Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft: No Xbox for You!
Markel writes "According this this story in the Sydney Morning Herald, Microsoft is very concerned about a man having been acquitted after allegedly selling [mod chips for a PlayStation]. So concerned in fact, that they are saying: change the law, or they will have to reconsider selling the Xbox in Australia. Not selling the Xbox is well within their rights, but putting it in a (I paraphrase slightly) "change the law or we'll .." context seems assuming a bit too much. I guess well see how many of our MPs are XBox gameheads."
The trial in question was actually about a man who sold PS2 mod chips to allow PS2s to play imported and copied games. Not some magical chip that allows the Xbox to play PS2 games.
:)
Excellent editing there.
I think they have every right to do this. Not only is it THEIR product, but the mod chips hurt them very much. As everyone has heard a million times, they loose money on the console... and then makes it up in the games. When people are actualy allowed to do this in an area, they should be able to say "Stop this, or we can't sell to your area." It's just the bottom line, and they are well within their rights.
Nintendo, Sony, and other companies over the years have had to deal with mod chips and people who like to mod their hardware. Last I checked, these companies are not having financial difficulty because of modding.
What bug is up MS's butt?
The One Rule Of Chess You'll Ever Need: Don't play someone who carries a kit in their bookbag.
This is good news in my opinion, more PS2 and Gamecube fans.
However, if they do this, what's stopping them from saying "Ban open-source or you lose Windows?"
Bugs are just features that have been fixed.
...couldn't Microsoft just be saying this to try and kick up sales of the Xbox? If the government refuses to change its position, then there'll probably be panic buying of Xboxes before MS withdraws them from Australia.
Note to M1-ers: a curt but otherwise insightful message is not "Flamebait" or "Troll".
I don't think they'd change their law for a GAME console
Maybe in 20 years from now we'll all need to move to Australia to have some rights
"The majority is always sane, Louis." -- Nessus
http://slashdot.jp
OMG! What if the Aussies decide to withhold something from us now...like...uhmmm...uhhh... nevermind =|
Why should australia care if MS sells the XBox there? Are they in such a horrible financial situation that not having the third place console out of three consoles sales wise would hurt them that much? Or do people over there just play THAT many games? Sheesh, talk about ego on the part of Microsoft.
You said it yourself: "Not selling the Xbox is well within their rights".
No qualifications; if they do not want to sell it, for whatever reason, you have no right to force them. Their reasoning, on the other hand, is of course open to criticism.
MS-bashing brings in the eyeballs, anyway...
This is even worse than them shutting down a company opperating under chinese law
When are we going to stop them?
Pain lasts, kid. Its how you know you're alive. Sometimes I think this growing up thing is just pain management-TheMaxx
Well this should make a change to the usual derogatory /. comments on how bad the laws are in our country.
...can we convince this man to sell mod chips for Windows, Office, Passport...
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According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Microsoft might stop selling the X-box, but apparently, not stop advertising in australian institutions. Upon clicking the link, I was greeted by a Xbox Racing banner ad. Hmmmm.
"Inattention makes clowns of us all" -Bean
The last thing needed by any country is laws from Microsoft.
Paying a few more bucks is for a computer is worth the freedom.
Speech: Free
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If I was an MSFT shareholder, I would find this news troubling to say the least. "Here at Microsoft we believe marketshare and expanding the Xbox community comes after making sure 1 or 2% of Austrailian users aren't using our product to play the "competition's" games." To quote Randolph Duke from Trading Places: "SELL! SELL!" *boggle*
As an early post said the article is wrong. The guy was selling mod chips for the PS/2. He had nothing to do with the Xbox.
So what Ballmer- go pack up your Xbox and leave- and take all that lost revenue with you. The Xbox has had an unspectacular launch in Australia with retailers even refusing to carry the stock because Microsoft was screwing them on the margins (e.g. Harvey Norman).
I believe six of then are called Bruce
Help fight continental drift.
they are $199... just ignore that PS2 logo on the side of the box, its the only box i had left. OH, and you'll need these 'special' xbox controllers. (the ps2 logos on those were misprints from the xbox factory, don't worry).
here is now it work, plug in your xbox, now plug in this 'mod chip' to the same power strip, and they will communicate using WiFi... put your PS2 games, in the 'mod chip' after plugging it in, and plug the 'mod controllers' into the 'mod chip' everything should work fine out of the box.
ENJOY,
i take orders at my website below -|
MARIJUANA, SHROOMS, X: ONLINE?! - E
After the launch of a Telstra mobile computing device, Mr Ballmer said the decision affected Xbox's business model, which relies on subsidising the hardware console in return for a royalty on every game sold.
The criminal law related to murder is bad for my business model as a hit man, which relies on accepting payment for people I have killed.
...he'd be the proverbial cowboy who shoots himself in the foot. Instead of handling this like any other sort company would, they freak out and say they'll deny a whole region of the world the pleasure of a crappy console. Fools. Quick, someone come out with something like that here in America!
Big deal so you can play an imported game on your console. If you bought the fscking game they got their cut, so why shouldn't you be able to play it?
Or am I missing something?
'Cause neither the poster nor the submitter appear to have read it.
Jesus Christ, Taco, are you paying people to do this shitty of a job? I sure as hell hope not.
of a company/industry seeking legal protection for an otherwise obsolete/broken business model. sound familiar?
you buying an xbox doesn't help MS, because they don't make any $ on them. you buying GAMES makes them happy, and you won't be buying any if you chip it and start pirating them.
It wont be even 30% anyway. So how much money will MS lose to the modders? Not much compared to the undercutting they are currently doing themselves on the xbox.
Are they trying to blame modders for their bad marketing techniques?
the business model is fucked up. Price the DOS-box accordingly, and separate the games from the hardware. This is like giving mobile phones away for 10 cents and then bringing in the money on charges... totally fucked up as a long term business strategy. I bought a relatively expensive home theater system to watch DVD:s. Now, if they had sold this system for a bargain and then would have tied it to DVD sales for 50 bucks a title, I would never had considered buying DVD:s in the first place. Likewise, I have no game console, because the games prices are outrageous, which of course spurs pirating (unlike the DVD market, where prices are not unreasonable; the talk on piracy there is Valenti baloney). If anything is hurting M$, it is their own greed. Selling an expensive DOS-box plus fifty cheap games would benefit both Microsoft and the customer much more than selling an inexpensive DOS-box, ten expensive games and thirty pirated games. Furthermore, if there was no such licensing hassle, it would be a god damn big plus if the DOS-box could play PlayStation games! It would kill off PS, because DOS-box hardware is newer and better.
frawaradaR anahaha islaginaR!
To forbid the sale of anything Microsoft owns. Or at least make it look like they are going to. I bet Microsoft will be the one backpeddling then!
--Won't that be grand? Computers and the programs will start thinking and the people will stop. - Dr. Walter Gibbs
They are going to "reconsider" selling the xbox? They need every possible market to sell this money-loser. It would be stupid to lock out a whole market of potential buyers. Are they going to sit back and let Sony and Nintendo take over? If this were true, Sony would want to lose this modchip case, it would end up helping them in the end.
I just don't buy it.
This is a prime example of when someone should call Microsoft's bluff.
Why don't they just threaten to sto seling ALL M$ products in australia...
Would probably work... Of course, if they weren't bluffing, and they didn't change the law it would be good thing for linux.
Any law changes they make should be set to expire in a year, when Microsoft will have discontinued the X-Box and they'll be $49.95 at Toys-R-Us. I wonder if I will be able to interface my IntelPlay(R) Microscope to an X-Box?
PS/2 + modchip = CanPlayThirdPartyGames
Canon + adapter = CanUseThirdPartyLenses
...one year!
People have established that Microsoft isn't attacking hackers directly. If you want to open up your xbox and piss on the circuits, BillyBorg can't stop you. If you manufacture and sell commercially a means to circumvent or alter their code, they can. The real question is, why?
Basically, MS could care less about someone making money doing this. What they really care about is what this enables. A commercial outfit, manufacturing and selling components *enables* virtually all people to purchase xboxes with the *intent* of using them for alternate purposes. If they leave hack-shops unchecked for long, they have basically allowed a competing market to develop against what they really want to sell - games and service.
If I want to purchase an xbox because I want to mod it AND I know I can just buy a chip online with ease, Microsoft would rather not sell me the xbox in the first place. Since they can't discriminate against buyers, they can make it more difficult for me to purchase a chip. Microsoft is not targetting the hardcore hackers. If you want to hack an xbox that badly and you have the skills, you'll do it. Who they *are* targetting is the average Joe Sixpack who buys an xbox. If he buys it and later sees he can easily purchase and install a mod to do things like play pirated games or run a webserver, Microsoft has just lost marketshare in the market that counts.
THAT's what they are trying to stop. Not hacking, but the widespread usage of manufactured mods by average users.
Could this be that a country has recognized that a PS2 or an Xbox or other high-tech toy is really not any different from a toaster? Sunbeam has no say over what we do with a toaster after we buy it. If we choose to turn a toaster into a robot, or modify it into a rotisserie oven, that's our right. We can modify it in any way we choose to. If I were to offer a modkit to turn a toaster into a rotisserie oven, that is my right, but more importantly, that is the right the consumer has under common law. Current IP laws are in direct conflict with this, how it ends is any ones guess, but it is an interesting fight.
Do the words "significant non-infringing use" mean anything to these people? It's their own fault really. If companies would drop this price-fix^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hregion-coding nonsense so that the only real use of modchips was to play copied games, I might have a tiny bit of sympathy for them, but not as long as they keep sneaking in these extra restrictions that have nothing to do with copyright. Don't let the door hit yer ass on the way out, MS.
I don't get it.. Why does the big companies care so much whether or not people make modding chips for the consoles, as long as the modding chips enhance the consoles so the owners can use them for additional fun? I mean, what they should care about is whether or not they get good sales for their product - whether those products are bought from Europe, US, Asia, whatever - they still get the royalties don't they?
Heck, zone 1 dvd's are way more expensive here in Norway than zone 2 dvd's anyways... After all, they're imported wares and such.. Same should go for these wares, shouldn't it?
God does not play dice - Albert Einstein
to have the Xbox play PS2 games. This would involve building an emulator and would be very difficult with the PS/2's proprietary hardware.
Bleem! tried this with the PS-one emulator for the PC. They were never able to get it working without bugs and it was not able to play all the PS-one games. They eventually went out of business (and the fact that Sony was suing them left and right didn't help either).
Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
Where to get the modchip the cheapest?
There is about to be a glut of them on the Austrailian market.
You better book a flight.
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The decision in the case (Kabushiki Kaisha Sony Computer Entertainment v Stevens [2002] FCA 906) is available here
This was the first attempted prosecution in Australia under the changes introduced in the Copyright Amendment (Digital Agenda) Act 2000, and Sony has vowed to appeal the above adverse decision to the full bench of the Federal Court.
If their business model is so dependent on you buying certified Xbox games then why don't they just make a contract that you have to sign when purchasing it? It could be for say a duration of 12 months during which time you can't modify the hardware, then after that time you can do what you want with it. Afterall it's your peice of hardware in the end. Although really, it looks as though they are running around like paranoid monkeys. Do we see Sony threatening not to sell Playstations in Australia?
Well if Microsoft holds even the slightest chance of changing the law, then I suggest anyone in Australia should go and tell their local Federal MP that they don't want this to happen. See How to Get Politicians' Attention and How to Visit a Politician for tips on dealing with politicians. Of course it has to be said that visiting your local MP in person is the most effective way of getting your point across.
Jeremy
Melbourne, Australia
Jabber Australia
I hope the government doesn't pass a hasty new law to appease microsoft.... just think of the implications if it got applied to pubs. I'd get in all sorts of trouble if I drink their cheap beer during happy hour then go out clubbing instead of shouting rounds for everyone at the bar until I pass out with an empty wallet.
It sounds to me like Mr Balmer is a little confused. Microsoft sells the Xbox, not license the console to somebody while retaining ownership of the hardware. He should consider that as a new business model, then in 6 months he can introduce an annual license renewal charge and double profits.
On another track though... whatever happenned to the ACCC investigation that region controls for DVD's were anticompetitive and thus illegal in Australia? Seems like a playstation modchip to allow imported games to be played would follow a similar line of reasoning.
"Change the law or no native australian Xboxes"... thats what it sounded like. Everyone will import them from US or Japan, and play games on them, with the modchips that let them do so.
Someone at Microsoft didn't think this one through. Austrailia appears to be well on the ball regarding the rights of its citizens to access content they've purchased. The ACCC (http://www.accc.gov.au/) routinely stands against region restrictions in various forms, whether its games or dvds.
Will they budge? Who knows. This is all saber rattling on Microsoft's part, since whether or not they cut XBox sales in Australia, they'll still get the (well, negative amounts of) money when consumers start importing.
If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
I just saw the last shred of journalistic integrity go down the fucking drain here! XBox mod chip to play PS2 games my ass!
Why not just let the trolls post stories about free RAM with links to goatse.cx?
Slashdot Reader: Oh wow, free ram OH MY GOD THAT IS SO SICK MY EYES MY EYES THEY BURN ARrrrrr....
Damn it.
Robots are everywhere, and they eat old people's medicine for fuel.
XBoxes or Windows... does anyone remember when Micro$oft made comments some time back that an unfavorable DOJ ruling would force Micro$oft to reconsider selling Windows??
Another example of how Microsoft thinks of its customers and of itself in relationship to them.
Yes, they may stop selling XBox in Australia. Will this matter in the long run? Probably not. Those in Australia who really want an XBox will buy one by other means and the world will keep spinning in the same manner as it always has.
The only concering thought is that Microsoft thinks they will prevail and if they do, what other products will they threaten to pull?
What about Windows XP and updates... now that there is some feedback to Microsoft about what copies of Windows are used and where is it conceivable that Microsoft may use this new data as justification to stop selling or disallowing users from certain geographic areas to download needed product updates? Mmm our records show that x% of users from IP blocks designated to your county, province, country are actually pirate copies. Change the laws or we will cut all of your country off from updates.
"If there are aspects [of our business model] that are not allowed, it would encourage us to require a change in the legal framework."
Wow. Can you imagine what the head of Microsoft Autralia is thinking right now? His boss just said Microsoft would "REQUIRE" Australia to change it's laws. How do you think the Australian Government and citizens feel about Microsoft telling it what it requires.
Don't moderate flamebait as Troll. Know the difference or you will be Meta-moderated.
1. Get scared about a modchip which might slightly reduce number of games sold.
2. Withdraw all X-Boxen
3. ???
4. Profit!!
The article is right, the summary on slashdot is wrong.
After all, who in their right mind would think you could make a modchip to make an Xbox play PS2 games? they're entirely different architectures. You might as well gut an XBox and a PS2 and put the whole innards into the XBox case.
Still, it would be cool... imagine how many final fantasy savegames you could fit onto that harddrive.
If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
MS is probably willing to go to great lengths to keep the XBox market alive. They just reported huge earnings and have something like $30B cash so they can comfortably lose money on the XBox for years until they gain market share. For them to give up just because something didn't make economic sense right now wouldn't be like Microsoft. Look at their history, for crying out loud.
And if they do pull out just to spite you, well, no big loss. PS3 will probably be out before you could change your laws anyway.
From the article quoting Steve Balmer:
"If there are aspects that are not allowed, it would encourage us to require a change in the legal framework. Otherwise, it wouldn't make economic sense."
If the legal frame work of a given locality doesn't support your business model, don't use it. In the past few years we've all seen a bunch of crazy business models crash at full speed into the solid wall of reality. What Balmer is proposing here makes even the worst dot-bomb plan look sterling. Even groups like the RIAA and the MPAA can claim that "times and technology have changed" when they go to try to change laws. In this case MS is the newcomer to an existing markeplace that has had to deal with the problem of mod chips for quite some time. I suppose that this just shows that you don't have to smart to help run a multi-gajillion dollar company.
Hopefully the "change the law" business model doesn't become as popular as the "put it online and they will buy it" model was. If this takes off one can just imagine the headlines: "Company fails to buy law, declares bankruptcy." If that wouldn't be grounds for a mismanagement suit on the part of investors, I don't know what would be.
Never disturb your enemy while he is busy making a mistake.
I have a hard time believing ... that Microsoft is not a monoploy when it has teh power to push around a non thrid world country
Choosing the lesser of two evils is a choice for evil.
the Japanese importers are going to love MS.
They lost a case and now they want to whine. I guess Austrialia will just import them from another country, if they don't change them.
Mandatory Princess Bride quote...
... And Australia, as everyone knows, is peopled with criminals and criminals are used to having people not trust them...."
BTW: There really is a print version of "The Princess Bride", in an abridged version by William Goldman, (Because the original by the esteemed S. Morgenstern is much too long and horrible to read.)
LongTail SSH Brute Force analysis tool is here!
My god, how lame can you get.
stupid arses.
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
Sadly, I've not read all of the rest of the comments, so this might be redundant. oh well
An earlier post pointed out that the guy was selling mod chips for the PS/2 that would let it play, at least, imported PS/2 games. If the same guy made a chip like this for the x-box, why would that be detrimental to microsoft? It would probably help their sales if Australians could buy x-box games at a lower rate from other countries and play them on an x-box they picked up down the street.
Does anyone reading this find a flaw in this argument?
"I swear I won't break you if you let me take you where the willows never weep" -- Switchblade Symphony
Thats a bit hyopcritical of you. AND your quoting links from the uk? what your talking about is commonplace there and happens ALOT more than it does anywhere else in the world!
It costs governments money to take care of reugees so whats so bad about giving a smaller country assistance in caring for these people?
Talk about over reacting.
Great PR move! Multi-billion dollar American company issuing threats against a soverign nation. I'm sure that having their legislature kow-tow to arrogant foreigners will go over really well with Australian voters. Ballmer needs a clue. Threats are GWB's job. Steve is just a song and dance guy.
----------
Manifesto for the Peoples of the Third Millennium
I wish there was some there was some way that I could be outside playing basketball, in the rain, and not get wet.
In Oz, it's essentially illegal to enforce region coding, which this stoush seems to be about. It's considered anti-competitive. Similarly, a company cannot stop a product from being imported into the country, even if it already sold there (no anti-grey marketting laws). So basically you could still get your xboxen if you really wanted to and MS can do fuck all about it.
It's interesting to note that Visa and Mastercard are thretening similar action if the Reserve bank doesn't back down on some reforms.
One day, when we get rid of all the evil corporates, Australia will be the perfect place to live.
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If Australia does make any changes, then it essentially proves that Microsoft owns them.
MS seems to be the only console-making company that seems to have gotten all upset over MOD chips.
Are they so scared of some HUGE flaw being discovered through the chip (like an XBox Live hack?)?
Modchips that allow imports to play are perfectly legal. Just like multi-region dvd players are fine, but disabling macrovision is not. We defend this in Oz as we are often last to get releases even if they are released here at all. Due to our small market, sometimes the only way to get a game or dvd you want is to import it. The ACCC would fight MS on this one, as they fought the DVD companies over region zoning.
make such a mod chip for the PS2 (probably already do?) does that mean Microsoft will ban the Xbox from America?
... at least Microsoft Doesn't make EULAs for cars.
Forget changing your own oil let alone installing performance parts.
I really don't think they're going to ban the X-Box in Australia. (Just like they're not going to ban Windows in China, which is reported to have a very high piracy rate.) They're just fluffing hot air to manipulate opinion.
On the other hand, maybe some of these 'Microsoft sanctions' we've heard about would result in a laughable embargo against Australia. Gooooo Balmer!
"Xbox to play Sony PS2 games"
Huh? Wha? How can you play a completely unrelated game on a completely different hardware platform? If it's done via emulation, then why haven't we seen any emulators for the PC (which the XBox is an extremely closer equivilent to than a PS2)? Lets sum up a PS2: Proprietary CPU, proprietary GPU, a bear and a half to code for... Compared to an Xbox which is simply a PIII 750 with 64 Mb SDRAM and a proprietary knockoff of the Nforce chipset/GPU... Methinks the article poster needs to doublecheck his articles more often, especially since the article he refers to states specifically:
"Microsoft would be forced to reconsider selling the Xbox video game system in Australia, or seek changes to the law, following the acquittal in July of a Sydney man alleged to have sold chips that modify a Sony PlayStation 2 to play imported games, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said yesterday."
Microsoft is not complaining about XBox mod chips, they're complaining about Playstation 2 modchips, which, if not declared illegal in a court of law, set a precedent making mod chip manufacture/retailing for the XBox legal as well...
It helps to read the article now and then guys...
Just because you can mod me down, doesn't mean you're right. Shoes for industry!
microsoft knew what type of market they were getting into when they started the xbox. Now they're getting all pissy about the modchips. It's not like mod chips are something exclusively for an xbox.
Just so the Judge in the MS antitrust case gets the message that MS is putting out, everybody reading /. should forward the link of the referenced article to her.
Anybody got a relevant email address?
Drone: "Sir! The Australian Republic has failed to give into our demands to change our laws. There is only one thing we must do?"
Master: "Yes, subserviant one?"
Done: "You must CONSIDER an X-Box embargo on Australia!"
Master: "I have considered it. Next topic of business, my pet?"
It's no surprise to me that Microsoft is becoming more and more aggressive with it's dealings in Australia. They just recently lost their single biggest customer (Telstra). That deal is not finalised and it will be at least a couple of years before it has true impact, but the tide is turning here... against Microsoft.
The legal precedent in question took the nature: "If I buy a car, am I allowed to re-fit the engine?" The law granted that unless Sony gave a lifetime guarantee they had no further right to any single PS2 once it was legitimately sold to a consumer. The consumer had full rights to do whatever they wanted to that one instance of hardware because it is their property.
Personally, I back the argument in question and say that Microsoft should get a new business model (or make good on their threat and stop selling their shite here).
Mods on crack. Fuckers.
Are the games more expemsive here than overseas? or are the release schedules different? or even is the beast trying to set a precident for something else they want to try out here? rent office XP anyone?
Could even be that they plan to use us as a test for the mandatory DRM they have been pushing with the MPAA/RIAA
The realy scarey thing is that they are likley to actually get the law changed here. The minister responsible for technology is a total luddite, and has already allowed telstra to destroy broadband in this country. Anyone who would allow that will just say "Yes Sir" to anything Bill wants.
Another poster suggested vistiting the minsiters, any other aussies want to try that with alston (aka the worlds greatest luddite)?
Now if we could just turn the wrath of M$ toward some of our enemies......
How does Mod Chips effect MS revenue? By the way, lets not forget that at the beginning these guys were cool... they were the little folk who were lil nothings... lets not forget that. What happened to you Bill? You used to be so cool...
if someone emulatated a PS2 console on the computer, then turned their Xbox into a computer and started playing ps2 games, I dont see a problem with that. Microsoft was dumb for taking a PC and putting it in a small package and calling it a XBOX game console.
keanmarine.com
Nobody is claiming the intellectual property rights on behaving like a 3 year old ...
---- "Logoff! That cookie shit makes me nervous!" - A. Soprano
WTF!!!!????? In my opinion I buy a product I should be able to do as I please with it, as long as I do not steal their technology, I should be well within my rights. I think a modchip that allows gypsy stolen games is not illegal, but using it for that purpose is. I do not think the act of modifying hardware itself is criminal.
...so Microsoft will stop selling XBoxes here.
Slightly OT: Imagine what Microsoft will do when people figure out how to mod chip Palladium-"Enchanced" motherboards?
"Chage the law or else we'll stop selling Windows." YEA, THAT will go over well.
CAn'T CompreHend SARcaSm?
READ THE SUBJECT!
Australia gets heavily gouged on audio CDs, (despite the fact that the CDs are usually pressed in Australia, they cost considerably more than in the US).
Hence our laws were written to allow parallel importation, and to deny region control of copyright.
That is, its legal for an australian consumer to purchase legally, a CD, or computer game in the US, and self import it, for use in Australia. Often times, this is cheaper than buying them here, air-mail postage and all!
Therefore the devices are not purely circumventing copyright, but under Australian law, enabling fair first use by a paying customer.
Incidently, since parallel importation has been allowed in Australia, the price of CDs has been *mysteriously* held constant...
Amazing how little pressure it takes to control monopolies, and no suprises that the world largest monopoly, is threatening to take its bat and ball, and go home...
Well, OK. Try these instead. It's not like this is a BBC VS Australia thing...
I'm going over here and I don't know why!
Also, there are a number of other laws that contribute to this - reverse engineering is a legal right, so someone can build mod chips in Oz (where do you think the majority of Samba core developers are?). In addition, our local consumer & competition board are investigating the whole region locking thing. From the various news reports going around, it seems like they are about to make region locking illegal because it is classed as anti-competitive. If that does happen (probably >80% chance given previous actions of Prof Fels) then mod chips will most definitely be legal in Oz.
Life is complete only for brief intervals in between toys or projects -- John Dalton
All your ships are belong to us!
The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
I've seen a few outraged posts about the ps2 on xbox error in the writeup. Out of curosity, if you chipped your xbox, would you be able to run a playstation emulator under xbox linux? ;-)
Maybe msft should rent xboxes if they really don't want people dicking with them. Or they could just pour each one full of epoxy, so it's just one solid brick
MS to Australia: This is the Xbox, the most powerful gaming console. But you can't rent games for it, you can't buy games for it. Heck, you can't even buy the console itself in your country. You're lucky we show you this amazingy thing at all! Just remember, you can't play it!
--
Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
Look out for M$FT minions offering 'campaign donations'. I admit I am somewhat ignorant of Aussie politics (sorry ... can barely stand ours sometimes), but if politicians are the same the world over, you can expect that M$FT will be looking to seduce yours soon.
When M$FT comes calling to your politicians bearing gifts and speaking of making the necessary legal changes to favor M$FTs 'business model', I urge everyone Down Under to pick them up(M$FT, that is), drag them to the ocean, throw them in and tell them to swim for it.
An honest politician is one who STAYS bought.
-- Windows is not simply installed on a computer; it is inflicted.
Once again, X-Box, don't have one, don't want one.
How about some non-proprietary news instead.
The mere idea that an incredibly complex, though inferior, PS2 game would play on an xbox with a chip from some schmo borders on the absurd. THINK.
I've got to believe that Microsoft gave the word "Xbox" some thought before announcing it as the official name. Traditionally, the letter "x" has always meant unknown, or not bound by rigid direction.
I'm sure you all recall the reason why Malcolm Little changed his name to Malcolm X? The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition sixth definition of "x" states the letter x can also be known as an "unknown or unnamed factor, thing, or person". So wouldn't it reasonable to assume that by Microsoft calling their console, the Xbox, instead of say the Microsoft Box or MBox that Microsoft is essentially saying, "you can use our Box for whatever you want. The possibilities are limitless and unknown"?
Am I right? Am I wrong?
Under treaties like NAFTA, a company can challenge the laws of a member country, claiming that the said member country is not allowing their product to be sold within the same environment that they enjoy within their own country. I wonder if something like this *did* happen how long would it take for microsoft to buy their way into a political fight to get the australian government to do what microsoft wants.
Open your mind to corporate interest RATM
Best site on the internet homestarrunner, specifically strongbad email
Every thing I've read about the XBox indicates that MS is losing their asses on this one...they don't control the production of the components like Sony and Nintendo. In fact, when Nintendo dropped it's price, Sony and MS followed suit -- only MS apparently went below the cost of production -- still hoping to make up the difference in game royalties.
Couple of items.
1) Now is a really, really bad time to be telling us what to do about our own laws. We are in a state of mourning over the Bali Terrorist attack. A foreign company telling us to change our laws will go down like a lead ballon. The desires of a company to sell products is right at the bottom of important things list.
2) The regional encoding is likely to illegal under the Trade Practices Act (similar to the US Anti-Trust law by wider ranging). Currrently the ACCC (the statutory authority assigned to oversea compliance with the TPA) is taking DVD producers to court over this very issue. If the ACCC wins then regional encoding of games will also be illegal.
Microsoft is threatening to not sell the XBox in Australia due to a guy being acquitted for making mod chips. Now just above Australia, is China. Wasn't there some crazy stat that 78% (2000) of the software in China is pirated and Microsoft is still selling there? If I was a Microsoft share holder I would be concern on the focus of Microsoft. I think less XBox mods are going to sell compared to copies of Office or XP.
Pull your finger out or we'll break yer bloody neck!
And don't you answer back, or we'll give yer face a smack!
Aw, bite yer bum!
(may be more memorable as the rewritten "Shut uppa yer face", a rewrite of the above Australian comedy song done with an Italian accent.)
Now we'll have the australian hackers back working on Linux for PCs again instead! Woohoo!
In SOVIET RUSSIA... erm...NSA AMERICA, the Internet logs onto YOU!
That is possibly why the guy in australia got off. Their gov was doing an 'investigation' to decide whether sony was guilty of price fixing. Which they are; the whole idea is that people in different regions are willing/able to pay different amounts for a produce. They want their prices for each region to be as high as possible, without going over that region's consumer price limit.
"Never, never suspect the dreams within the dreams of dreaming children." ~The Amazon Quartet
Your ass isn't nice enough to appear in "Celluite Weekly"
Don't come around here talking about "your ass". Because "your ass" might just hung out in "a sling". With hillbillies "fucking" it.
So careful where you stick "your ass"
on if it weren't for the "magical chip
that plays ps2 games on an xbox"
in the post.
Yeesh!
Australia was originally a prison colony.
cute kola bears and kangaroos. (pictures)
Even perverted kangaroos (1, 2)
Of course, if it weren't for Autralia, we wouldn't have nightmares about Yahoo Serious.
Sorry for the late post, but I just saw this article and I have to wonder if it isn't a bunch of crap on Microsoft's part. Let's say Australia calls the bluff, and doesn't do a thing. Is Microsoft seriously NOT going to sell Xbox in that market? And miss out on the chance to purchase that much more mindshare? Please. It would just be a bigger incentive for the modchip makers.
Microsoft is just full of itself, and trying to spread FUD like usual.
-ZOD-
The games do have to be programmed differently if they are going to be run on NTSC or PAL.
Oh really? PAL has two variations: the 625-line, 50-Hz PAL used for European TV, and the 525-line, 60-Hz PAL/M used for Brazilian TV and for European video games. PAL/M gives exactly the same pixel count (about 720x480) as the NTSC signal used in Japan and the USA. Thus, NTSC-style games on modern PAL consoles will run in PAL/M mode. (Older PAL consoles often halted the CPU during the extra scanlines of PAL, resulting in a slower game.) Not only do almost all PAL TVs multisync to both PAL and PAL/M signals, many can also display NTSC signals.
Another reason Nintendo releases at different times in different regions is they have a policy of only releasing a game after translating it to the local language
Then why not simultaneously release in the United States and the United Kingdom?
The real reason for region coding is the fact that different companies may own the copyrights or the exclusive licenses under copyright on a given work in different countries. For instance, Peter Pan fell out of copyright a long time ago in the United States, but the United Kingdom has passed a statutory perpetual copyright on the work and on all derivative works. The region lockout is intended partly to enforce parallel-import restrictions on works in markets where they don't have copyright clearance.
Will I retire or break 10K?
Ms is just looking for any excuse to stop selling the xbos these days huh?
Open Source Java Web Forum with LDAP authentication
er.. console out of the market.
sounds good to me. computer games deserve better than PC's.
Best news I've heard today. Goodbye xbox.
Again, these are EXCLUSIVES
Caps lock means you're so sure of the exclusivity of those titles...
Battlefield: 1942
1942 was on the NES.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Fact: Willow has appeared in an NES game.
Ninja Gaiden
Not an exclusive. It has appeared on the NES. It's also coming to the Game Boy Advance, in a slightly modified form (different story because of unavailability of characters for licensing, but classic Ninja Gaiden gameplay is still there) as Return of the Ninja. ("Gaiden" means "sequel".)
Robotech
Fact: 1-800-Robotech was the phone number for Quarterdeck Software, publisher of the QEMM memory manager for DOS. US telephones don't have Q or Z in the mnemonic labels on their number keys, which is why Blizzard's American phone number had the word "SNOW" at one time.
Superman: Man of Steel
Superman appeared in a rather crappy (to put it lightly) Nintendo 64 title. What makes this new Xbox version so much better? (question, not flamebait)
Unreal Championship
Isn't that just UT or UT2003 adapted for a console? If so, I might as well run UT on my Quake/MAME cabinet.
WWF RAW 2
Panda wrestling?
Halo alone is worth the price of the [Xbox] console right there.
Super Smash Bros. Melee is worth the price of a GameCube console right there, and in a couple months, the GameCube will be getting its own Halo killer, called Metroid Prime.
If I had to choose between Halo and 50 PS2 games, the choice would be clear.
I thought of another bad PS/2 joke. Once Bochs is ported to PS2 Linux, does that mean that the Sony PS2 can in effect become a PS-Slash-2?
Will I retire or break 10K?
Too bad, so sad it hurts little old Microsoft that people modify their products.
While I can't speak to Australian law, specifically, the following is derived from general Anglo-American common law principles that are followed pretty much everywhere English is the primary language.
What you describe as Microsoft's RIGHT to pressure a government into using the criminal law against their customers is, I think, based upon a flawed understanding of the underlying legal framework.
Unlike the sale of a software license, which is arguably subject to a (might be, might not be) enforceable EULA, the sale of a game console is a sale of goods. Once I hand over my money at BestBuy, CompUSA or Fry's and I receive the goods, they are MY property, NOT Microsoft's. Their rights in the transaction are limited to the following:
While prohibition of anti-circumvention devices MIGHT be permissible with regard to items protected by copyright (i.e., DVDs, CDs), a manufacturer attempting to outlaw modification of a purely physical good they have sold is stepping WAY over the line. The reason for this is that there is NO enforceable contract inherent in an exchange of money for a physical good, and no attempt to wrap a hardware sale in a "thou shalt not modify" EULA is going to be enforceable.
Any court I can imagine that is governed by Anglo-American legal tradition is going to treat such an effort as pure overreaching by the seller for the purpose of locking out competition (like Microsoft hasn't tried THAT before).
Frankly, I HOPE Microsoft makes a SERIOUS effort to threaten Australia like the article appears to suggest they are. It's about time they found out that there is an effective limit to even THEIR market power.
For the benefit of those who weren't listening before, Microsoft's RIGHTS in a hardware sale are 1) a warranty that says, "if you try to modify it and break it you get to keep BOTH the pieces", and 2) the right NOT to sell in a particular market. I, for one, cannot see Microsoft forsaking the game console market in the entire Anglo-American portion of the world just because the law won't play their way.
utter rubbish
Amazing.
Razor companies sell the handle as a loss-leader, making up huge profits on the blades. Sure, some third-party blades that fit the handle come out that are cheaper, and the original company complains somewhat, but the vast majority continue to buy the "genuine article", and life goes on.
Ink jet printer manufacturers probably don't make a dime on the printers themselves: the profit is in the ink carts. Yes, some people buy refill kits, but still the vast majority buy the real replacement cartridges. Token complaining aside, the printer maker is happy.
The same is true, I'm certain, with the X-Box. There aren't that many modded systems out there to make more than the tiniest dent in actual sales of X-Box games. In a sane political environment, Microsoft would whine a bit but really, there would be nothing they could do, as the console belongs to the citizen and it should be none of Microsoft's business what anyone does with it.
Microsoft, however, has the advantage of being on the "right" side of the WIPO treaties which forbid all this "digital theft", and effectively remove a person's right to do what he/she wants with their own property. The USA was a "leader" in this: by passing the DMCA in 1998, they were easily the first Western nation to ratify this crap into what is now international law.
Most countries that signed onto the agreement haven't yet ratified it, but most are getting close to doing so.
Seems the Australian court system wasn't told how to rule properly on this issue. Ballmer thinks that a nudge may be required to make sure Australia is in line. Must be nice to have that kind of influence.
Look at the tomato! Isn't it sad? He can't dance! Poor tomato!
For MS to have less global market share, yuo should be hailing this!!
Stop and think about it. NTSC and PAL run at different resolutions. Of course which resolution you use is going to make a difference on the game.
NTSC and PAL run at different resolutions, but PAL/M runs at the same resolution and frequency as NTSC.
Will I retire or break 10K?
(I paraphrase slightly) "change the law or we'll .."
Odd, I thought paraphrase meant, "a restatement of a text, passage, or work giving the meaning in another form" (from Merriam-Webster's). What we have here (imagine Southern drawl) is a failure... to communicate.
Looks like you should put the crack pipe down before you submit a story embroidered out of whole cloth to Slashdot... God knows that the "editors" won't.
Just to expand on this a little...
The reason that regional encoding in general is viewed so dimly in Australia is simply because as a small market, Australia frequently gets hammered on prices relative to the rest of the world.
So, regional encoding looks like it's really set up to be price gouging to Australians.
There's been several investigations into, eg why CDs cost so much more in Australia than in other countries, or at least used to, before the exchange rate bombed.
Of course, this is the great thing about the internet. You can find the price of anything in nearly any market.
Frequently governments find this troubling, because it means they are missing out on sales tax, duties etc.
For corporations, I've heard of situations where they simply go and set up a subsidiary in the country which offers the cheapest relative price and do a corporate wide deal.
Consumers don't have that luxury, but Oz seems to have some resistance built up re this nonsensical price fixing by global corporations.
So does Anonymous Coward have good karma?
Maybe, but there's nothing illegal about taking steps to only play the content they want played. Consumers are free not to buy it, after all.
it has worked for sony
But I could see them abandoning the Xbox completely if it doesn't make them money. In fact, they probably WILL do that. That's only common sense.
And I could also definitely see console companies going away completely if for (in the perhaps ridiculous) example they all realize their margins are far less than what they could be getting doing something else, or if in the perhaps even more unlikely example that they AREN'T making any profit, just not doing business. I'm not privy to the exact margins of the industry, but I'd bet that even 10% piracy rates could make it unattractive to play in that field.
I wouldn't consider it entirely unlikely, if in the event that these business models are "outmoded" as everyone seems to think they are, that there really isn't any mass-market method to replace them, and the future will consist of very little games in general.
Of course, the more likely example is that the games market will be the PC market, since that's a relatively easy market in which to (alt.binaries.warez) engage in piracy, and its more or less done "OK" (but not great) for the past 15 years. I'd be comfortable with that, with video gaming remaining a niche market that supported a few people. Of course, losing the ability to "just play it" and ALWAYS having to deal with the annoyances of PC gaming for all video-gaming WOULD be a set-back for the consumer, I think.
Lets just take this apart a little to see the stench inside shall we?
From the article:
Microsoft would be forced to reconsider selling the Xbox video game system in Australia
Now the spin:
Take the word 'forced', for example. Why exactly is that word in there? Who is forcing them? Is the force economic or social or some other force? Have they been given some sort of order that they must follow? How exactly does one force a large company like microsoft to do anything?
What they are saying is that they are forced to decide. Forced really adds little here because it is the deciding that actually matters and that is why decide is clearly the right word choice here, not forced. Indeed.
More from the article:
, or seek changes to the law, following the acquittal in July of a Sydney man
And the spin
Now they take that little bit of momentum gained from the poor use of 'forced' above and add to it. Here they polarize the issue. When one polarizes an issue, they generally have one good choice, which is the one they want you to identify with, and that other bad choice. Simple isn't it. Just change the law and things will be good because things can either be good or bad, and none of us wants bad so lets work together for good huh? Sounds reasonable doesn't it?
It's not. They limit all the avaliable choices to exactly two. The one they want, and the one that nobody wants. Realistically there are many other options avaliable to them, but that complicates things just a little. Can't have that when you are trying to sway public opinion about complicated things. Keep it simple, that way it's easier for everyone to see your point.
More from the article:
alleged to have sold chips that modify a Sony PlayStation 2 to play imported games
And the spin:
Alleged? Where do we normally hear that word? We hear that word when we refer to someone who we think committed a crime. This is a negative word, not a positive one... ever. Can you remember the last time you heard the word 'alleged' in connection with something good? I can't.
Now that's a pretty decent piece of spin because of what comes next. What is that you ask? The actual crime! In this case it happens to be selling chips that allow people to play imported games. There is so much wrong with this I almost don't know where to start.
Playing import games is legal for one. implying that this is a crime is clearly a deception no doubt about it. None. A simple thought exercise cuts right through that one. Here is mine:
You are in Japan playing a game you find interesting. You buy it, legally mind you, and bring it home. It does not work. You are frustrated to learn that the company who was happy to sell you the game is also responsible for the fact that you cannot use it at home. What to do? Return it? Wrong answer, you see you opened it when you tried to play your legally purchased game so thats out. IMport an entire console? Too expensive, besides you have one already and are trying to be a loyal customer, but too much is too much. What's left? Several things, but the most obvious is a mod chip. Simple easy and legal.
So this linking of crime and mod chips and import games sounds a lot like drugs. Shady people sell you some thing that is in poor taste. Playing import games is in poor taste, who does that? It all adds up to making the whole thing look bad. Which it clearly is not.
From the Article:
, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said yesterday.
And the spin:
None of this would be worth discussing if it came from a nobody, but it came from a chief executive. Now that's somebody. Not only a chief executive, but one that runs one of the largest companies in the world. Maybe we all better think this one over because a guy like this would not just bring this up over nothing would he?
The very title conveys a certain level of creedence to this whole thing, but for a minor point. The company he runs is in the middle of the largest anti-trust litigation known. Doesn't this put just a little different light on things?
From the article:
Mr Ballmer said the decision affected Xbox's business model, which relies on subsidising the hardware console in return for a royalty on every game sold.
Now the spin:
This actually is a true statement with regard to the business model. They need to sell games, or take a loss on each console. Saying the legal decision affected that business model though is clearly false. Someone who buys an xbox who also imports a game paid for both. How does this break the model? Games are sold as are consoles. Clearly this is worded to imply that the alleged selling of chips will affect Microsofts ability to make money.
Now the truth here is, mod chips can do this, if they allow users to run other things, but in this case, the users are running the things they are supposed to be able to run anyway; namely, import games. So, Microsoft does not like mod chips because there is a possibility that they could be used in ways that could harm their business model, but they can't say that so they imply it.
From the article:
Microsoft has slashed the retail price of an Xbox from $649 to $399, which resulted in increased hardware sales and more game software sold.
And the spin:
This is a fact. They have lowered their price to compete with SONY. According to them it is working, and it likely is, but this is something they choose to do. Having it mentioned here just adds to the negative connotation alrealy implied with the 'alleged' crime discussed earlier. Another point worth mention here is that SONY has been dealing with this the entire time and seems to make lots of money. Why can't Microsoft?
They have no real basis for a statement against another nations legal system just because they have to keep their price low in order to boost sales of their product. This is a pretty arrogant stand to take --if you look though the spin.
From the article:
But Sony, which saw sales of PlayStation 2 titles decline 19 per cent in the same period, still dominates, selling 28 per cent of all titles, against Xbox's 7 per cent.
And the spin:
This paints the picture of the perfect underdog. Everyone wants an xbox don't they? If these criminals are allowed to sell mod chips then some people just might not get one. They might have to settle for a SONY instead. You can carry that little piece farther if you want, it's easy.
From the article:
"Given the way the economic model works
And spin:
Note the use of the word 'the'. This is clever because it implies that there is only one economic model. What they should say here is, "Given the way our economic model works". Again subtle word use to shift blame from them to another entity; namely, the Australian legal system.
From the article:
, and that is a subsidy followed, essentially, by fees for every piece of software sold, our licence framework has to do that
And spin:
This is a complex way of saying we need some money for every game sold. Fair enough, but the alleged crime mentioned above does nothing to hinder that, so why bother with this whole affair in the first place. Is there something we are not seeing? If so, why hide it. Everyone would be a lot better off knowing what is is.
From the article:
"If there are aspects that are not allowed, it would encourage us to require a change in the legal framework. Otherwise, it wouldn't make economic sense."
And spin:
Basically they are saying here, if they cannot do what they want, then they don't want to do it at all. Sounds like the reasoning of a three year old plain and simple.
Essentially what is happening here is this.
Microsoft is saying that they want income from every xbox both from the sale of the actual box, and the games following that.
They say that a chip intended for users to play imported games hinders that in some fashion, but decline to discuss exactly what that is exactly.
So they basically throw down their gauntlet and say, either play the way we want, or we won't play at all.
What exactly is anyone supposed to realistically think about this? Should we support a change to another nations legal system because they tell us that the law there might hinder them from making the amount of money they want to make, or that the think they should be making with nothing but implications to that end?
Spin Indeed.
Blogging because I can...
> Everyone will import them from US or Japan, and play games on them, with the modchips that let them do so.
No, I think it much more likely that everyone just will buy PS2s and Game Cubes instead (well, maybe only PS2s, unless some actual games ever appear in stores for the Game Cube)
Advanced users are users too!
You've got to be kidding me. That game was published in 1985. I'm not sure if you were trying to be funny or not, but that has to be the most retarded thing I've heard this year alone.
Game prequels do not count. In most of the cases the "remake" if you will, is continents apart from it's predacessor. We're not discussing Resident Evil and it's sequels. We're talking about games from the dinosaur era being remade, and they are available on certain console. In the same fashion one might nitpick on PS2 titles and say there is no exclusivity since some game developer wrote it on C64 back in Ice Age. So I'll go ahead and ignore the NES references, just because.
I'll answer your question with a question.
Ford produced the Mustang in 1965. What makes the 2003 model any better?
Sorry, some people don't have $200-300 dollars laying around to spend on a decent video card to play UT2003. Yes, it will play online via the Xbox Live service, according to M. Rein.
Hah. Thanks for the laugh. Unless you're 12y/o and like to play PG13 games, then GameCube is for you. Xbox is for the mature crowd who like to blow shit up after a long day at work. As for the Metroid Prime, I'll comment on it when it's out.
Maybe Microsoft will succeed to boost XBox software sales by having the laws changed (and/or enforced), however such changes would also affect the other players in the industry. So Sony and Nintendo and any others will also reap the same fiscal rewards from the same laws.
Quite possibly, Microsoft wields the clout that the gaming industry has needed for a long time. Microsoft has the most resources to expend and is stepping up to bat for everybody in the industry, even if it is doing so indirectly. Well, for everybody except the game console modders of course.
Either way the big players in the gaming industry seem to benefit from Microsoft's grandios reputation and endless resources, all competition aside ... even if this garners the disdain of the XBox modders and people who sell the mods.
The former is a videogame console made by sony.
The latter was an 80386 class IBM PC.
The water spins clockwise when you flush a toilet there, so all the games have to be updated to show this.
What that fu*beeeeep* does that fuc*beeeeep*ing moronic ass*beeeeep*ole have to fu*beeeeep*ing do with fuc*beeeep*ing Ausfuc*beeep*instralia?
Everyone who makes this argument right now is a flaming idiot. Unless you plan on buying every single game for a particular console, and judge each console totally on quantity, then there is no longer any cause to complain - ALL THREE CONSOLES HAVE GOOD GAMES ON THEM...THEY EVEN HAVE MORE THAN A FEW.
Here are some highlights from my current collection.
PS2: Final Fantasy X, GTA3, Gran Turismo 3 and several more that *I* like but may not be big-time favorites.
Gamecube: Rogue Leader, Pikmin, Animal Crossing, Beach Spikers, Godzilla Destroy All Monsters Melee, Super Smash Bros. Melee and more.
XBox: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dead to Rights, Morrowind (yes, it's PC too, so the hell what?), Jet Set Radio Future, Sega Soccer Slam, Project Gotham Racing and more -- not to mention that cross-platform games are generally nicer on the X than the others (in addition to being generally nicer on the GC than the PS2).
In short, all of you schmucks who keep yakking about how there are no good games for console need to help yourselves to a hot cup of shut the fuck up. While YOUR favorite game (GTA3 fans, Mario fans, Halo fans) might not be on a particular console that doesn't mean that there isn't anything else on it.
Um, this being a some what technical site, you'd think there'd be more HOWs being asked. How does one install a chip that emulates the ps2 system (we're not talking 1 chip, but a whole system) on x86 hardware? I think that feat of engineering itself would deserve it's own story....
but I mean come on, how is that possible??? If someone could explain it, I'd be happy to listen.
Aside from that, though, why the hell would you be principally opposed to something that allows your games to be played on someone else's console, when your stated business model depends on selling as many copies of the software as possible, to the point where you're willing to sell the hardware console at a loss to achieve this goal?
Maybe this is why I wasn't a business major in college -- this logic just seems stupid.
What a conversation Starter!
kinda funny, Law posted to slashdot a story - but somebody has beaten him to it
wot bout?
but the person who beat him to it did some bad editing
the one bout mod chips
ahh yeah
xboxes not comin here
or threatening
yeah
it is a shithouse situation
basically these days you cannot make it in the game industry if you are a small hardware company
cause assholes like sony and microsoft sell hardware at a loss
a startup company could never do that
tis true
personally i believe that the reason that the playstation took off was piracy
that is why it cained the n64
sure, they may sell 1 game for every copied game - but that is still one sell
sure, they may sell 1 game for every 10 copied games - but that is still one sell
it doesnt stop sales, its not like video stores rent out copied games
yeah, kinda like windows, u imagine if everyone had to buy windows
wouldn't happen, but cos they get pirated, everyone is used to it
& thats the only reason ppl use it
exactly
i don't understand why it is so hard to understand
it happens all the time, mp3, divx, the list just goes on
without piracy, ppl wouldn't be so into the computing thing cos it'd cost u a fortune to do anything
its needed to keep ppl interested
i should just copy and paste out conversation into slashdot
s/out/our
eh, dont think it'd get too far, so many ppl just refuse to see it
dunno y though
oh no, we shall be forced to import them,
and pay about the same, but have a greater
range of games...
im shocked..
next force us to use zone 1 and 2 dvds,
by limiting the number of zone 4 dvds to
only a few hundred.. oh no waite, they have..
You have 5 Moderator Points!
Which Helpless Linux zealot/MS basher do you want to mod down today?
The reason for MS's letter was that Sony sued a mod chip seller and lost. No, Sony's PS division is not having financial difficulties (although Sony as a whole is), but that doesn't mean they're not losing money with every pirated game played on a modded system.
And since NO ONE has the numbers to prove there are more honest modders playing imports than there are pirates stealing games or vice versa, who's to say that Sony isn't losing money with each mod chip sold?
So MS isn't the only company with a bug up it's ass. Heh heh... but like most MS bugs, it's probably much bigger than anyone else's bugs.
-- If god wanted me to have a sig, he'd have given me a sense of humor.
What the hell? Which planet do you come from?
Walk into any mobile phone outlet and see for yourself how they're giving away selected phones for FREE with a yearly contract. That's not a fucked up business model. It's the norm.
Check your facts next time.
(I paraphrase slightly) "change the law or we'll .."
This is NOT a slight paraphrase to say the least. And of course, all the posts here are riding off of this very emotionally charged phrase. It's no secret that the XBOX is doing horribly down under, and MS is just saying that it may not make economic sense to sell their product their due to the current laws regarding their product. Of course, making MS sound like the Big Bully Yet Again makes for a lot more banner hits.
There is no longer anything that can be done with computers that is nontrivial and clearly legal. -- Paul Phillips
"Now I control the DownUnderverse! Prepare to spend eternity knee-deep in didjeri-doo!"
This is the most insightful statement I've seen on Slashdot in a long time!!!!!!!!!!
First post, but I generally hate ./ because it is never interesting. This article/forum is the first I've seen in a long time, but I'm getting rather annoyed at seeing scores up in the 4s and 5s, and then saying that this particular post is funny, when funny does not even come to mind when reading the post. I'll admit, the holodeck post was hilarious, but 99% of the posts on here that say "Funny" have nothing funny about them.
I submit that moderators actually have a real working sense of humor before they check off a post as being funny. Perhaps this could be implemented in the next version of SlashCode? Perhaps only posters who have a high enough "FunnyKarma" can moderate something to say funny.
heXbox, we don't need no steenkingk heXbox!
NO XOUP FOR YOU!
It's just a huge moneypit .. 10 games per console sold to break even? Thats crazy money loss... Good luck!
well, what about the latest hacked modchips? correct me if i'm wrong, but weren't those from a few guys in australia? i'd check my facts, but the link (and in fact all of xboxhacker.net) in the original story has mysteriously disappeared, making me wonder if they or their provider were served with cease and desists...
Large print giveth, and the small print taketh away
. . . and the "original" was made up out of whole cloth by Goldman . . .
;-)
.
It's a terrible thing to learn, I know, but the truth will set you free! In this case, free to appreciate Goldman's brilliance in coming up with the whole thing
Hit google and look for something like "the princess bride real story bald-faced lie" and enjoy . .
himi
My very own DeCSS mirror.
As anybody can see here, we have a second-rate troll posting here - one who would claim that we should be willing to pay twice (or as many times as need be, one presumes) for Xbox games if, indeed, the original was damaged beyond recovery.. since the poster is averse to people legitimately making a backup copy (even erecting pretense of moral grounds for this argument.. a cover-up for insufficient power to the logic circuits I dare say!) we should go to great lengths in order to enjoy that game again.
Exhibit B:Here Monsieur Troll evidently values our games so little that we should be willing to wait whatever period of time the manufacturer deems necessary before damaged games are replaced - provided, of course, that our (seemingly undervalued or non-existent) games are still available... thanks to M. Troll's skewed view of fair use, we should be at the mercy of manufacturers of games even if we don't need to. "Bend over and like it if your game breaks, please" says M. Troll.
Waiting for replacement games is much like waiting for a rebate, or like a crapshoot. Try replacing an original StarCraft (or ANY old-school game worth playing) game disc by crying to the manufacturer and prove me wrong. You won't get far.
sorry for feeding the troll! H.N.
...The whiney neighborhood kid who doesn't like the way the game is being played, so he takes his ball and goes home. Wah fucking wah.
I say let them pull the XBox. They'll be shooting themselves in the foot by denying themselves revenue. If I were an Aussie, I'd buy an XBox, mod the hell out of it and call Microsoft and tell them all about it. Encourage them to pull it from shelves. And when their sales go down because of it, I'd call them again and laugh. But that's just me...
Blog Prophyts - Right On, Man
Unless you're 12y/o and like to play PG13 games, then GameCube is for you.
I'll assume that what you wrote is not what you meant, and will respond accordingly.
You must be one of those 16-year-old "mature" gamers that needs to come home and blow shit up after a long shift at Dairy Queen.
I feel no need to de defend my choice of entertainment against insipid comments like this. What boggles my mind is that people can be *so* insecure about the games they play that they feel a need to belittle others' choices, to somehow justify their gaming habits to themselves. Here's a tip for you: I don't care what you play! Just play whatever you like, and leave me out of it!
If you like Halo, what the hell does it matter what *I* think? I assure you, your well articulated critique of the Gamecube doesn't dampen my enjoyment of SSB:M, Mario Sunshine, Star Fox Adventures, Resident Evil, or any of the other 17 games I own for the system.
--Jeremy
Jesus was a liberal
http://www.boners.com/grub/383844.html
I'm not going to bother explaining why you come across as a retard.
Scroll up and read the grandparent, dipshit.
If it's anything like the UK market no-one would notice. My local store (one of a big chain) is now selling X-Boxen for £129 - about $200. That's down from £300 at launch. Furthermore it gives every indication that it's desperate to get rid of them. I even overheard two staff a few weeks ago desparing if they were ever going to shift *any* stock.
The shelf space allocated to X-Boxen games has been shrinking progressively in favour of the Gamecube and PS2. Even the demo consol in the shop is deserted - whenever I go in there's a big crowd around the PS2 and particularly Gamecube ones, but no-one ever seems to touch the X-Box.
Your milage may vary, but as far as the UK goes I'd say the X-Box is pretty much dead.
Hi all. I'm an Australian. I know many people here who have purchased a Microsoft X-Box. Most of them did so as a result of the not-so-recent price drop.
I would just like to point out that Microsoft will not remove the X-Box (and games) from the Australian market. This is nothing but the usual FUD that many have come to expect (actually, it's synonymous with) from Ballmer, Gates, and Co.
The reason is simple. To do so would be a massive public relations nightmare for Microsoft in Australia. Sure, we are but a country of 20 million people. A drop in the proverbial population bucket, if you will. But the point still stands.
If Microsoft pulls the X-Box out of Australia, they can kiss-ass-goodbye to ever competing (on an even par) with the likes of Sony in the Australian market, ever again. There would also be a carry-on effect for their other products.
This is nothing but fear-mongering on the part of Microsoft.
It would be interesting to see buyer reactions to Ballmers comments, especially in the leadup to the Christmas buying period, if the mainstream press in Australia was to make his comments public knowledge to all.
If you allow yourself to be bullied, you'll just be handing over your dinner money for the rest of time.
If Microsoft cared so much wouldnt a system like we have in the UK with Gas Meters work better? Or with animals we look after from the RSPCA. I mean, if rather than selling them to us, we rented them from Microsoft they could easily enforce - and proescute? (i think) a no - mod chip law, and id guess that those people who would not "purchase" an Xbox marketed liek this would in 80% of the cases be the very people Microsoft are trying to keep out!
If there was only one world wide version, then either it would be priced for the Asian market, and 1/10 the price of what it sells for in the UK, or priced for America, and not sell at all in most of the world, where they couldn't pay US prices (But prices in the UK would fall 50%.)
Tales of technical difficulties, copyright restrictions, etc are all red herrings - its the economy, stupid.
Incidentally, we have a number of book sellers selling technical books (actual dead trees) like Oracle and Windows manuals which are clearly marked "for the Indian continent only" the printing and binding is clearly inferior to the authentic UK product, but personally, I'd rather pay half price when a "Unix Administration made Simple" book costs $100 here!
Sent from my ASR33 using ASCII
This is cutting off their nose to spite their face. "Our business will be damaged by mod chips therefore we're going to destroy our business first.", has to be the most hollow threat ever.
Microsoft is very concerned about a man having been acquitted after allegedly selling modified chips that allow an Xbox to play Sony PS2 games. So concerned in fact, that they are saying: change the law, or they will have to reconsider selling the Xbox in Australia. Not selling the Xbox is well within their rights, but putting it in a (I paraphrase slightly) "change the law or we'll .." context seems assuming a bit too much
OK, when are we going to actually check the articles that come into slashdot and their validity? This very distressing. The Xbox CANNOT play PS2 games. Heck, if you could your top-end PC to play PS2 games well, I'd be damn impressed.
There is also virtually nothing in the article indicating a Microsoft tone of "change your law or we'll take our marbles and play elsewhere." Can we please at least check these things before they make it to the front page?
Slashdot is a terrific site, and there are some good people here with good opinions. However, if all the front page content is going to suffer, I fear that the entire slashdot community may suffer as well.
Where the wind blows, the tumbleweed goes.
http://www.thelockeinstitute.org/books/singapor
http://teacherweb.ftl.pinecrest.edu/c
I think it fits your definition better, however...
The USA was a "leader" in this: by passing the DMCA in 1998, they were easily the first Western nation to ratify this crap into what is now international law.
Unfortunately, the UK is the world leader in fucking up IP laws.
Microsoft will have to withdraw ALL of their products from Australia.
Sorry if this is a bit OT, but there was a console at one time called the PC-Engine (I forget menufacturer). Judging by the name, was this because all it was was a standardized set of PC hardware components? Or am I totally wrong? :-D
== Jez ==
Do you miss Firefox? Try Pale Moon.
For me, all these digital-right-enforcing business-plan-ueber-alles buy-this-ball-and-chain sales 'people' achieve by their machinations is to strengthen my resolve not to be caught in their webs. I can do without an X-Box, PS2, Game Cube, Windows XP Entertainment Edition-powered 'home theater', Microsoft Windows Media Player, region-coded DVD player, region-coded anything.
I can do without websites which force me to sign up for a Microsoft Passport. There are enough alternatives.
I can do without 'media players' which require me to use 'Secure Digital' overpriced media.
I can do without all that. I have done without it all my life actually, and I see no reason to start using stuff like that.
Go away, Microsoft. Go away, Sony. Go away, Nintendo. I don't need you. I certainly don't need any new laws tailored to your perceived needs.
I am not the only one who feels like this. For me, these 'products' are dead. Not buried yet, but certainly dead.
Good riddance. I'd say.
--frank[at]unternet.org
I've got DVDs with region code 1 (US/Canada), 2 (Europe) and 3 (SE Asia), and I'll be damned if I let them decide that I can only buy DVDs in Europe.
Now with the Euro-DMCA (in effect from december, already decided from what I can tell) they can say it's illegal to make DVD players that ignore the zoning and shit, but if they really want to make it so, I'll join the pirates (arr) too, not because of the money, but because they're zone free should I decide to go live somewhere else.
I refuse to buy multiple players, or multiple versions of the same movie, just so I can see what I already own. Zone free DVD players and DVD bios flashing give me that, take that away from me and you will lose my income. I have no problem downloading a DivX, but I find it just as convienient to just buy the DVD, with more extras and all. Change that, and it'll be your own undoing.
Kjella
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
Ok, consider a company that makes some kind of periferal device for the ms xbox, say a webcam or something. It is obviously not illegal to make such a device. Of course you 'll say a mod chip does something illegal, but a webcam doesn't. But it is not allways clear whether a device is legal or illegal. How about something like the action replay from the amiga days? would an action replay for the xbox be illegal? What if someone makes an xbox compatible machine? Will they be able to stop it? You can see where I am getting at. Does microsoft have the authority (or the power if you prefer) to control all the hardware that third party manufacturers produce? Can they dictate what kinds of plugins are allowed? IMHO they can't and will never be able to. That's what apple tried to do once and they lost the game to the pc. That's what IBM didn't try do and today there are pc's everywhere. But IBM wasn't able to benefit from that fact. Face it, the hardware can't be controlled that easily. Today IBM and Sun are trying to move from the hardware market to the software market. Do you think they are stupid? They made the mistake once, they know they can't rely solely on hardware sales. On the contrary where does MS go? Now they try to make their own hardware platform as if software weren't enough to keep them going. I say good luck to them, but it won't be that easy this time.
I know, I know, we should mod before posting.
However, I just had to reiterate what another poster here has said: What harm does the withdrawl of the X-Box do Austrailia in a market saturated with alternatives?
For one, Sony is happily selling PS2s at a brisk clip in Australia here and in the rest of the world. Nintendo also has a viable entrance into the market. And the industry has moved from a platform dependent marketplace to one which all major game developers are hedging their bets and releasing across all platforms. Chances are if your desired title isn't available on the XBOX (Beta), it can be had with slightly degraded images on the PS2 (VHS).
We have a company who is used to being the essential-for-democracy platform entering into a market where it is merely an entertainment player, then trying to throw its weight around. Amusingly, Microsoft (et al) have opened themselves up for this sort of thing by denying the ability to play imported games, a generally sanctioned activity that qualifies as a significant non-infringing use.
Nintendo's Game Boy (and the subsequent Game Boy Advance), the best selling system of all time by a wide margin, has no territorial lockout whatsoever. I understand that the ability to run unsigned code is both a viable way to enjoy a system and a dangerous proposition for platform developers (who essentially sell keys), but Sony realized that there was demand for such a system and managed to sell out of Yaroozes (programmable PS2's) at tremendous markups and without negative impact on their overall sales. These are the two most persuasive arguments in favor of the continued legality of mod chips. The steps that these companies could take to satisfy these legal desires would go a long way to curbing their losses to piracy.
So until these companies shape up and put out products that satisfy the market, thereby solving Sony and Microsoft's problem of the market satisfying itself, I say... Who cares? Unlike certain other markets we could name, in this one there are alternatives.
This Sig is a mnemonic device designed to allow you to recognize this author in the future.
Thats a bit hyopcritical of you. AND your quoting links from the uk? what your talking about is commonplace there and happens ALOT more than it does anywhere else in the world!
What in HELL are you talking about? I live in the UK, and let me tell you, we are one of the most immigrant-FRIENDLY countries in the world! We're often seen as Europe's 'soft touch' because of the number of immigrants we take in - we're getting about 250,000 per YEAR now!! Consider that in relation to the UK's landmass, and you realise how over-populated we are. We taxpayers pay vast amount of tax towards helping immigrants/refugees, so NEVER say that the UK is not a friendly country for immigrants/refugees!
It costs governments money to take care of reugees so whats so bad about giving a smaller country assistance in caring for these people?
There's no problem in GIVING a smaller country assistance. What the problem is is forcing refugees UPON a smaller country, in addition to that assistance money, so that you can 'wash your hands clean' of them. That's a xenophobic, primitive way of dealing with the situation.
Was this man acquitted because he didn't break the law by selling mod chips, or was it decided that he wasn't actually selling them?
-- Alex Watson.
Have them sent to a friend in another country, and then have that friend send them to Austrailia...
The day Microsoft creates a product that doesn't suck, it will be known as the Microsoft Vaccuum Cleaner!
In most of the cases the "remake" if you will, is continents apart from it's predacessor.
But doesn't the availability of a game (admittedly with simpler graphics) for an older console weaken the apparent "exclusive"ity of the newer title?
I'll answer your question with a question. Ford produced the Mustang in 1965. What makes the 2003 model any better?
I'll humor you by taking a guess at the answer to your question. In general, a newer sports car has at least the following: improved safety features, improved climate control, a better stereo system, and an engine that produces more power with less fuel and less emissions. The Ford Mustang may have other features.
I'd guess that the new Superman game for Xbox probably has sharper textures and more detailed models than the N64 version. But is involving play there, or is it lacking? I've answered your question; now you answer mine.
Sorry, some people don't have $200-300 dollars laying around to spend on a decent video card to play UT2003.
True, you need a newer video card for UT2003. But you also need a special video card (i.e. one with TV in) to play Xbox games in a crowded dorm room with no space for a stand-alone television set.
Yes, [Unreal Championship] will play online via the Xbox Live service, according to M. Rein.
UT2003 will (barely) work down to a 33.6 modem. Xbox Live, on the other hand, requires high-speed Internet access, which isn't available at consumer prices to all families in the United States. Given that somebody already has dial-up Internet access at $20 per month, Xbox Live costs about $24 per month ($4 per month for Xbox Live and $20 per month for the upgrade from dial-up to cable).
Unless you're 12y/o and like to play PG13 games, then GameCube is for you.
Super Smash Bros. Melee is the most popular video game played on the TV in the lobby of a dorm room in a college. Not a middle school, a college. Well, if Xbox has few if any good exclusive E/T rated games, that's Microsoft's problem.
Will I retire or break 10K?
I'm not going to bother explaining why you come across as a retard ... dipshit.
Do you seriously claim that any person who prefers PG/PG-13 rated movies to R rated movies or E/T rated video games to M rated video games is a "retard" and a "dipshit"?
Will I retire or break 10K?
NTSC, PAL and SECAM don't have resolutions at all.
NTSC, PAL, and SECAM specify a number of scanlines for a signal, the timing used for each scanline, the bandwidth of the main carrier, and the bandwidth of a color subcarrier. The Nyquist theorem guarantees a sample frequency given bandwidth or vice versa, and multiplying that by the length of a scanline gives a pixel count per line. Thus, you have a HxV pixel count, which is what computer users typically call "resolution".
Will I retire or break 10K?
All I can say is that Microsoft has to be the whiniest entity known to man, not even my girlfriend whines that much! So I just want to tell microsoft that if you are going to make it, people are going to hack it, wheather you like it or not, so fuck off!
Shooting it self in the foot. Now if they refused to sell ANYTHING over there Australia would become a very desirble place for geeks.
When you set up a loss leader marketing plan, some of your costumers are going to take the deal and leave the rest. Grocery stores do this all the time. Albertsons doesn't take you to court when you buy 2 12-packs of coke for $4.00, but refuse to buy the expensive potato chips on the other side of the aisle.
Why does M$ consider it the consumers obligation to make their gamble pan out?
If only the gaming industry had more clout in the gov't (maybe in the form of one of their former execs being the president, vp, or national security advisor) we could be teaching those freedom-hating aussies a thing or two about our values.
Let's roll!
What part of "lately" didn't you understand. Citing something that happened 50 years ago hardly counts.
Every country has things that have happened in the past that it's citizens aren't proud of. My grandparents (on both sides) emmigrated to Australia, and yet I'm told I owe the Aborigines for past injustices, WTF?
This is baised reporting, call this flamebait if you will but the issue is much more complicated.
I list some points for the otherside if the story:
- Aboriginal people get many government benefits that are only available to them. (Free driving lessons, subsidized education (more than all other Australians), reserved places (government jobs, university enrollment).
- They have there own "council" (ASIC) of which only Aborignes can vote. (We just had recent advertisements for the elections)
- They have sent up their own embassy near parliment house.
- They have their own flag.
- They can use the law to "reclaim" (damnit, can't think of the name of hand) land that was taken from them in the past. However the people that currently hold the land have had several generations on the land and had nothing to do with taking the land from anyone. (One guy went to court trying to claim the entire Brisbane CBD area)
- Various others. I think their main problem with the federal government, is that they are attempting to be a nation within a nation, and no government would encourage that.
Just remember that there are to sides to every argunment. I think the whole stolen child problem is disgraceful, and for the record, the government _has_ apologised for this, and there is a special division for compensation. However the government will not apologise for "stealing" their land.
PS: Lets not mention that research into what happened to the pygmies that were here beforehand, gets shutdown as soon as possible.
And us Aussies'll get Alan Fels onto yas!!!!!!!! Today, breaking Australian trade practices legislation by making such threats.. tomorrow, losing not only by making xbox-related threats but also on all the other shoddy practices by M$ in the Australian market.
Currys - a UK consumer electrical goods chain - is now giving away a free X-Box with any 5 games purchased.
It's also doing the £129 offer - less if an old games console is exchanged.
Australia doesn't have a nucleur weopens program, that's known to anyone. (Too many secrets to be sure)
DUDES!!! Check out this site I found. They're giving away FREE RAM!! This is the most AWESOME thing I've ever seen!!!
Clikc here for the Free RAM
Bill G takes a trip to AUS that he has been planning for years.
Magicaly some money happens to find it's self heading in the direction of AUS.
Favorable deals from Microsoft (lets say schools programs, maybe XBox's in schools to keep the kids brainwashed, sory ammused)
AUS desides that the current law on things like mod chips is a bit out of date and needs a review....
money..............
thank God the internet isn't a human right.
I'd be wondering why MS has NEVER EVER PAID A DIVIDEND to their shareholders in their entire history, despite making such obscene profits.
Australia was originally a country settled by criminals. ;)
[insert witty comment here]
Hey,
I understand your point and all, but really, isnt paraprasing
"Given the way the economic model works, and that is a subsidy followed, essentially, by fees for every piece of software sold, our licence framework has to do that," Mr Ballmer said. "If there are aspects that are not allowed, it would encourage us to require a change in the legal framework. Otherwise, it wouldn't make economic sense."
into....
"change the law, or they will have to reconsider selling the Xbox in Australia. "
stretching it a bit?
-- -- Warning. Do not stare directly at the sun.
Why should it be wrong to sell a mod chip or for someone to modify a product that they own??
its like saying that it should be illegal to modify your car because that allowes you to go over the speed limit faster
companies also dont have any right to restrict consumers from purchase media from other countries
there is nothing wrong with a consumer modify something they own to suite their requirements obviously it is illegal to use it to pirate media but there are legitimate uses as well
You don't really think that MS will withdraw the Xbox and leave the market to PS2, Nintendo, Gamecube or whatever there is? I really doubt that. They might act like this if they are supreme leaders on consoles, but I doubt that even then they would do such a thing. The risk to loosing an entire country to the competitors is way to big. And the Xbox is in no position yet to have a big head.
I wonder if this means that M$ will make an EULA for the XBOX...
"The most sucessful operating system is not one who can eliminate its competitors, but live with them."
That's pretty much a direct translation from polite legalese to English.
Cheers,
Backov
In the law there is no overlap between theft and copyright infringement whatsoever.
In New Zealand (no damm it, we are not part of Australia), we have much the same laws.
You can freely buy a mod chip for a PS2, its just pirated games that they crack down on - which makes sense.
I have yet to see a XBox mod chip for sale but then I have yet to see anybody actually buy a XBox. Despite a big advertising campaign and Xbox's being given away for free, nobody seems to have bothered to have turned up at the midnight opening on release day. No suprise given that the XBox was released a year late here. GameCubes also seem to be doing badly - down to NZ$250 (US$120).
Pet hate - XBox ad's that claim it plays DVD's 'better' - WTF - it doesn't even play DVD's out-of-the-box?
all TV's have the same number of dots.
All USA TVs have the same number of dots. European TVs, on the other hand, have more scanlines.
Will I retire or break 10K?
at least half of those GC games aren't out in Australia yet.....I'm pretty sure that there's plenty of good games in the US...but over here, it's looking pretty grim at the moment.....
Personally I'm waiting for Animal Crossing and Eternal Darkness before the GC moves closer to the top of my shopping list....
Advanced users are users too!
My apologies for mistunderstanding your post (and your origin), as I tend to be a typical self(US)-centered citizen of these United States. Of course, for all the Americans who say the same thing about the various consoles, my original post stands. :)
You have obviously never programmed a video game for a home console system. Many older systems tied timing routines to the vertical refresh interval, so everything from input checking and buffering, to timing, AI loops, even in radical cases number of visible sprites had to be changed when shifting from 60Hz NTSC to 50Hz PAL and vice versa. The most famous example of course is the Atari VCS/2600, which has no video RAM at all, and requires each scanline to be built up as the signal is output.
Even on today's hardware, one of the interrupt sources is the VBI, and the APIs include thread syncronization primitives like WaitForVI(), and there can be differences in hardware based on regions (font roms, bootloader versions, optional hardware interfacing, etc)
So just switching the refresh rate could change the playability of a game, or even stop it from functioning at all.
Add in the occasional outrage about video game content and how things might be changed to 'better suit' a target region (no red blood, removal of religious symbols/memes, profanity/nudity, percieved cruelty to animals or minorities, etc) and you might see why region codes provide a legal fig leaf for makers and distributors ("But we didn't release it for use in your country!").
Of course, the fact that it allows the same product to be contracted to several different companies for distribution in different regions at wildly differing prices, and allows control over time of release, etc is beside the point... *cough*
-- JHod, weirdness for hire
They are selling the box below cost. They are trying to win market share. They are trying to stop the mods from doing to them what software and exacto knife mods did to Digital Convergence with the Cue Cat bar code scanners. They want their hareware to only run the content sold by them and use online services provided by them for a return on investment. Mods kill the payback of selling games and online services.
The truth shall set you free!
_Very_ briefly:
1: Obviously you have not heard about recent events. Basically the 'natives' are demanding land and then selling it for millions.
2: The 'natives' lost.
3: There are less than 1 million 'natives' in Australia... and yet billions are spent on them.
4: In some places, still, these 'natives' rape pre-adolescent girls and claim that they have the right to do so (or rather, it isn't reported in the news)
5: Two years ago a 'native' was told by a court that his "right" to "hit a woman over the head with a chair" is illegal. He went to jail. He claimed that his position in his tribe gave him full right to do so if he wished. (Actually, it also said that indeed, within his tribe law he could. However, 'white' law stated he could not)
6: There are permanent squatters who have little to do with 'real' 'natives' outside of old parliment house. When they recently tried to move to the new location to honour natives built by the goverment, the local natives came and they them off. Tell you anything?
7: Approximately half of aboriginal family claims (most in Tasmania, where there are no full bloods anymore - proven btw) are rejected.
8: From the previous point: WHY are there aboriginals claiming land in Tasmania when it has been proven that they all died years ago? In fact, the last one died recently.
9: Visit an outback town with so-called 'natives'. These are not "aboriginals". These are people with darker skin and a different background who ALSO bludge on the doll all day, ignore/abuse their children and generally couldn't care less.
10: Yes, I'm one of these so-called "natives". Yet, I live in the city, I have a job and I have a tribe.
I don't claim to be something I am not. I don't claim millions of dollars worth of land saying that it is 'spiritually significant' to me - and then sell it off to the highest bidder (south australia and nsw btw that happened).
Perhaps you could also speak to the lebonese community here.. from which 3 groups of gang rapists (in one case, the girls were assulted more than 20 times) came from.
You wonder why Australia seems to lump aboriginals and refugees together? See the above.
Perhaps you could verify the truth of what you are commenting on before you open your big mouth. Things are not always what they seem, there is always two sides to a story and life does indeed go on.
1) Refuse to sell X-box to Australians
2) ???
3) Profit!
If they cease selling in Australia then there will be mass import of foreign machines from foreign territories. This will be followed by mass import of games to play on these machines. By ceasing official supply they would do precisely what they were trying not to do by prosecuting the mod distributer and help homogenise the global market.
I fully understand that there is marketing, beta ect to make these items work properly. You all have to understand a few things about why people will put in a mod chip in there system aswell as backup there original games. Why MS is crying about sales on there games. Most people who put in a chip is not selling or making any money ect on there backups. But like MS software it is hard to sell when u buy a software that comes with a key. That key is sold to u and only u. it is not transferable at all. Why you say? because mr gates knows people would have to purchase a new item. When u sell a car it has a V.I.N number on it but it is transferable Why not the same with MS OS. You buy the lic or i should say your serial number but if u decide to move to newer and better version that old one is no good only to you not anyone else. Backups are made for protection on games. Damn 50 dollars for one item that if it gets scratched well guess what you are paying that amount again 50 bucks. Now when u see sales decline it is not because of those mod chips. Its because people can not afford it the craze is dying down and also when u have many games come out every week who really can afford it. does anyone know where i can get cdrom insurance so if my son scratches my cds i can replace it like craftman tools. i own a psx the old model and it is chipped and i have backups of my originals. and sence then i have replaced the backups about once a month or twice if another child comes over. But hey bill gates why not check your own back door when it comes to piracy. Also why not take down all those other companys who make a living off cdr's cdrws and dvdrs. ect. burner companys to. damn even software to copy the games that make a living. That is where it starts. whats the old saying if you build it they would come.
I went on to test the program in every way I could devise. I strained
it to expose its weaknesses. I ran it for high-mass stars and low-mass
stars, for stars born exceedingly hot and those born relatively cold.
I ran it assuming the superfluid currents beneath the crust to be
absent -- not because I wanted to know the answer, but because I had
developed an intuitive feel for the answer in this particular case.
Finally I got a run in which the computer showed the pulsar's
temperature to be less than absolute zero. I had found an error. I
chased down the error and fixed it. Now I had improved the program to
the point where it would not run at all.
-- George Greenstein, "Frozen Star: Of Pulsars, Black
Holes and the Fate of Stars"
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