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Xbox Live Class Action Being Investigated
eldavojohn writes "Were you negatively affected by the recent ban on Xbox Live for modifying hardware you own? Did you modify yours for homebrew or altering things you paid for and not to engage in piracy? Abington IP would like to hear from you and may be able to help. From that page: 'If you are an Xbox Live subscriber, had your modified Xbox console banned from Xbox Live, were not refunded a prorated sum for the time left on your subscription, or have experienced other problems as a result of being banned, and would like to participate in a class action against Microsoft, please submit your information below.' Someone is finally standing up for the legitimate hobbyists. Should Microsoft worry?"
The DVD drive mods that people got banned for were all about playing 'backups' which really means pirated games in 99% of these cases.
I've been reading the argument that people have just been banned from XBL, because modifying your console somehow violates the TOS of XBL.
However, this time the ban does not just kick you off online multiplayer, it also disables functionality to install games on the included HDD! Games already installed on that HDD will not be accessible anymore. Also, any savegame you continue playing with on the banned console will get tagged with the result that you can't copy it to any other (banned or unbanned) consoles anymore.
Since a lot of people bought the Xbox360 with the ability to install games on the internal HDD right out of the box it can be argued that MS impaired the users' hardware in some way.
Also: it is rumored that it is possible for MS to band your console through future (mandatory) updates on game discs, even if you never played online. The technical capabilites are there, but if they ever start doing that their XBL-TOS-argument will be seriously flawed.
Incorrect. Your Xbox live account works just fine, it just does not work on that specific console anymore. If you go buy a new console, your live account will log right back in all hunky-dory.
>>>They booted you off THEIR NETWORK.
And failed to refund upto 2 years of Xbox Live subscription, or refund dollars for games that no longer work without the online connection.
As a clarification, they did not boot you off of Live, they booted the console off of Live. You still have a subscription, your modified hardware just can't use it. Your subscription will still work on a legitimate device.
Write your representatives! Repeal the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics!