Xbox Live Banhammer Comes Down on Modders
By Jared Newman
It’s no shock that if you modify your Xbox 360 console for any purpose, Microsoft reserves the right to ban you from Xbox Live, but one report suggests that Microsoft has kicked 600,000 people so far, mostly for playing pirated games. Now, the source of this number is sketchy at best. Some reports on this story are sourcing the BBC, which attributes the 600,000 figure to “online reports.” The original story actually comes from a cosplay blog, Pinoy Cosplay, whose information comes from “a friend who works for a call center that handles an Xbox 360 account.” The source’s figures are for the U.S. and Canada alone, and the source says Microsoft is pushing to ban 1 million consoles from Xbox Live by year-end (why a customer service call center would have this information is beyond me).
So, can you take this information at face value? Of course not, but Microsoft has confirmed that it’s targeting modders and pirates, even though no figures were provided. Says the company to GamesIndustry.biz: “In line with our commitment to combat piracy and support safer and more secure gameplay for the more than 20 million members of our Xbox Live community, we are suspending these modded consoles from Xbox Live.” Funny bonus story: The anguished cries of a confessed video game pirate.
Thursday, November 12, 2009 5:01PM
i think its crap to ban for pirate copies do you jobs and make it harder to copy the info i think they leak the stuff for games just in the hopes you will try it ban your box so you have to buy another one
Friday, November 13, 2009 12:19AM
I agree that albeit they are banning people for modding their consoles one of the primary reasons is that it might make people go out and buy another console to play on xbox live. But surely Microsoft must also realise that the rise in the number of people modding their consoles is due to the fact the price of games especially in the economic climate is a luxury that many people cannot afford so they are losing money in this respect but banning people from xbox live is also going to cost Microsoft as even if all 600,000 people banned only bought a month subscription to xbox live at £4.99 it has just cost Microsoft £2,994,000 in lost revenue!!!
Sunday, November 15, 2009 2:53AM
I have been on xbox live since the first day it was released, my box is modded, but have played at most 2 modded games on it since it was modded. If I am banned from Xbox live, I will have the excuse I need to jump ship to PS3. Microsoft needs to wake up and realize that alienating your customer base will only lead to a smaller customer base. This is going to become a PR nightmare for MS. What they should do is ban the account not the box.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009 5:44AM
i agree ms are so gunna loose revenue now xmas is on the way..sales for ps3 are through the roof already…well done ms there goes ur custom….
Tuesday, November 17, 2009 6:40PM
Pirating content weather it is a game, photoshop, movie, or music is a side effect of our modern culture where the children have all been raised and spoiled in luxury, and now believe everything should be given to them for free or without earning it. It is a disgrace that parents have instilled such values in their children. As a member of the development community I applaud Microsoft in the efforts to thwart piracy…just wish they would brick the boxes and the accounts not just ban them form XBox Live.
Sunday, February 28, 2010 2:14PM
It’s bullshit I went and bought a brand new xbox 360 elite and had it for about a week. It shitted out and the eye wouldn’t read the disc so I called Microsoft and they suggested I take it somewhere and get it cleaned. So I took my brand new xbox and got it cleaned. I got it back and was very pleased with the xbox workin again. I bought call of duty modern warfare 2 and was playing for about a few days I was 2 prestige level 50 something. I went to get on my xbox and the xbox had the red ring so I went to get it fixed and the fucker that fixed my eye tore the warranty seal. So I had to pay about 100 dollars to fix it. So I fixed it and when I got it back my xbox console was banned from live?? WTF!?!?!