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View Full Version : Microsoft Strikes Back: Violations of XBox

LarryFlowers
11-11-09, 05:19 PM
An estimated nearly 1 million users of Xbox Live will find themselves banned for making illegal modifications to their consoles and for the use of illegally downloaded games.

Their statement reads:

"All consumers should know that piracy is illegal and that modifying their Xbox 360 console to play pirated discs violates the Xbox Live terms of use, will void their warranty and result in a ban from Xbox Live."
ncxcstud
11-11-09, 05:50 PM
I support this post and Microsoft's Ultimate Ban-Hammer of Eternal Oblivion :)
Fontano
11-11-09, 06:15 PM
I agree with their position on it, however I am disappointed that increasing the size of the hard drive, which is an external device, and designed to be changed, is considered modifying.

The price they are charging for a 120gb hard drive is just absolutely insane, given the prices of hard drives today.

I so want to increase the size of my drive, so I can load a few more games to it to quiet the box down.
naijai
11-11-09, 07:31 PM
I wondered why some people stopped coming online :lol:
Definetly support it and i'm sure they are going to be people out there whining about the ban
Mark Holtz
11-11-09, 11:17 PM
Xbox hard drive - 120GB -$135 according to NewEgg.
Samsung 160GB hard drive - $39 according to NewEgg
WD 150GB Velociraptor 150GB - $180 according to NewEgg

I knew something was up when I began reading stories about Microsoft disallowing third party memory sticks in the next firmware upgrade.
djlong
11-12-09, 10:27 AM
Xbox hard drive - 120GB -$135 according to NewEgg.


I've purchased 500GB bus-powered hard drives (Free Agent Go) for $109 at Best Buy.

I've bought 1TB desktop drives for as little as $100.

This is certainly one area where MS is still in "rip off mode"
cdizzy
11-12-09, 10:44 AM
This is nothing new. I have 3 friends who were banned from xbox live because of mods almost 2 years ago.
Steve
11-12-09, 10:53 AM
I've purchased 500GB bus-powered hard drives (Free Agent Go) for $109 at Best Buy.

I've bought 1TB desktop drives for as little as $100.

This is certainly one area where MS is still in "rip off mode"I don't use these products, and generally agree with anti-piracy measures. But if Microsoft is going to cut you off for installing your own reasonably-priced hard drive, it seems like they're just going to drive prospective buyers to the competition, no?
Lee L
11-12-09, 10:59 AM
So, they really are banning people with home brewed HD mods?

I almost did it a while back, but held off worried this might happen. I'm glad I did.

Still, I support them banning cheaters and pirates, but the hard drive thing is a little tougher to get behind. IT seems a little childish and in teh spirit of raping the wallets of their consumers. Get the MS 120 gig drives to $99 and maybe it would see a touch more fair.
LarryFlowers
11-12-09, 12:20 PM
I know the hard drive thing is an issue... and I get it. Todays Hard Drives are so cheap..

I think the main target Wednesday was people who had performed mods that allowed the playing of certain illegally obtained games.

One thing to keep in mind: some of these "modded" units could turn up on say EBay... you won't know you cant play online, the ban is attached to the console.
roadrunner1782
11-12-09, 12:35 PM
I've already started seeing "banned" 360's showing up on my local craigslist ads here. I don't have a 360 but been thinking about getting one and I support the ban on the piracy side of things. I don't support the fact that they are banning people for having bigger hard drives though. Kind of dumb IMO since you can upgrade the HDD in the PS3 and Sony has no issues with it.
Lee L
11-13-09, 07:52 AM
There are 32 up on Ebay right now that even state they have been banned. Most are pretty cheap. $50-$75. Makes me wonder if it is worth it to try and pick one or 2 up just for Media Center Extenders. The only issues would be needing to get a hard drive and if they make some improvements to the codecs in a future frimware, I bet you can't get it since it is banned from Live. I don't think they put it on the Discs anymore do they?
ncxcstud
11-13-09, 09:08 AM
Lee - I believe you can still download the updates from XBOX.com and burn them to a disc and install that way.
RasputinAXP
11-13-09, 09:11 AM
I have a firmware-modified 120 GB hard drive in my 360. I haven't been banned at all. Was online playing Forza 3 last night.
Lee L
11-13-09, 09:34 AM
Lee - I believe you can still download the updates from XBOX.com and burn them to a disc and install that way.

Well, I looked into it a little and there are lots of reports that you can't use a banned console as an actual media center extender. You can stream to it using TVersity or other outside programs, but not Media Center. IT is not 100% proven, but I will stay away until somethign is figured out definitively.
RasputinAXP
11-13-09, 12:59 PM
Well, I looked into it a little and there are lots of reports that you can't use a banned console as an actual media center extender. You can stream to it using TVersity or other outside programs, but not Media Center. IT is not 100% proven, but I will stay away until somethign is figured out definitively.

That's not true. A banned console simply cannot connect to Live.

Live isn't required to stream media to the console.
dpeters11
11-14-09, 04:11 PM
I'm glad I have a PS3 then. Not only does it use a standard SATA notebook drive, they link to how to do the upgrade on their site.

No banning, voiding of warranty. Kind of funny considering other parts of Sony have a history of being mean, like installing rootkits just because you played a CD.
LarryFlowers
11-14-09, 06:01 PM
I'm glad I have a PS3 then. Not only does it use a standard SATA notebook drive, they link to how to do the upgrade on their site.

No banning, voiding of warranty. Kind of funny considering other parts of Sony have a history of being mean, like installing rootkits just because you played a CD.

No one would notice if they banned users from the play station on line service :lol:
wilbur_the_goose
11-15-09, 07:06 PM
Anybody wanna buy my genuine XBOX HD-DVD drive?
ncxcstud
11-15-09, 09:49 PM
No one would notice if they banned users from the play station on line service :lol:

Uncharted 2 (one of the best games I've played this year and has a pretty decent online portion to it) has only 14,000 players on it at any time. That is the highest amount of players I've seen, the lowest being somewhere around 9,000.

That isnt' good at all....especially when it is a free service...I thought more people would be on it than that....
BlackHitachi
11-16-09, 07:07 AM
Uncharted 2 (one of the best games I've played this year and has a pretty decent online portion to it) has only 14,000 players on it at any time. That is the highest amount of players I've seen, the lowest being somewhere around 9,000.

That isnt' good at all....especially when it is a free service...I thought more people would be on it than that....There will be more people now that the PS3 is cheaper now.
ncxcstud
11-16-09, 07:52 AM
There will be more people now that the PS3 is cheaper now.

I'm one of those new people, and it has been the last couple weeks that I've noticed this...

If Uncharted 2 was on the XBOX, their online servers would have at least 80-100K on at a time

Heck, Modern Warfare 2 for the 360 has like 1.5 million people on at a time... (I wonder what the PS3 numbers are for that?)
Lee L
11-16-09, 07:57 AM
That's not true. A banned console simply cannot connect to Live.

Live isn't required to stream media to the console.

Unless you have a banned Xbox connecting to Windows 7 Media Center (and if you do, please post some pictures of it so I can buy some) I would not be so certain. Yes, you can definitely stream, but in 7MC beta, the Xbox had to be signed into Live to work as a streamer. There is some question on whether this has changed since the Beta and no one has confirmed it that I have seen, but I would be cautious.