More on XBox Live Bans, HDD Crippling, Possible Ban Causes

bachagabriel - 45 days 21 hours ago

People will start selling Banned X360 consoles

People are gonna get screwed.. Nothing new from MS

Agree(6) | Disagree(9) | Report

StanLee - 45 days 21 hours ago

If you choose to have a modded console and pirate games, you deserve whatever punishment you get. I'm not going to feel sorry for these persons.

Agree(11) | Disagree(5) | Report

Montrealien - 45 days 20 hours ago

good job basha, Pirates are douches and a pain for our beloved industry and as MS fights back, they are still to blame.

*golfclaps*

Agree(6) | Disagree(4) | Report

_hiphopgamer_ - 45 days 20 hours ago

Go Micro.

Agree(3) | Disagree(8) | Report

meepmoopmeep - 45 days 20 hours ago

@Montrealean

Do you sell used games at your store?
the industry loses to that as well

Agree(5) | Disagree(3) | Report

Montrealien - 45 days 20 hours ago

wow, that being said, the used car business hurts the car industry also right?

enlighten me, how exactly does selling used games hurt the industry? I really want yoyu to explain it to me. And I`ll remember your explenation when I have 150 people standing outside my store tonight for Call of Duty modern warfare 2, most of them trading in games to get it.

There is no margin in selling only new stuff, its impossible to have a only new games store and pay the bills, its always been like this. Have you ever walked the streets of Tokyo for games? yeah, the used game market is hurting the industry, gogo internetz logic.

edit: just a little detail of the business meepboop, and I have a busy store in Montreal. For Call of duty 4 we bought around 40k of stock alone for a return of maybe 6k, that`s if we sell it all. I mean, its all cool and hip to be against the man online but at the end of the day a store like ours is a business that is in the real world and there is simply no way in hell we can run a succesful business in this industry if we did not sell used games or rent them for that matter. You want us to dissapear and you just order your games magicaly online from wharehouses, fine, but for me and many like myself, I still prefer actually going to a store, chatting with people and finding rare gems in the flesh that I can hold in my hands. If I want that kind of business to still work it will be by selling used games, and as long as our business model works, it is GOOD for the industry cause if our stores close down, it is BAD for the indusrty.

ffs, instead of staying on topic and really talking out about the pirates that are truly bad for the industry you dare attacked us? you are wrong man just plain wrong.

/end rant, sorry guys I am wired on caffein and its the calm before the storm of a big midnight event here.

Agree(5) | Disagree(4) | Report

Greywulf - 45 days 19 hours ago

hmm, holidays are coming up.

Agree(2) | Disagree(2) | Report

sbstncstllo - 45 days 18 hours ago

I used to be a PS fanboy untill I played Gears of War 1 on my brother's xbox, as I became addicted to it I bought myself an xbox 360 and the game.
Unfortunately the gears of war DVD would work for 1-3 months only then I'll get the can't read disk error.
I ended up buying Gears of War 3 times, when Gears of War 2 came out I was very busy playing Gears1 on the computer (loved using keyboard and mouse on my favorite game).
So I didn't rush in to buy Gears2 especially because alot of my friends said that it was nothing like gears1 etc etc.
When the pc community for gears1 was almost dead, I went ahead and bought gears2 for xbox 360.
At that time they did not have the option for the HD install (could be wrong) at least I wasn't aware of it.
So one day I was browsing through the ads on my local craigslist and saw and ad for flashing xbox's to ixtreme firmware for only $25 and I called the guy and had him flash my xbox, I believe was ixtreme 1.5 or 1.4 can't remeber... anyways I ended up never making a backup of the original gears of war 2 game as I traded to gamestop a few days after I beat the campaign because I really HATED the multiplayer compared to the first gears.
So I read somewhere about the abgx360 and the new 3/4th wave games... and decided to update de firmware to 1.6 like 2 weeks ago and even though I haven't played a single backup in the 3-4 years old xbox I was banned from live yesterday.
I know I broke the TOS agreement when I decided to mod my xbox but, I still think that there should be a legal way to make AND play your legitimate backups!!

Agree(0) | Disagree(5) | Report

IdleLeeSiuLung - 45 days 15 hours ago

I'm not denying you didn't have the problem, but your experience is likely in the minority. Probably more common than issues on the PS3, but far from the majority.

If you modified your Xbox 360, you broke the agreement. If you have a beef with a game that the console broke, and it is a faulty design you are free to sue them or complain online.

There is no other country in the world, where suing is like a lottery in the US. There is no repercussion if you loose, unfortunately.

-------------------

Pirates are parasites and threaten the industry and the people that work in it. In the end of the day, game developers are just people that expect a paycheck at the end of the month.

Agree(0) | Disagree(3) | Report

_hiphopgamer_ - 45 days 20 hours ago

you are missing the point of modded 360's. People dont want to pay for games, how the hell are suppose to burn a Blue Ray disk?

Agree(4) | Disagree(7) | Report

kikicub - 45 days 20 hours ago

Man, YOU are missing the point. I don't want to pay for a Ferrari, should I go out and steal it?

I'm not too crazy about MS, but they're doing the right thing.

Agree(1) | Disagree(1) | Report

Soda Popinsky - 45 days 20 hours ago

If I wanted a PS3 I would have gotten one already. If I was a pirate and my 360 was banned I would rather get a new 360 and play it safe. I chose it in the first place because I prefer it's games, online, controller etc over the PS3's.

Agree(3) | Disagree(4) | Report

Kushan - 45 days 18 hours ago

With a Blu-ray burner? You know, they do exist. Sure, the disks aren't cheap but back in the PS2 days, neither were DVDs and that didn't stop those pirates.
Same goes for the PS1 days. Even if it works out only $5 cheaper per game, enough people will want to pirate stuff.

Agree(3) | Disagree(2) | Report

PirateThom - 45 days 18 hours ago

And, even then, having a Blu-ray burner is useless, since only debug PS3s will run burned game discs.

Agree(3) | Disagree(2) | Report

bachagabriel - 45 days 15 hours ago

Back when I had a PS2 the first thing I did is mod it..
In my home country everybody does that...
you buy any game for 3$ instead of 60$

Sony did the right move with the PS3
Piracy free!

Agree(0) | Disagree(0) | Report

ReBurn - 45 days 15 hours ago

Piracy free so far. When it's cost-effective to pirate the pirates will figure out how to do it. I guess the answer is to use technology that is too expensive to be worth it to the average pirate. You may also prevent some paying customers from buying your product, but sooner or later you'll get the price down enough for people to catch up.

It's only a matter of time before someone cost-effectively mods a PS3. I doubt Sony is the only company to ever figure out how to prevent it. If they did then PS3 revenues would be chump-change compared to the money they'd be making in the IP security biz.

Agree(0) | Disagree(0) | Report

Kareem - 45 days 21 hours ago

"This is all a sad attempt by M$ to get these people to buy new 360s because the PS3 is outselling the 360 now and will continue to from now on."

You have got you be kidding me?

Agree(8) | Disagree(4) | Report

Troll_Police - 45 days 21 hours ago

Why now? Piracy has been a problem on the Xbox for years and M$ turned a blind eye up until now. Why?

Agree(7) | Disagree(10) | Report

ps360master - 45 days 21 hours ago

dude my 4 year old cousin is smarter than that....you should just stop trolling

Agree(7) | Disagree(3) | Report

v1c1ous - 45 days 21 hours ago

to say what you just said

Agree(7) | Disagree(3) | Report

siyrobbo - 45 days 21 hours ago

@ Troll_Police

Ms have been banning 360's this time of the year every year since 2007, its nothing new. Only this time theyseem to be going for it, banning everyone and crippling there 360's

Its about time they did something

now they just need to disable modded controllers

Agree(5) | Disagree(4) | Report

Montrealien - 45 days 20 hours ago

Time for a new account Troll_Police.

May I suggest Fail_Police?

Agree(6) | Disagree(1) | Report

Baka-akaB - 45 days 20 hours ago

What is there to explain ? you are just silly here .

Once you follow the proper procedures and dont act like a moron , 360 piracy is easy , but it's still a chore . you have to deal with various hardware , especially dvd drives , and constantly be on the outlook for firmware updates , new protections and verifying your iso is safe online .

Microsoft never turned a blind eye to piracy , and this hardly even stop . It's the usual banhammer only far harsher this time .

Like the stupid MW2 player pretending they got a copie from he broken street date , and getting caught for using hacked copies too early or unverified .

360 piracy was hardly open , the door were forced with a roundhouse kick , and contrary to popular believes microsoft fight it , especially when every dlc is available for free to pirates ... they have just been their usual incompetent self , like on PC .

Anyone thinking they benefits from from having their console so cracked open people dont even have to hide offline is deluded at best .

PS : I'm just informed , as know people like everyone else . I even actually considered doing it , since my sole games on 360 are a few jrps and solo stuff .

But given that i'm a huge jrpgs fan, and remember the dire era when japanese devs wouldnt bother translating any non high profile jrpg or obscure japanese games , i refuse to , and support the us-eu versions .

But i'd be more tempted if i care for the big fps guns such as halo or cod like many others . Especially when activision jerks announces proudly more COD MW players than copies actually sold .

Agree(1) | Disagree(0) | Report

_hiphopgamer_ - 45 days 20 hours ago

LOL...I hope for your sake you were joking.

Are you really that ignorant to believe what you wrote and still have the b@lls to argue your point.

Agree(1) | Disagree(4) | Report

lsujester - 45 days 15 hours ago

There IS reason they do the banning this time of year... they have their heavyweight games out. They've likely been sitting on many of these names for months now, just waiting for this time. Been playing ODST and looking forward to MW2... then bam, you're banned. The only way to get that game you've been playing or wanting is to buy a new console. Even if you mod it again and get a copied version, they still just sold you another 360.

Agree(0) | Disagree(0) | Report

EmperorSupreme - 45 days 21 hours ago

@va_bank
It's how MS does business. They do the same thing with their software in other countries where they don't lead the market. They will offer it and intentionally let people pirate their software. Once they get the majority of the market they bring the hammer down.

Agree(4) | Disagree(1) | Report

Baka-akaB - 45 days 17 hours ago

Oh no they do care . Call of duty alone is a lot of money slipping by . It was a lot when the count of active cod4 players didnt match the amount of sold copies .

It was when many didnt buy fallout 3 and gta dlc and got it free . No ones pays 50 millions of exclusivity for DLC and shrug piracy off as some harmless mosquito sting .

Without easy to quantify and verify data , and the impossibility to trust numbers from game publishers , many dismiss piracy as something that isnt common among the masses , an something for the game aficionado and expert .

it couldnt be further from the truth imo . Piracy is quite widespread and easy on DS , Psp , Wii , 360 , and obviously PC .

The irony is that , even if what they are doing is wrong , Hardcore and dedicated pirate gamer often buys lots of games , while pirating those they cant afford or dont want to blow money upon . Yet they are often the hunter target .

While many others among the general public with no profound attachement whatsoever just dont want to pay anything at all .

Agree(1) | Disagree(0) | Report

catguykyou - 45 days 19 hours ago

I asked if I could send my console in so they could look at it and verify I haven't opened it and modded it. They still refused.
They said, when they get a console in for repair, if the account is flagged, they wont even look at the console. They just send it back.

Agree(1) | Disagree(1) | Report

zerocrossing - 45 days 18 hours ago

damnn that realy sucks it looks like MS just screewed you over, not only was there a problem with your original 360 but you send it to be fixed and they replace it with a modded one, and all the help they are basicaly theyre just fobbing you off, this is why i never have anything good to say about MS they should be giving you a brand new elete console for all the trouble they caused you, i realy hope you have no troubles with the next console you get.

Agree(1) | Disagree(1) | Report

Baka-akaB - 45 days 17 hours ago

I feel for you ... however ..

Dude you're not some heroin addict . They treat you like crap and you're buying a new 360 ?

And this isnt about taking sides in a war or whatever ... if they gave me the same crap on any other console they'd get my middle finger .

At some point , and at the risk of sounding insensitive .. you , and others feeding into the habit of bying again 360 for such reasons , gotta ask yourself if you aint getting the treatment you deserve ?

If they know you'll come back anyway , why would they bother treating you with the proper respect ?

Agree(3) | Disagree(1) | Report

Baka-akaB - 45 days 17 hours ago

Personally , i dont see what the hell is anyone doing buying a used 360 to begin with .

if it's a money issue , you're wasting as you're actually gambling on "how much shorter" will be the lifespan of that used 360 .

By now if you buy a 360 you probably already knows the ptential risk , high or not of it having a malfunction .. and now you add the uncertainty a used system without much knowledge of how it was treated ?

Sorry but if you get shafted with a banned or soon to be banned used 360 , the only one to blame would be you , and the unscrupulous vendor .

The case above is obviously different , as it was microsoft imcompetence's at fault , for not even checking if the console is modded to begin ith , before sending it as replacement .

Chances are most of those buyers would buy it BECAUSE they are modded and wanna tempt the ban fate , given how cheap they are , and how the prospect of free games sounds .

Agree(0) | Disagree(0) | Report

zerocrossing - 45 days 17 hours ago

i agree with you that fighting anything that hurts the gaming industry is a good thing, however how many of you have any idea how much piracy actualy effects the industry let alone damages it? let me tell you its a lot less than Sony, MS and Nintendo want you to think, so far the attempts to fight piracy by these companys has done far more damage to the industry than piracy has been doing,

lets start with the GC it used smaller discs in order to combat piracy however it was dificult for dev's to create games for the disc format also there was dificulty in fitting larger games on them thus causing Nintendo to miss out on some high profile games, Nintendo learnt from this mistake and went back to using reguler size discs unfortunatly they left us all for the casual market.

the PS3 has a special format disc known as the blue ray disc wich was another step to fight piracy also it is what is responsible for giving us great graphics without sacrificing the games length, however most of you may have noticed since the PS3's release the price of games has gone up by a good amount what in the UK would have been £35:99 now is £45:99 or even £50:00 it mite not sound like much but that £10:00 or £15:00 extra is enough to stop some people from buying new games causing them to purchase them later from a second hand store, alot of people now do this but by doing so the developers will not see as much profit and we are less likely to see sequels of our more obscure but beloved games,

now MS they have done the least to prevent piracy in the console gaming industry thus far, still using reguler DVD's theyre method seems more to allow piracy to go on untill there are enuogh people making and using pirated discs and moded 360's, creating somewhat of a publicity stunt by deleting accounts and causing many inocent buyers of 2nd hand 360's that have been moded unknown by them to lose the use of there console, this will inevitably cause damage to the industry wher many 360 usrers decide enough is enough and drop there 360's completly, if this is to happen the sales of many high profile games will drop sharply causing damage to the industry,

i personaly disagree with piracy but can see that many people who do pirate have theyre reasons usualy to do with the cost of gaming in this age, for the most part pirate gamers are not hardened criminals if you truely want them to stop then make games affordable otherwise this will continue,
i hope i have made my point that trying to stop pirating the wrong way like many have tride has actualy caused more damage to the gaming industry than pirating has caused.

Agree(0) | Disagree(0) | Report

dazzalfc - 45 days 16 hours ago

"Sorry but if you get shafted with a banned or soon to be banned used 360 , the only one to blame would be you "

Sorry? So its perfectly acceptable for people to be banned for buying a second hand console that they didn't know was modded? And they should take the blame, and sacrifice, for that? Right, ok. I think your forgetting that not everyone is stinking rich, nor is everyone a hardcore gamer. Trust me, the 'hardcore' are in the minority when it comes to gaming, and i doubt the common person on the street knows that the 360 can even be modded. As i said, i applaud MS for fighting this, but many will be punished for simply doing nothing wrong, and many will now be in a situation where they are buying a used console and finding out hours/days/weeks later that it cannot be used online, or many of its features cannot be used.

@ Zerocrossing - I wouldn't blame discs just for price hikes, but a combination of things. From disc formats, larger development teams with longer development times, higher skilled people demanding bigger wages, higher advertising costs.....there are tons of factors outside of just 'BLUray' to blame, and even then, good prices for new games aren't to find. Tomorrow i can buy Modern Warfare 2 on either 360 or PS3 for as little as £26, and can buy the likes of Fifa2010, PES2010, Uncharted 2 etc for as little as £30.

All i think is that Microsoft could have handled this in a more delicate way than just banning every console that has been hacked. Hell, its not even stopping piracy given you can still play downloadable games on a modded 360, you just cant take them onto xbox live

Agree(0) | Disagree(0) | Report

zerocrossing - 45 days 16 hours ago

i had alot to right and didnt want to go in to to much detail but what you siad is very true, the industry has grown a substantial ammonut so i guess it is only natural to be paid more for doing a big job thanks for picking me up on that one,

btw if you dont mind letting me in i would like very much to know wher your purchasing your games?

Agree(0) | Disagree(0) | Report

dazzalfc - 45 days 16 hours ago

Simples, the very places that are killing genuine game shops.....supermarkets! Sainsburys, Tescos, Asda, Morrisons...all sell games at stupid prices. Many of them are selling Modern Warfare 2 for under £30 tonight/tomorrow. Shopto.net is also a good source for games

Agree(0) | Disagree(0) | Report

zerocrossing - 45 days 16 hours ago

i gota say i havent realy checked many of those places out properly for games, like most ive been paying full price for the must have games and i try to get the others 2nd hand i'll definatly be checking around though even though the industry may suffer that little bit extra now lol anyway thanks very much apreciated =)

Agree(0) | Disagree(0) | Report

Baka-akaB - 45 days 15 hours ago

Not everyone is rich ? Guess what ? i'm far from it , wich is what i'd rather spend months getting the money for the cheapest new one , rather than gambling on a possibly faulty system , with the end prospect of having to buy it again .

If you buy used without any kind of knowledge of how the material was actually treated (unlike say buying it from someone you actually know , and a console you saw working multiples) , of course it's your fault if it blows up your face .

It's a meh analogy , but if you are buying a used car you'll check if everything is all right i guess ?

But to each their opinion anyway

Agree(0) | Disagree(0) | Report

4point7BillionLoss - 45 days 21 hours ago

exactly $4.7 billion in the last year

Agree(2) | Disagree(11) | Report

Bereaver - 45 days 21 hours ago

Most of Microsofts 360 sales are from people not wanting to repair their 360 and buy a new one. And now they are going to get more sales because the 360 they had was banned. Lol, man those bots that did this are stupid. No, not all 360 fan's are bots. Just the stupid ones.

Agree(4) | Disagree(2) | Report