Mod Chips Up, Game Industry Revenues Down?

securitas writes "In his latest Game On column, the Boston Globe's Hiawatha Bray describes Xbox and PS2 game console hackers as software pirates who use mod chips and damage game industry revenue. The focus of the column seems to be on the use of mod chips as a way to circumvent game copy controls and glosses over legitimate uses, although he mentions some of them. Without offering any research or concrete numbers, Bray facetiously writes, 'But how many mod chip users are interested in making honest backups? You could probably fit them all into the trunk of a Cadillac, with space left over for a spare tire.' Are the majority of mod chip users 'pirates' or are they legitimate users with legitimate applications for the modifications that Bray hasn't considered?"

Comments

Re:Methinks the modder doth protest overmuch

[Trigun]

ntil the entire console is a single chip, the traces to the storage devices are all encrypted, and the thing is hermetically sealed with cyanide gas within

Don't give them any ideas.

Mod Chips Up?

[Anonymous Coward]

Who is this "Chips" and what has he done to deserve to be modded up?

Slogan.

[Anonymous Coward]

"Software Piracy - 30 years of killing the gaming industry!"

Less concerned with piracy

[karb]

But how many mod chip users are interested in making honest backups? You could probably fit them all into the trunk of a Cadillac, with space left over for a spare tire.

More concerned a boston globe reporter is plotting to kidnap me.

Come on

[Swamii]

What a liar. We make backups; just most of the backups are of games that we don't own. :-)

Re:Go with your gut feeling

[FrostedWheat]

The majority of the mod chip users that I know are pirates.

Well you try to swap a disk with a hook for an arm without scratching it! It makes sense to backup in that case!