260°

FBI involved in raid over Xbox secret

FBI involved in raid over Xbox secret

Dylan, whose home was raided by police. Picture: Ian Munro/The West Australian

A Perth teenager — who has gained popularity in cyberspace under the name SuperDaE — has had his home raided and possessions seized by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and WA Police as part of an international corporate espionage probe.

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au.news.yahoo.com
deanobi4097d ago

He apparently preferred the new Xbox to the PS4...

Gimmemorebubblez4097d ago

~Well I bet he justs loves Microsoft even more now~

majiebeast4097d ago (Edited 4097d ago )

Most hilarious part of the Kotaku article.

"He said that one of the cops told him he was a "pretty boy" who would "most likely be someone's bitch in jail."

Cops be trolling.

@Turbotoby
Hipster Jesus that was funny as hell or socially awkward teenage jesus.

TheBrownBandito4096d ago

@majiebeast

You sure do have a pretty mouth boy.... Lol!

JsonHenry4097d ago (Edited 4097d ago )

Must be nice MS to have so much money and clout you can use the FBI to bully and prosecute you over releasing info that is declared "secret" by a corporation. If a small business owner had something that was "secret" and got released on the internet do you think they would raid someone else in another country and jail them over it? NOPE! FFS they are acting like this guy is releasing national security secrets.

B1663r4097d ago

Industrial espionage is actually considered a national security issue...

Ju4097d ago

It is one thing to gain illegal access to information and sell this for a monetary value to the competition or a corporation doesn't verify their cliental and send them information to be leaked publicly - without monetary interest.

Well, he was stupid to offer the dev box on EBay. This probably put some "cause" into the whole affair. But come on, this is ridiculous.

It worries me that mega corporations can get away with such an unfunded reasoning and the institutions which should not be tied into that corporate world. After all I would consider democratic elected governments to be responsible to protect their citizens - not corporate interests. But maybe I am just naive.

MikeMyers4097d ago

You are being naive into thinking breaking past security and releasing private information should be a democratic right.

Ju4097d ago (Edited 4097d ago )

This is a corporation. They can use the legislation like any other entity and bring this in front of a civil court and sue for damages. Also, he did not "steal" that dev box. Somebody from MS must have sent it to him; voluntarily. So, if anything, someone at MS didn't do their homework. Sending the FBI (if that's even true) or escalating this in that form is abuse of power. Seriously. WTH. It is a little terrifying how much power corporations have these days; almost worse than in the early 1900s. Are we all really getting that blind? What he is guilty of, is a breach of NDA (or whatever conditions were bound to receiving a dev kit). But the truth of the matter is, MS sent him the material.

dcbronco4097d ago

I am not a fan of corporations. But, he did sign an NDA. The reason for the NDA is to make sure a company remains competitive in whatever industry. Stealing and selling secrets is a huge side business. I used to handle proprietary corporate information and you wouldn't believe the amount of stuff you had to sign. But the reason is it's information that can ruin a company. Or help the one receiving the information.

If you think it's not a big deal, list all of your personal information on your next post. Social security number, address, phone, everything. See how important inside information is.

nukeitall4097d ago

@Ju:

In some sense, protecting corporate interrests are protecting citizens interrests as well. We *NEED* corporations (or businesses if you prefer) to provide said products to our citizens as well as jobs.

Keep in mind, corporations consists of citizens so yes, institutions should protect corporate interrests.

"Also, he did not "steal" that dev box. Somebody from MS must have sent it to him; voluntarily. So, if anything, someone at MS didn't do their homework."

So if I lent you my house and you listed it for sale, then I didn't do my homework and it isn't stealing nor fraud?

Get out of here!!! Thats a load of BS!

If you want to respect citizen's right, you also need to respect corporations right.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4097d ago
LOGICWINS4097d ago

U know u can get 2-10 years for those "secrets" right? Corporate spying is no joke. Its the most prevalent white collar crime.

gatormatt804096d ago

I agree with most of your comment except I think that embezzlement is probably the most prevalent white collar crime.

Muffins12234097d ago

Here we go again on the hipster hating Microsoft...i can see why they are mad,they leaked specs like 6 months ago and that gave sony valuable info and they could get a graphical advantage and upgrade the gpu and ram likely because of that.

Ju4097d ago

You mean this is different than MS walking into the IBM office with a suite case full of cash to buy into CELL development? I guess they both try hard reading the competition. Ok, MS found the leak. Awesome. Lets punish him; he must be the source of all evil.

Knight_Crawler4097d ago

Dude have you not played Fall Out 3? Industrial Espionage can start a world wide nuclear fall out.

Dont want the Korea getting MS secrets...they might actually learn how to make a rocket.

BrianC62344097d ago

What's with more disagrees than agrees on your comment? You're right. The FBI had no reason to get involved in this. The police didn't either. It's a legal matter. If Microsoft was fooled into sending the guy a development kit it shows how dumb they are. Don't they check things like that? Can anyone just buy one if they have some money? If so they might want to change that.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4096d ago
MasterCornholio4097d ago (Edited 4097d ago )

So i guess the rumors are true then if Microsoft made such a huge effort to crack down on someone releasing fake information.

;)

You know SuperDae was the one who released the rumors on the Durango requiring a constant internet connection to function and you couldnt use it without Kinect 2 hooked up to it.

"Perhaps most importantly, this isn't an optional accessory. It's mandatory. Not only does a Kinect ship with every console, but it must be plugged in and calibrated for the console to even function."

http://kotaku.com/5982986/w...

EDIT: The constant internet connection didnt come from SuperDae my bad.

Software_Lover4097d ago

He falsified his info and mailing address and credit card info, allegedly, to obtain the kit. Its credit card fraud. FBI will get involved regardless of MIcrosoft.

Viper74097d ago

Depends where you live.

Many cyber criminals are located in countries simply inaccessible to the FBI or just not worth the potential trouble. E.g China.

Turbotoby4097d ago

He looks a bit like a nerdy hipster Jesus.

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110°

Boycott EA trends on X as community savages FC 24

EA has come under fire for making unexpected changes to its FC 24 Team of the Season unlocks.

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videogamer.com
anast1h ago

It's like boycotting 'your' local crack dealer. I'm sure it will change everything...

Xzila1149m ago

they manipulated the pack weight and admitting it on twitter

Kaozz19798m ago(Edited 7m ago)

Stop buying the fucking game! It is no secret that the game is based around opening packs that need to be bought with real money if you want to be competitive. Yes I know, you have the chance to get the cards without investing real money, but that is a real grind and you still may never get the cards you want. This is not new and it will not change if people keep buying the game/packs.

210°

Why Xbox believes it must cut costs and close studios

Companies, particularly public companies like Microsoft, need to grow.

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eurogamer.net
gold_drake7h ago

i mean its pretty simple, they spent close to 30 billion in acquiring activision, they thought they'd make it bk no problem, and that didnt happen.

its just shit that because of MS's miscalculation alot of people lost their jobs.

Jingsing4h ago

This is exactly what many people said would happen including the CMA and FTC. Lies lies and more lies and they allowed a $69 billion buy out to happen.

gold_drake4h ago

oh yeh it was 70 billion. that was my bad haha even worse.

thesoftware7304h ago(Edited 3h ago)

gold,

You can't be serious, right?

Do you think that MS thought they would make 80bill in a year & Half? They haven't even released titles under MS yet, lol.

But in fact, that A/B revenue is already paying off, look at the last earnings call. That $80 billion is long-term money, my guy, no sane person/company would think they would make that back in any short-term situation, it's a long-term investment.

Let's play silly then. If MS's reason for laying off staff and closing studios was due(which it really was not) to the A/B deal, tell me what Sony's reason was for past studio closures, the recent 900-person layoffs, closing Sony London, shutting down Dreams, and closing Japan Studio? Zipper? Psygnosis? cuts at all their internal studios.

Keep in mind, you are claiming MS's reason is because of the A/B deal; please explain Sony's reason.

Hofstaderman3h ago

You actually still defending them? Sheesh.....

gold_drake3h ago

this is not a sony vs MS debate. dont make it something it isnt.

and of course not, but im pretty sure they thought they'd make more money after the deal. they didnt, and closed off some studios.

its pretty insane to think there is any other reason for the closure of studios in this case.

romulus233h ago(Edited 3h ago)

(It really was) due to the Activision Blizzard deal and the loss of physical sales due to gamepass. You keep bringing up Sony in all your posts about this, stop deflecting and trying to change the topic, this is about MS and what they are doing.

BehindTheRows3h ago

Has nothing to do with Sony. Stay on topic.

notachance3h ago

once in a while you see someone too invested in their make-believe console war that everything happened has to be connected to said war…

a bit of banter between fans is normal, this crusade you’re doing now isn’t.

Chevalier2h ago

Wow idiotic. You bring up very old closures not that there haven't been recent ones from Playstations, but, seriously stop deflecting. This has NOTHING to do with Playstation.

Does Playstation got $3 trillion behind them and daddies wallet? No they don't so stop making a fool of yourself.

Xbox has never been profitable really and they just keep losing money so between their worst hardware sales, terrible 3rd party sales and now terrible 1st party sales.

Gamepass numbers that are no longer being announced shows their numbers after 3 years of missed targets has flatlined. Plus their recent gains up to 34 million were ONLY because they folded Gold members in too. Absolutely take your idiotic rhetoric out of here. Keep on topic without deflecting.

S2Killinit2h ago

Ayayayay with these xbox/MS excuses.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 2h ago
thesoftware7301h ago(Edited 1h ago)

Drake,

"this is not a sony vs MS debate. dont make it something it isnt."

You are correct that it's not an MS Vs Sony Topic, but when exaggeration and imagination mix from a one-sided social group, similar examples are needed to ground radical thoughts; in this instance, the example was that shutting down 3,4,5, even 6 studios during a restructure/ buyout/acquisition is not some anomaly(it can suck) that has to be dissected or spell doom and gloom.

"But I'm pretty sure they thought they'd make more money after the deal. They didn't, and they closed off some studios."

But they did make more money, a lot, actually; the last earnings call showed a huge growth in profit, almost all due to A/B revenue.

"its pretty insane to think there is any other reason for the closure of studios in this case."

The fact that they did make money, kinda throws this out the window, and besides, you don't wake up and say, hey let's close a studio, you look at the output, you look at the dev as a whole, the long term and short term, you weigh it against all other studios and goals, you keep key members, ect..then you close if they are the weakest links...which by MS analysis they were.

Again, I will make a small Sony comparison, just so some of you can understand and see past the bias; Insomniac, ND, and Bungie have made some of the best games ever created, yet Sony saw fit to cut jobs in every of these studios, even tho Insomniac & ND are the biggest producers of PS games, leagues ahead better than Tango and Arkane, yet, they saw cuts, mind you, while being the TOP produces of PS first party. They were told to cut costs, and more jobs may be on the line, and Bungie is being threatened by a hostile Sony takeover. Put that in perspective, as I know that layoffs and dev closures are different, but if the best of the best is getting cut off, it is less than surprising, that lesser studios are closing.

@Cheva,
My response fits well with your comments as well. You even went on to prove that the dev closures are not just due to A/B acquisition. Then you point out Sony has less money than MS, inferring that MS should keep devs open that they see as lesser earners, while Sony having less money makes it okay to close them. lol...it doesn't work that way.

gold_drake1h ago

im not reading all of that. u have ur opinion, i have mine.

thats rly it.

but this aint sony vs ms.

ApocalypseShadow48m ago

You're trying to compare a 100 billion company to a company that has 3 TRILLION worth. SIE has to live or die on their own. And in turn, PlayStation has helped the main company again and again. Sony has to balance out what is working and not working in the company.

While Xbox has Daddy Warbucks footing the bill to keep the platform afloat. They have been bleeding money from Nvidia hardware in the OG Xbox, the RROD fiasco, the attempted 2013 DRM nonsense and the lies about being the most powerful console in the world and the losses of paying out millions to prop up a service hoping it catches on with enough subscribers to justify its existence.

They're not comparable if Xbox isn't allowed to live or die by its actions. It's subsidized. Revenue isn't profit. And if they were profiting on their own, they wouldn't be closing developers. If they were profiting, they wouldn't need Daddy Warbucks spending 80 to 100 billion buying up 3rd party publishers to sustain a loss leading platform.

They stopped announcing game sales, stopped announcing hardware sales, stopped announcing game pass subscribers, they are putting games on their competitors platforms but you're telling us that they are doing great even after killing jobs and closing developers at Xbox.

Stop drinking the Kool aid. You're drunk.

anast4h ago

They are going to use AI for a large portion of the game development process. Upper management need bonuses and the shareholders need more money. So, people will lose their jobs.

Skuletor4h ago

Maybe they were already using AI to make business decisions, which would explain why they closed Hi-Fi Rush's studio, then said they need more games like Hi-Fi Rush not long after that announcement.

Crows903h ago(Edited 3h ago)

They shouldn't have bought any studios. Some is okay...but they went on a shopping spree...stupid

Einhander19722h ago

The better question is why did Microsoft buy publishers for a service they were subsidizing they knew couldn't support.

And why are so many websites trying to make people feel sorry for Microsoft instead of truly criticizing the fact they are closing studios and killing jobs that would have been fine if Microsoft themselves hadn't gotten involved.

Quit feeling sorry for Microsoft and start feeling sorry for the industry and the all the gamers who are actually losing out.

THIS IS MICROSOFTS FAULT.

RNTody2h ago

The first thing that happens after any major acquisition or merger is a consolidation of the whole new portfolio, which includes cutting any excess, bloat or portfolios that don't fit the larger MO of the big boy. So far, it's been par for the course with Microsoft and that's why gamers have been so against this acquisition. Tango Gameworks is the beginning. You think Microsoft wants to pay to keep small timers like Ninja Theory in business?

There is absolutely zero evidence to suggest that Microsoft will improve any of these studios, but plenty to suggest that they will get rid of what they don't need and hold onto the IP. The real agenda of the acquisition was always to acquire The Elder Scrolls, Diablo, Fallout, Call of Duty, Candy Crush etc. that will create millions in passive revenue stream for Microsoft regardless of where the games release. Microsoft simply wants their cut.

Because of Games Pass Microsoft has no interest in investing in new IP which is risky and requires creative talent they can neither nurture nor manage. Game Pass has also not grown in the way Microsoft expected it to, even post acquisitions. Therefore the logical thing to do, without serious money makers to release, is to cut as much cost as possible.

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