Report: 1 Million Xbox Users Banned for Piracy

[megabuster]

Is it hard to replace live service with your own dedicated box? Is it even possible?

 

[sunflier]

I could care less about modded consoles playing Multiplayer on Live.

MS should stop gouging Xbox360 users for adapters and add-ons.

Case in point: New Xbox Wireless N Adapter - $100

 

[hellwig]

[citation][nom]marokero[/nom]All this generation knows is to use, not create. When they can't create, they steal or think things should be given to them for free.[/citation]
Agreed. Its the same with all those "Free software" advocates. Funny how they think people should create without getting paid to create. As if the world would continue to function if 100% of computer programmers suddenly switched over to IT for their source of income.

Same with pirates. While I think the MPAA and RIAA (and whiny game developers) overstate the effects of piracy, I do agree piracy hurts production. Why would Microsoft continue to allow modders who continue to NOT pay for the games they play? Microsoft does not make a penny off the actual console, so arguing that you paid $300 for the console and should get the games for free is just stupid.

I wish Microsoft had sent out a kill-command to each console to brick the sucker, rather than just ban them from their Live services.

 

[darkknight22]

[citation][nom]Hope Slayer[/nom]Last I heard they can/will/have banned Live accounts aswell.[/citation]

incorrect. at least for the modded firmware. they encourage you to go buy a new 360 so you can keep your old live account.


nobody knows for sure what they use to detect modded 360's. i finally got banned after 2.5 years last week. never played a game before release date (see HALO 3 bans), and haven't played any game newer then Resident Evil 4 (see Forza 3 bans). this is nothing new, but this is the most sweeping by far. anyone who tells you they know how you got banned is lying or has false info.

the ban is affecting everyone from people with the latest ixtreme 1.61 to the older versions as well.

it's a risk i take, but at $60 a disc 360 gaming was a hobby i wouldn't be able to afford otherwise.

 

[rhino13]

This whole discussion makes me smile.
The question was whether or not anyone got banned, and while I didn't notice anyone admitting to getting banned in my cursory scan, there are a lot of authorities on the subject here.
And now that I've typed that out, reading it makes me laugh.

 

[datawrecker]

[citation][nom]DeviantSeev[/nom]Is it really possible to mod your xbox to play on live for free?[/citation]

Yes, it is possible. It is a pain to setup.

[citation][nom]ssalim[/nom]No. Unless you hack M$ server.Word of advice: do not play live when you mod-pirate. Simple as that.[/citation]

There is a bot that searches for gold 360 accounts. (it also allows you to setup a queue of gold accounts and monitor for when they go offline) It then hacks the console and uses that account to allow online play. What is dangerous about this is whoever has access to your account has access to purchase tons of junk.

However, it is easy to see if your console has been hacked, look for games in your library that you know you haven't played.

 

[diggdna]

I seen this one coming.
Playing Single, or in Linked Mode is one thing, but on Live was just asking for trouble, and now some 600,000+ users just found out the hard way. Luckily there is a fix No worries it will be announced and spread like a wild fire soon enough.

 

[Guest]

It is about time!! No one deserves free software.. If you can't afford it, get a job!! It's like stealing a BMW because I can't afford one.. It is just plain stupid and immoral.. I never buy what I can't afford and do not complain about it either.. The people who think MS is losing money are stupid too as they make very little profit from Live! as it does cost money to maitain the service...

 

[Guest]

I don't own a 360 myself but an acquaintance of mine brought up an excellent point - perhaps Microsoft should consider producing a 360 with a less noisy fan, cheaper HDD options (considering a new, 500Gbyte single-platter, 7200RPM disk costs ~$60) and a DVD that doesn't eat discs.

Banning pirates is all well and good but there are legitimate reasons for modding your console as well.

 

[datawrecker]

[citation][nom]back_by_demand[/nom]So MS are losing $10 million each month?Actually, they were losing on the modders not paying for games, so this is just cutting the losses.Don't allow pirates to keep doing what they do just so they can draw Live subscription, cut 'em off and teach 'em a lesson.That lesson is, if you want to play pirate games with impunity, buy a PC[/citation]

Actually, a ban doesn't mean that your account is going to stop being charged. Since you have not initiated the cancelation MS can assume that you will purchase a new console and use the live account under the unmodded console. If you have been banned and do not plan to return anytime soon, save yourself the trouble and cancel the subscription.

 

[p05esto]

That's the risk you take, and you know it going in. I really hope no one with modded xbox gets mad at Microsoft..... I'm surprised it took them this long.

I do wish games were cheaper, they'd sell a lot more games to more people if they were $15 a pop. The profits would be the same, just more quantity and more happy gamers. My thought anyway.

 

[datawrecker]

[citation][nom]Exodite[/nom]I don't own a 360 myself but an acquaintance of mine brought up an excellent point - perhaps Microsoft should consider producing a 360 with a less noisy fan, cheaper HDD options (considering a new, 500Gbyte single-platter, 7200RPM disk costs ~$60) and a DVD that doesn't eat discs.Banning pirates is all well and good but there are legitimate reasons for modding your console as well.[/citation]

I agree, a 500GB drive would rock, though for $60 you can probably get a 1 TB drive. Never had a problem with my 360 eating disks, i believe they found that this was from users moving the console while the disc was inside. Can't blame them for user caused problems.

 

[coolronz]

Title should have been 1 million X-Boxs banned for piracy.... LOL PCs have had serials for online games forever now, to play online, fair enough... If I want to test out a new game, to see if its worth the money, honestly piracy is the way to go. But also honestly if its worth it and you want full online play, then go out and buy the game. Go out and buy a second X-Box and the game if you wanna play. Or better yet, go buy a PS3 and that same game... Still be alot cheaper than my PC....

 

[CoryInJapan]

[citation][nom]rhino13[/nom]This whole discussion makes me smile.The question was whether or not anyone got banned, and while I didn't notice anyone admitting to getting banned in my cursory scan, there are a lot of authorities on the subject here.And now that I've typed that out, reading it makes me laugh.[/citation]
IF you cant afford it then dont play it...Simple as that.Time for a new hobby.

 

[millerm84]

Like the RIAA, MS has missed an opportunity to reduce their headaches. If MS had users download games instead of buying disks they could assign each Live account a PID (process ID)per game. You login to live choose which game to play the server checks the PID against your account no match no play. And to stop the ensuing account give/sell external account authenticators a la WoW. Game prices should drop (no more manufacturing disks and related items, no more distribution chains, or retail agreements and markup)decreasing the "need" for piracy. The only weakness is server side hacks that create PIDs for accounts.

 

[digitalgriffin]

Microsoft still looses money on every XBox 360 console they sell. They make the money back by charging for accessories and $10 for every title they sell.

If a pirate pirates 3 games a year (which is a conservative guess), that's $30 out of Microsofts pocket.

If you didn't pay for it, it's not yours.

 

[digitalgriffin]

[citation][nom]millerm84[/nom] You login to live choose which game to play the server checks the PID against your account no match no play. [/citation]

Horrible idea. You disinfranchise 20% of the population which doesn't have broadband.

 

[theubersmurf]

Wonder if this will bolster PS3 sales.

 

[Guest]

These idiots know you can rent games for consoles right?

As a PC gamer I am astonished so many people were stealing when they can just get Gamefly, and for the cost of a pizza a month, play any 2 games they want for however long they want.

So how long till Ebay/Craigs has a firm notice requirement when selling a bricked xbox 360?

 

[CChick]

[citation][nom]datawrecker[/nom]They didn't catch everybody LOL. My two neighbors who created thier own mod for thier systems are still playing online with pirated copies of MW2 for their 360. While I admit NASA engineers are usually rather bland, these two are roflcoptering at the 1 mill that got banned. Their quote "AAAAANNNNDDD that is what chinese engineering gets you."[/citation]

annnnnnd Chinese engineers got millions

our friends?

nothing.

ROFL FAILED

suck a cock bitch.