't know for a fact that FF5 in particular couldn't play on a US console, but off the top of my head it was the first game I thought of that wasn't released in the US.) Price fixing and captive audiences are not cool by me and I would definitely be less judgemental about the modchips because they aren't just a pirating tool.
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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)
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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.
So lets suppose you are a game developer. You can release on one, two, or all three of the platforms, but each platform is a costly port.
Two of the platforms make a big point of making it hard for pirated copies of your game to run and the third does not. Would that make a difference in which of the three platforms you release on?
After all a pirated copy of a game costs the console maker a royalty payment but it costs the sofware developer a whole sale.