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

Methinks the modder doth protest overmuch

[Space cowboy]

I think Bray has a good point. I think the vast majority of people who own 'modded' consoles have had them modded so they can hire a game from Blockbuster and pirate it. My PS2 is modded, and I used it for coding on before the PS2 linux kit and SPS2 came along (haven't used the mod-chip since), but I'm definitely the exception rather than the rule (well, if my circle of friends are anything to go by, anyway).

The flipside however is that it should be the act of piracy that is illegal, not the act of modifying your own (paid-for !) hardware. When a law is enacted, it should make provision for exceptions, and as far as I know the various copyright/IP/whatever laws don't do this for mod-chips. If the exceptions aren't there, it is percieved as a 'bad' law, and people are less likely to respect a 'bad' law...

As for the manufacturers staying ahead: whatever one man can do, another can undo. Until 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, people will find a way around the restrictions. The more the challenge, the more will try.

Simon

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.

Re:Methinks the modder doth protest overmuch

[glenkim]

I think one very legitimate use being forgotten here is import games. If I get a PS2, I will most likely get a modchip and buy the Naruto fighting game from Japan, because it's pretty likely that the game will never be released in the States. So maybe backup purposes is a little hard to defend, but imports are a little stronger.

Re:Methinks the modder doth protest overmuch

[IWorkForMorons]

I think the vast majority of people who own 'modded' consoles have had them modded so they can hire a game from Blockbuster and pirate it.

I'll agree, but even for those who pirate there are various reasons why. I'm not saying they are good reasons, but still. A friend of mine has a son. She doesn't have a lot of money, but she gives her kids everything she can. That included the PSX and a bunch of games and such for Christmas. The only problem was that after Christmas, there's not much money left for games. So the following Christmas, I decided to do them both a favour. About 2 weeks before Christmas, I took his PSX and installed a mod chip. For Christmas, I gave him three copied games, and told him that I could get him more. This kid was so excited he was in tears. It meant that he got to play all the games he wanted. And it meant even more to his mother, who was thankful she didn't have to worry about spending $60 on one game. Instead she could use the money to buy food and clothes for the kids. And it made me feel good, because I helped out a family that didn't get a lot of nice things.

Now I will say that yes, I do know that it's illegal. I don't kid myself by thinking "well, it's for a good cause, so it's OK". And that it probably wasn't the best morality lesson to teach the kid. But you know what...sometimes the moral thing to do isn't the best thing to do. So what....one kid who wasn't born to rich parents gets to enjoy his childhood a little more. I don't feel guilty about giving him that pleasure. Maybe that say more about society then piracy...

Re:Methinks the modder doth protest overmuch

[Chicane-UK]

Thats what I was going to say

Quite often there are a lot of legitimate uses for technologies that are often regarded as being used for nefarious purposes.

But mod chips were really designed with one thing in mind - allowing you to circumvent the in-built protection of consoles, to play copied games.

This is a much bigger problem for the console gaming industry as the majority of their money is made on software (Xbox is a good example), as they sell the hardware at a loss to encourage sales and undercut the competition.

Re:Methinks the modder doth protest overmuch

[DotDavid]

I modded our XBOX (chip and larger hard drive) so we can store/run our games from the internal hard drive. It's just too big a risk ($50) letting my kids handle all those shiny disks.

And the added benifit of playing all our music, and displaying select photo albums... no brainer. The XBOX should have been shipped this way.

Is there room for one more in the trunk?

Re:Methinks the modder doth protest overmuch

[MoonBuggy]

But mod chips were really designed with one thing in mind - allowing you to circumvent the in-built protection of consoles, to play copied games.

They were designed to circumvent the protection, but they are not neccesarily for use with copied games. Imports are a big thing - they're out earlier and usually cheaper, I've had Final Fantasy XI since well before Christmas but here in the UK it won't be out for a long while yet. As well as imports there is the issue that's just come along with this generation of consoles - they're basically PCs so by unlocking that capability in an Xbox and adding a 120GB drive you have a nice media server with built in TV-out, front USB ports and at $3.50 (or whatever MS is selling them at now) they're a damn good deal, much cheaper than a full PC.

Re:Methinks the modder doth protest overmuch

[Total_Wimp]

- How many people are going to use their mod chips for imports?
- How many people are going to use their mod chips for backups?
- How many people are going to use their mod chips to run Linux?
- What kind of moron would believe an object that's twice as heavy will fall at the same speed as an object half as heavy?
- Doesn't everyone know that the internet is only used for porn?
- How many people will actually use a Linux distribution instead of just "playing around" with the free disk?

As long as people ask these rhetorical questions without providing any answers then they'll be able to twist your perception however they'd like. If we required some accurate answers to go with those questions then at least we'd be able to make some informed judgements. How about if the console makers answer these qestions:

-What percentage of games in use are pirated copies?
-What percentage of pirated copies are casual use (friend-to-friend) vs. organized theft (download from internet, guy on street corner, etc.)
-What percentage of game sales are re-buys for a game that was scratched, broken, etc?
-What percentage of people have unusable games (because of scratches, etc) that they don't replace because of the high price?
-Do the console makers offer a free/nominal cost replacement service for damaged discs?
-How does the rebuy/broken-but-not-replaced number compare with the "piracy" number?

Do you think the answers to those questions would give peoples some perspective that would not be in the console-makers favor? I can't answer that question until they answer theirs.

TW

Re:Methinks the modder doth protest overmuch

[FictionPimp]

Hell, I own a PS2, xbox, and gamecube, but I dont own more then 4 games. I have a blockbuster gamepass, I rent them play them till bored, and return them. The price per month is less then a single game purchased. I find that after I beat a console game, I'm done with it. So why bother buying it.

Re:Methinks the modder doth protest overmuch

[enkidu87]

Selling import DVDs is a violation of the exclusive right to distribute the DVD in the US by the holder of that right. That right was paid for by the distributor to the copyright holder.

These are what are known as "grey market" items. While not "illegal" in the sence that criminal charges can be brought against you, the holder of the exclusive reproduction/distribution rights for the US can bring a civil suit.

Now, they generally don't go after the small fish who are selling a few in a store, the do go after those who bring in truck loads.

It is too costly to sue everyone who sells a grey market DVD or VCD. Living in the Bay Area, I see tons of grey market stuff as well as illicit copies of copyrighted material (from VCDs to fake Louis Voutton (sp?) bags). While some is "illegal", i.e., the government can charge you with criminal conduct, much is not. Like import video games and DVDs.

It is o.k. for YOU to order these things from over seas distributors, because you are technically buying it in another country from someone who is authorized to sell it to you for PERSONAL use.

Missed Opportunity

[Matey-O]

For the longest time I wanted a display device in the livingroom. Something that would play DVD/video/mp3s/internet streaming content. The Xbox seemd like the IDEAL solution based on the horsepower, ethernet and digital multichannel audio out. I'd heard rumors that it was CAPABILE of sending a progressive scan DVD video signal with just a software upgrade and it sounded even better.

Then a whole lotta nothing happened. I'd have been willing to spend another $50-$75 to microsoft/whoever for the capability. The modchip seems like the quickest way to get an unencumbered display device next to your TV in the family room, but at the expense of a lot of futzing around with the hardware.

Unfortunately, they missed their target opportunity as 99% of the world out there isn't gonna hack their Xbox to do this, and the only announcement I've seen from Microsoft is a software package that'll ONLY talk to a media center version of Windows XP. (here, you can do this, but first you have to buy this $2000 computer)

Meanwhile, I realized that internet radio sucks, and my iPod with iTunes fm modulator plus the dish network PVR provides everything I truely needed above and beyond the Xbox's DVD player.

Re:Missed Opportunity

[jefe7777]

>> 99% of the world out there isn't gonna hack their Xbox

exactly. and that's why every single one of these articles is bunk. I'm getting tired of companies/industries continuous stream of "we know why we aren't filthy rich!!!! It's the pirates!"

It couldn't be that 1st world cultures are so inundated with such a variety of things to do, from theaters, dvd, cd, games via console, games via pc, games via handhelds, cell phones, satellite tv, cable tv, broadband/web surfing, monster truck events, rock concerts, bowling, sports, excercise, learning to play a musical instrument, studying, working, spending time with the family...yada yada yada.

the shit is endless.

just like most people thing Microsoft has a great reputation, most people don't warez, most people don't hack their anything.

the miniscule minority that do...well they were not going to spend the money in the first place.

this constant barrage of "it's your fault(general consumer) we're not making crap loads of money", is just creating ill will.

there's gonna be fewer and fewer homeruns in the entertainment industry....just a fact of our current culture.

Re:Missed Opportunity

[cgenman]

The fact that you have to chip it to unleash those abilities just shows that there's no market (yet) in selling those abilities for the Xbox, or you would be able to get them commercially.

You can get them commercially. Where do you think mod chips come from, churches?

little kids?

[Shakrai]

'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.

My hunch says anyone who has small kids and doesn't want them to destroy a $40-$80 CD would be a likely candidate for such a mod chip and backup copies. My hunch also says that there are more parents with little kids that have gaming consoles then "will fit in the trunk of a Cadillac".

I'll stop making backup copies of my software then the gaming industry offers to send me replacement copies of damaged CDs without charging me anything more then shipping and handling. You can't have it both ways -- I'm either paying for the software license (in which case I have the right to make a backup or archival copy and they don't have the right to include technology that stops me from doing this) or I'm paying for the CD itself. And if I'm paying for the CD itself then it ought to cost a few bucks -- not $50. Hell if I pay for the software license who says I have to use the software off the CD? Is it really illegal for me to go and download something off Kazaa that I already own? Ditto for mp3s of songs that I already own the album for.

Re:little kids?

[macrom]

My hunch says anyone who has small kids and doesn't want them to destroy a $40-$80 CD would be a likely candidate for such a mod chip and backup copies.

As a parent, I highly, highly doubt this. Parents with multiple children don't have time for 5 minutes of sex at night let alone sitting in front of a computer trying to make backup copies of some Spongebob Squarepants game. Most of us (our circle of friends with kids) require the younger children (9 or so and under) to ask for assistance before playing a console. The kids of all ages are simply taught how to use the console and the discs, and that not taking care of the discs will result in a game becoming unplayable. Most of us are from the school of thought that children should learn from an early age that they are responsible for their actions, and that expensive items should be treated with care and respect.

Kids have a high propensity to break ANYTHING, so making a backup copy of a $50 game is fine and dandy, but you can't make a backup copy of the $200+ console and the $50 mod chip that you bought to make backup copies so your kids didn't break the game.

Sorry for venturing off into some offtopic territory, but I just don't see that many parents modding a console and spending time doing backups of every game. There are far too many things fighting for parental time, and at the end of the day sex takes preference over burning game discs.

Sure...

[jratcliffe]

Yeah, sure, most modchippers are doing it for perfectly legitimate purposes, just like most Kazaa users are sharing music files from bands that have authorized it.

Mod Chips Up?

[Anonymous Coward]

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

Re:Mod Chips Up?

[Jerf]

Chips is user 4885, and hasn't posted since May, 2002. You can't mod Chips up, all his posts are locked in the archives.

The usual...

[detritus`]

Notice how they dont once mention that game industry revenues are up yet again, but like P2P mod chips are evil in their eyes... Personally i have a modded Xbox, and i just love the ability to have all my games on the HD as i use it in my car and i can throw the box somewhere nice and hidden and just hook it up to a 802.11g gateway when i need to update something. But apparently my doing this costs the game companies whose games i own money, prolly because i dont have to buy new copies to replace those that are all scratched up

Slogan.

[Anonymous Coward]

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

I have a mod chip and 0 pirated games

[iansmith]

The DVD player in the PS2 is really, really cheap and it does not take much to damage a PS2 DVD to the point where it does not play.

I have several such disks that I can only play because I have a MOD chip and I have copied the scratched DVD's to new disks that the PS2 can read.

Plus there are some neat free utilities for working with save games on the memory card, multimedia players and othersoftware that is difficult to run on an un-modded PS2.

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.

It's mine

[Doesn't_Comment_Code]

Modifying something you own is NOT illegal. You might be able to do something illegal as a result. Then that action would be illegal, not the modification.

When I was a kid, nothing was soldered shut. You could open any product you wanted to fix it or see how it worked.

Recently, I've seen companies try to scare you into not altering what you buy through voiding warranties and placing intimidating stickers on access panels.

I'm getting sort of sick of it. Once I buy something, it is mine to do with as I please. I can meddle with it, improve it, or smash it with a hammer. It's mine. And I'd appreciate if they could all remember that.

Go with your gut feeling

[HardCase]

Are the majority of mod chip users 'pirates' or are they legitimate users with legitimate applications for the modifications that Bray hasn't considered?

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

-h-

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!

Does ANYBODY find it suspicious that...

[StandardCell]

...revenues are down because of "pirate" chips, yet there's a marked decline in originality and an increase in sequels?

This is almost starting to sound like the flailings of the RIAA.

Backups are legit for some of us...

[stephenisu]

how many mod chip users are interested in making honest backups?

Those of us with young children who love playing with shiny discs...

The DiscDoctor can't do a lot when they scrape off the top of the disc, or you have resurfaced it so many times the disc gets too thin for the laser to focus..

Come on

[Swamii]

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

One word: kids

[badzilla]

I'm amazed how fragile PS2 games are, one decent-size scratch on the printed side and its a goner. You and I might put such a sensitive and expensive item carefully back in its jewel case, but kids drop them behind the TV or use them as impromptu cutting tools or space weapons. I've lost count of the tearful occasions when things won't load.

Their console isn't modchipped - but I wish it was.

Imports?

[t_allardyce]

I know lots of people who use mod chips to play legal? import games.

Legal or not, you cannot ban mod-chips, theres simply no way. The chip itself is just a blank microprocessor (usually a PIC) which is perfectly legal, and the code which goes on it is tiny and you just cant stop a tiny file spreading around the net. As far as im concerned the moment manufacturers started putting restrictions in their consoles they decided to play by the game of technology and if they have the right to do that then you have the right to modify something you own.

Re:Imports?

[NanoGriever]

I agree about using mod chips to play import games. There are many many games in Japan that will never be brought over to the US, for whatever silly reasons. (Not being 3D enough, niche genre, etc) For example, being a Xenosaga fan, I would like to get my hands on the fan disc Xenofreaks that is coming out in April. But there is absolutely no chance that the game will be brought over to the US. The only option I have is to import. And I need a mod chip to play an import game.

Terrible research

[jvmatthe]

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.

And yet not one of them was interviewed! This guy posted on USENET asking for information and I responded in email saying that I could tell him about the fliptop modification I made to my PS2. I'd even be happy to give my name for the record because I only use it to play emulators and homebrew software. Furthermore, I only play emulators for which I own the original games. I'm uptight that way, so sue me.

I'm sure it's more sensational to talk about the modchips and pirates and oh look at all that money that the industry loses to illegal copies of games! But a real opportunity was missed here to discuss what can really be done, within the limits of the law, with a modified console.

I guess I'll just stay in the back of this Cadillac with all the other folks using a modified console for legal purposes.

Yawn

[TheCarp]

Does it really matter?

I have noticed a trend lately. People see something that they effectivly can't stop, that is people modifying the hardware THAT THEY BOUGHT AND PAID FOR. To get around restrictions that were built into it.

Now some people want to ask "Does this have a legitimate use?". Can it possibly matter? They arn't making WMDs here, they are modifying some game hardware that they bought and paid for, they are modifying their own property.

I think it absolutly audacious that restrictions of any sort were artificially built into these products for any reason other than operator safety. Even more so that someone would question whether modification of ones own property has "legitimate use".

The most fundamental legitimate use of a mod chip is "because I wanted to". End of story.

-Steve

Real reasons for mod chips

[emtboy9]

First off, why is it never mentioned that there has been a significant increase in video game RENTALS in the last few years as more and more video stores (esp the Mom&Pop rental stores) start stocking more and more games? Hell, why should I pay 50+ for a game for my PS2 that I can rent for 5 days for 4.95? I usually have the games I play beat in under 10 days, so for 10 bucks, I get the game, get the play, and dont get stuck with a disk I dont want afterwards.

As for Mod chips, I dont have a modded PS2 or XBox yet, but if I did, the sole reason would be to play imports from Japan. There are some pretty slick games in Japan that will never make it to market here simply because of the cultural differences. So what choice do I have? Move to Japan, or a Mod chip... since technically, it is illegal for me to go to Japan, buy a PS2, XBox, or GameCube, then bring it back into the country with assorted games.

Maybe if game companies, like the DVDCCA would get their heads out of their arses for a bit, and realize that the very idea of region coding is stupid, and that gamers are getting tired of paying 50+ per game, for games that are NOT that expensive to design anymore, lower the prices and get rid of the stupid region coding crap.

I mean, if a new game comes out, that is truely new, with a new engine, new graphics, etc, then yeah, its probably worth 50 bucks or so. But a sequal, or a sequal to a sequal, running on the same base code that the original did, with the only real changes being maps, images and avatars, is NOT worth 50 bucks.

I certainly would not pay new car price to get my old car re-painted, so why should I pay new game price to get my old game re-mapped?

Don't forget region protection

[danaris]

The other important legitimate reason to have a modchip is to play games from a different region. I have Final Fantasy X, but I hate the people doing the voices (except for a couple of them). I've found a few clips online of the Japanese version, and I love the voices there. I want to buy--legally, from Square--the Japanese version, so I can play it through with the original voices. But I can't play it on my US PS2 without a modchip. Thus, I intend to get a modchip.

I don't have any backups (though, once I have a modchip, I might make some, for exactly the reasons you state), and never plan to get PS2 games illegally. I just want to play games from Japan. If there were a modchip that allowed me to play legal imports, but not backup games, I'd get it.

There is, so far as I can tell, no possible legal argument against this, unless they take the DMCA and twist it even farther than the printer manufacturers have. Having bought the original media, why can I not access it? Heck, I'll even wait until the game comes out in the US (if there are plans to) before buying it, so they don't even have that stupid argument!

I want to give them my money, but Sony won't let me.

Dan Aris

Re:Sure...(Let's outlaw everything.)

[gosand]

Yeah, sure, most modchippers are doing it for perfectly legitimate purposes, just like most Kazaa users are sharing music files from bands that have authorized it.

Most drivers go over the speed limit in their cars. Yet cars are still legal. Cars are used in homocides every day, yet cars are still legal. Guns are used to commit crimes, yet guns are still legal in the US. Alcohol is consumed by underage people, yet it is still legal in this country.

If you want to outlaw something because it has illegal uses, let's be fair across the board.

Having said that, I think that the *main* users of mod chips use them to pirate games. There are certainly legal uses of them however. There are legal (and quite useful) uses for P2P, even though the majority *right now* is for illegal activity. I think the key is to develop those legal uses, to have something to back up the technology.

Re:What about drug paraphenalia?

[Ellis D. Tripp]

Lack of enforcement probably has to do with lack of law enforcement resources, along with the vague "tobacco use" disclaimer in the federal statute. Head shop owners ALWAYS have a "for tobacco or legal herb use only" sign conspicuously posted, and generally will eject people who ask for the prohibited "bongs" rather than the permissible "water pipes". A strict reading of the federal law renders these things illegal, regardless of the disclaimer, but apparently the feds are content (for the time being) with busting ONLINE pipe sellers rather than their "brick and mortar" counterparts. Maybe when they get done arresting cancer patients and the like, they can start going after the menace of the "bong merchants"? Maybe the fact that the stores pay local taxes, etc. keep them safe from local cops?

Re:What about drug paraphenalia?

[DjMd]

Uhhh dude, it's not a Bong, it's a spacer
and it doesn't deliver more medicine, it makes for smaller particles which will go further into the lung (delivery verses dosage, but now I'm spliting hairs)

What a dilemma...

[gfxguy]

Now I will say that yes, I do know that it's illegal. I don't kid myself by thinking "well, it's for a good cause, so it's OK". And that it probably wasn't the best morality lesson to teach the kid. But you know what...sometimes the moral thing to do isn't the best thing to do. So what....one kid who wasn't born to rich parents gets to enjoy his childhood a little more. I don't feel guilty about giving him that pleasure. Maybe that say more about society then piracy...

I'm don't want to slam you or anything for doing this, after all, I don't really know what I'd do myself (although I've never had/used/installed a mod chip).

First of all, as sad as this is going to sound, if someone couldn't afford a playstation they probably shouldn't have bought one. For someone that a playstation is a big purchase, they ought to have done their homework and figured out that the console is just the start - there's the memory and extra controller, and that doesn't even include a game.

Now ask yourself, is that kid going to be better off in 10 or 20 years because he had a playstation? I doubt it.

And indeed, the lesson you taught him was that if you can't afford it it's OK to steal it. Now, we're not talking about a loaf of bread to feed a starving family, we're talking about something entirely luxerious. TVs, video games, cellphones... these are all luxeries, not essentials.

So you've made the kid and his mom happy, which is fine, but I personally don't find your contribution to society positive. If you wanted to be magnanimous, you should have just bought him a couple of legal games. As others have pointed out, there are plenty of bargain priced and used games out there.

Really, when faced with a situation like this, ask what is going to be the best for the boy in the long run. Receiving stolen goods probably isn't the answer to that question.