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Microsoft Bans Modified Xbox 360s From Xbox Live
An anonymous reader writes "Microsoft has now officially started banning Xbox 360s that have had their DVD drive firmware modified from Live, possibly using information brought in by the Crackdown-originated Halo 3 beta downloads. Scene site forums have already collapsed under traffic, and Microsoft has officially confirmed that they are banning modded Xbox 360s to keep the online playing field fair and level."
What does banning altered consoles have to do with keeping online play 'fair and level'?
I thought that copies are identical to the originals.
One might say that using a modified XBox could mean hacked console firmware to gain unfair advantages, like visual aids, gfx drivers clip hacks, aimbots, tricks with skins, etc.
Another one might say that this is FUD applied to online gaming. After all, we're talking about Microsoft.
In an ideal world people would be able to mod their DVD players to their heart's content without having to worry about things like this.
Unfortunately, we don't live in an ideal world. As a Live player who frequently encounters modders who use their modifications to gain unfair (read ridiculous) advantage over the competition. It's no fun to play the game and service you're paying for when you have opponents with auto-aiming snipers that shoot through walls. Or even if they can just fly (a far more rare and less threatening occurrence that is nonetheless not an exaggeration. As long as stuff like that exists banning modded 360's from live is a good way to protect the greatest part of your paying customer base from such behavior.
You can. They just don't want you to play online against people who have OEM consoles.
If they didn't want you to mod the box at all, they could just brick it.
// "Can't clowns and pirates just -try- to get along?"
It's their network, why shouldn't they ban people that don't play by their rules?
I say this as somebody that purchased a 360 less than a week ago, and loaded up the hacked firmware for my drive less than 24 hours ago.
Am I bummed? Not really. It's a private network, they can do whatever they like with it. Doing anything I want with my hardware sure as shit is my right, but I shouldn't expect other people to be forced to allow me to play on their servers like it's some base human right being violated.
"What I'm saying is that unlike software (including music), you don't buy a license to use/listen to it."
No, with Live that's exactly what you do.
"You buy the physical hardware and you can do whatever you want to it."
Knock yourself out, but purchasing the hardware doesn't automatically give you the right to access Microsoft's network facilities on your terms rather than theirs.
1. The 360 is popular because it's a very good product. As is. If someone from "free software land" buys it, they're presumably not buying it to install Linux and turn it into a networked bagel toaster control center.
2. Even if the 360 were highly-moddable and could easily run Linux and function as a workstation and do all kinds of unexpected and exciting things, why should we let the modded Xbox on Live? And why would the modder care at all about being banned from Live? The only modders who would care about that are "pirates" and people who cheat at games.
3. Finally, MS doesn't make much money on things 360. Not yet, anyway. And really, regardless of how I feel about MS's style of competition and no matter what I might like or dislike about them, I don't lose sleep whenever I think about them making money. It's not like they're using the money to burn down forests and put lead in grade school water supplies.
http://nerdcartoons.com/