Microsoft vs. Modded Xboxes

hikeran writes "The Register has an article about how Xbox live service is now apparently banning Xboxes that have been mod chipped. Basically it seems this is one of the many uses of those unique id's used in Microsoft's software. Next up bannings for using foul language on Xbox live service?? Be careful what you say.. you may be playing with an Xbox Live admin..."

Comments

Re:Good!

[jglow]

A cheat-free online game experience is something most people I know would give their first-born for.

you must know some sick, sick people.

omg

[papasui]

You mean you actually have to *gasp* buy the games to play them online? Jeezus I know slashdoters are cheap but come on. Blizzard has been doing this forever but because their parent company is a foreign evil empire nobody cares. Get over it, if you want to use a Microsoft product you gotta pay for it.

Re:Um...so??

[cmeans]

It's probably in the EULA...but the only people who've bothered to read them...are still reading them.

Re:Um...so??

[nomadic]

Obligatory Penny Arcade reference.

What do the users have to say?

[phyxeld]

Well, according to this less than believable thread on the official site, xbox fans actually support banning mod chip users. Here's some choice quotes:

Don't mod the d*mn thing in the first place...Why do people do stuff like that? Xbox is tehe best anyway so why bother moding it???
...
That's what I'm saying, if you mod it, it's your own fault.
...
well mod chips cost 500 dollars or so to get installed with all the games you get with it, if you have that much money i bet you have enough to pay for a second xbox to play on live with, you just need to rebuy the games that are live compatable. I heard that mod games cost 5 bucks a piece and you get all the old arcade games and nintendo and snes and all that with a bigger hard drive for 500 dollars
...
Ms is the sh*t i love you ms.... die faggots who like to cheat bill gates out of his money... lol actually bill gates you dont need more money. GIVE ME IT!!
...
Personally i'm glad they're banning mod chips. I don't really care if people use the mod chip to do Linux or development or pirate games. But I persoanlly bought an xbox for online gaming becaue i'm sick of playing against cheaters on the PC. So anything MS is going to do to eliminate cheaters is ok with me.
...
Hehe, cheaters and hackers get the beat down. Why should we care if modders can't play.

So, see? People love it! Xbox fans don't want to make full use of their hardware!

/sarcasm

It's obvious that microsoft wouldn't ever run an unmoderated message board, but that thread is so uniformly in support of banning modd'ed xboxes that I suspect the whole thing is faked. Kind of funny to think about microsoft paying people to sit around writing stuff like "Xbox is tehe best anyway so why bother moding it??" and "well mod chips cost 500 dollars". I'm just waiting to see someone with a PhotoCD stock image for their user photo...

Re:Um...so??

[rnturn]

``Also, XBox 'box' probably contains lots of labels warning users that opening the case breaks any warranty.''

I'm if we all look hard enough we'd find that everything that has a Microsoft logo on it also has a sticker that states: No User Serviceable Parts Inside.

Re:Um...so??

[dsanfte]

Well several Microsoft EULAs were submitted for entry into the Library of Congress but they couldn't afford to build a new wing of the building to store them in....

REAL nerds view this as a challenge

[sam_handelman]

The challenge is - can you install the mod and get on Xbox live, anyway?

Can you enable your intellectually pedestrian friends to do the same? The entire nation?

MS is doing this to *encourage* modchipping. It's like a contest; MS awards m4d pr0p5, in the form of a l4\/\/5u1t, to the first h4x0r who builds a kit that can modify the xbox in a way their servers can never, ever detect; it must be usable even if the person you give it to:
1) Has no technical training.
2) Lacks even a basic understanding of electronics.
3) Hell, they can't change a lightbulb.
4) They're blind.
5) They're a technophobe, they have alzheimers disease.
6) Hell, they're dead. Ease of use must be total.

The winner gets instant geek celebrity and free representation by the EFF.