Xbox 360 Update Shuts Out Hackers, Fixes Issues

Gamasutra reports on the update to the Xbox 360's Live element, which fixes a number of bugs and smooths out certain elements of the system. It, allegedly, is also intended to shut out folks trying to hack Microsoft's new console by making the demo disc unusable on retail machines. From the article: "The demo disc in question was produced for Xbox 360 retail demo kiosks, and was found not to contain any copy-protection when hackers obtained their own unauthorized copy of the software in mid-December ... meaning it was possible to run demo versions of the Xbox 360 software on the disc on burned media. Several commenters on website Xbox-Scene seem to confirm that the disc is no longer functional."

Comments

It's only a matter of time

[XenoRyet]

I think we can all agree that the demo disc business was only a tenative first step by the hackers, and not in a very productive direction. Just something to get them going as it were.

Despite MS's efforts, I feel safe saying it's still only a matter of time before a modded 360 becomes a reality.

I can understand why . . . .

[denverradiosucks]

I can understand why Microsoft is so protective of their XBox system, but for the sake of covering their own behinds, they have ignored an entire niche market (xbox hackers). I am curious to find out what percentage of original xbox's have mods made to them. There are dozens of different mods out there that enhance what Microsoft has put together.

Instead of shunning these people, embrace them. Give them opportunities to mod the Xbox. Lend them code or reference design information. Do it with the idea that if you do, Microsoft will not honor parts or all of their warranty.

Really, why would Microsoft really care about this? All it is is more Xbox units being sold and more money in their pocket. I see it as a win-win situation.

Re:I can understand why . . . .

[MaineCoon]

Microsoft loses money on each system sold currently, and (hopes to) make it up on license fees for game sales. More games sold is more money in their pocket. Each unit sold is money lost.

So every unit sold for homebrew modding for Linux, or modding for running pirated titles, is a financial loss, since it won't have any game sales to offset the loss and turn a profit.

Re:I can understand why . . . .

[Cutriss]

But at the same time, every Xbox sold helps to create a self-fulfilling prophecy with regards to pitching the console to developers. If you can point at your market and say that there are n million consoles in deployment, even if 1 million of them aren't intended for game purchases, that still makes the market look that much bigger, and those console purchasers aren't exactly locked out from buying future games/accessories for the system, so even if you bought your console just to hack it, you're still just as marketable for the next extreme beach volleyball game as the normal game purchasers. The "clever ploy" fails.

Incidentally, this is one aspect of anti-piracy where the PSP differs greatly from the Xbox. With the Xbox, console hackers would simply lose the ability to play games on Xbox Live, but they could still do system-link and otherwise play their games normally. The PSP's anti-piracy measures force the user to choose between either homebrew or retail games, a distinction which may (in a very small way) be part of the reason why the PSP doesn't sell very many games.

Re:Pushing Updates

[INeededALogin]

/me whips out ethereal to get to work.

Oh wait, I didn't buy an XBox360

doh!

Re:Microsoft screws their biggest fans

[davidstrauss]

What's the surprise? It's not marketed as a "hack this for fun" box. It's a box marketed to play games licensed for the XBox 360. There's no deception, and spending your money on something designed to foil you is silly indeed.

Re:Microsoft screws their biggest fans

[ZachPruckowski]

The problem, as I see it, is that big industries are beginning to just assume that people have to buy their stuff. They seem to feel that it's their system still. Like Blizzard and the Warden, like all this DRM nonsense, like all the crap the music and film industries are throwing out there. Big Companies can't accept the idea that their industry as a whole can shrink. They assume that there is no way their industry could shrink, and no one else is allowed to enter their market. Both of which assumptions are completely anti-capitalist.

Re:Microsoft screws their biggest fans

[generic-man]

How exactly is the "LUNIX!!! WE WILL LOAD EMULATORZ ON UR CONSOLE! W00T X-CREW F0REVER! GREETZ NA BZ LKS I-0-I" crowd "Microsoft's biggest fans?"

Re:Allegedly?

[Reeltime]

Actually, it doesn't. The article does not quote Larry Hyrb (aka Major Nelson), it quotes a person who posted a comment to Larry's blog. This hack blocking code has not been officially announced, though it's pretty clear this was a reason for this quick fix. They did include some legitimate and necessary improvements, too, but probably rushed this out faster to block the demo disc.

Nintendo doesn't.

[Valdrax]

Nintendo has always sold it consoles for a profit perhaps only losing slight amounts of money right around when it cut prices on the GameCube to $99. Selling at a loss is a recent thing, done by companies that can survive off of other products until revenue from game licenses kicks up. Nintendo, as a company that lives and dies by video games and consoles alone, has always had to sell the system itself at a small profit to stay in business.

Re:Changelog?

[Funk_dat69]

Found this on xbox-scene.com

changelog:

This free update, is now available over Xbox Live. There are no new features in this release, but rather a series of fixes and enhancements. Some of the items the update addresses are:
* Improved logic around deciding if saved games should be deleted and offer the option to only delete the profile and to leave all save data.
* Users reporting blank Friends List on the Xbox 360 dash after muting a friend while playing a game in Backwards Compatibility mode.
* Improved synching of games played to Web and in console.
* Network settings: keyboard does now allow entry of - (dash) character in the keyboard.
* Improvements to the Xbox Guide.
* Increased accuracy of "last time played."
* Network configuration improvements for Xbox Live members in the Netherlands.
* More detailed messaging for unreadable disk or region errors.

How's this HACKING anyway?

[Moraelin]

Been meaning to ask this since the original "woohoo, 'hackers' released an ISO of an unprotected XBox 360 demo disk" article: how's this hacking anyway? What's the coding or even cracking challenge in making an ISO of a DVD? How's it "news for nerds, stuff that matters"?

It's just piracy, and of the kind that doesn't need any skills. Any kid with a DVD drive and Nero or any other DVD burning program can make an ISO.

Now I can see how, say, finding an exploit to boot Linux on the original XBox was "hacking" (in either meaning of the word you swear by). Or how those people who made the PSP load *ahem* "homebrewn games" (strange how those are only waved around as an excuse to load _pirated_ commercial games) were "hackers".

But pirating an unprotected DVD? Gimme a break.