It's a shame that almost immediately companies assume it must be for the purpose of illegal, pirated games or the likes.

This reminds of the "IBM-compatible PC era", when some would desolder the clock crystal and replace it with one that was slightly faster, essentially overclocking that poor old 8086 from 4.7 MHz to whopping 6 MHz.

People would write nifty little pieces of code, so you could use more of that memory between the 640 Kbytes and 1 Mbyte area, or "over-format" a 360 Kbyte floppy disk to 480 Kbytes.

And speaking of floppies, one would buy the cheaper half-density 3 1/2" floppy disks (720 Kbytes), drill holes (!) on the opposite side of the write protection tab and could format these disks as full-density (1.44 Mbytes).

These were all "dirty hacks" which voided warranties, got PC makers of long gone upset and sparked debate about the legalities.

In the end, manufacturers noticed the what people did and repeated it: Motherboard manufacturers allow you to set the clock speed from the BIOS, even advertising "overclocking" on their boxes; CPU makers have a range of officialy, "unlocked" CPUs meant for overclocking, the amount of RAM a PC has shot up from that miserable 640K or less to a multitude of gigabytes, as have storage media.

So why, after all these years, do companies still try to fight this, despite the fact that they themselves became bigger, better and richer because of it?

the better question is, Who cares?

"the better question is, Who cares?"

Games publishers? 1m users this year ALONE (without counting previous years sweeps), shows how rampant freeloading piracy is on Xbox platform, as it's why publishers are looking elsewhere at more secure platforms. (PS3, which is uncrackable still after 3 1/2 years of trying).

"the better question is, Who cares?"

Game Publishers? 1m this year alone is rampant piracy by lifes freeloaders. Compare that to 0 piracy on PS3...

A MS and thier ever extendable ban hammer

@Myatu

You're really old, we get it!

So why, after all these years, do companies still try to fight this, despite the fact that they themselves became bigger, better and richer because of it?

Err, maybe because it costs them millions of pounds and adds nothing to performance (like the old mods you keep bangin on about), in fact, it's really nothing like that, beyond the fact that it involves modding your hardware.

Err, maybe because it costs them millions of pounds and adds nothing to performance (like the old mods you keep bangin on about), in fact, it's really nothing like that, beyond the fact that it involves modding your hardware.

not exactly true, you need to mod it use better software like XMBC - or so I have heard...

The best piece of software that ever was run on my Xbox (original) was XMBC.

*XBMC* - serves me right for copying ;)

Serves them right tbh, there's an article on BBC newsbeat about a guy who's "saved over £600 with pirated games" and now he's moaning that Microsoft have banned him from using the Xbox Live service?

Oh and forgive me for my ignorance but, isn't XBMC used on the original Xbox? I'm pretty sure Microsoft really don't give a damn about that nowadays.

Damn, I only installed the Xtreme FW last week.
Hope I don't get banned!

I've spent a good deal of time over the years in a country rigidly run by a tyrannical dictator. Every now and then he has a purge, parading a bunch of hapless functionaries in front of the tv cameras to confess their crimes of corruption.

Although these same people are his vital link to power, he needs to keep their excesses in check from time to time, making examples of a handful and so disseminating fear. That's as far as the analogy goes; these people can't escape their situation; users of gaming consoles can.

This article does seem quite poorly researched, the majority of it's content referring to mods for the original Xbox of yore.

The 360 hacks don't bring quite the same benefits as those of the original, but still allow for the running of "unsigned code" - read that as backup games (or downloaded games...) However it would be a mistake to dismiss all modders as pirates. Many are looking to protect there original (£40+!) discs from scratch damage by using a backup. Many are installing replacement DVD drives, due to Microsoft's woeful hardware reliability.

Not only is the console ban approach clumsly, it raises many important issues. What to do with the upwards of 1 million consoles that are now crippled? Many will end up in scrapheaps; while they may be otherwise sound, they've been remotely killswitched. A huge waste, not to mention a damn shame for little Timmy, who saves up his pocket money, buys a second hand console from the pawn shop, only to find he's bought a banned one, as a morally-vacuous swine has sold his to the shop guy who hasn't a clue how to check for these things.

I myself was banned, and I'm not too gutted about it. I knew the risk at the time. But I just think that Microsoft could have handled it way better. It makes sense to stop people from being able to use copied discs, but it doesn't make sense to reach into people's homes and remove some of the functions of their stuff. At the very least, they should offer some kind of way of dealing with the damn-near-"bricked" consoles we're all left with - even if it is taking them in to reuse their components, perhaps for nothing, perhaps for a small voucher towards the cost of a replacement for the gamer who's now learned his lesson.

By doing it this way, they've simply set out to punish the gamers who care most about gaming, a tactic which will fail in the long term. Lets not forget the numbers - we're talking something like a million of the thirty something million worldwide consoles. Microsoft may call that a small percentage. I'd say it's pretty damn large.

BearVsPorsche,

Not only is the console ban approach clumsly, it raises many important issues.

It raises issues for people who modded their consoles, knowing the risks (and if they didn't know the risks they should have done - these people are even deeper into no sympathy country).

What to do with the upwards of 1 million consoles that are now crippled?

They still work offline. With a console, that's 99% of the functionality retained.

Almost all forms of modding of consoles are illegal in the US and Europe

really? what's the source for this? i don't think that's the case in the UK.

under s.296 of the CDPA 1998 it's illegal to sell/advertise a device that circumvents copyright protection i.e. selling the mod chips is illegal. but a user will not be breaking any law by modding their console, only violating their xbox live Ts&Cs, for which microsoft's only recourse is to suspend them and remove their warranty.

however, i think the case is different under Ch12 of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act in the US. indeed, no person can circumvent a technological measure that protects copyright in a work.

@BearvsPorsche

Boo hoo, saving their disc from being scratched! Are you kidding us? If that was the case use the 3 year warranty! If out of warranty complain to Microsoft, get machine repaired. There are number of alternatives to getting a machine fixed. People mod to cheat or pirate. If you don't like the console M$ or Sony provide, I suggest all the clever modders get together and develop a console/pc where they can cheat and steal from each other.

Don't get me wrong the hardware provided by M$ is of very poor quality in my opinion, but it seems apart from the orginal machines the number of red rings, has dramatically been reduced.

I for one appreciate a level playing field for all gamers, don't you?

I have a friend with two consoles - one modded and one not. When it came round to my buying one it was obvious what I would do: I love games in general, and particular playing online, so I'm happy to actually pay for the time, money and energy game developers put into their games. Surely if we were such serious gamers we would want to support the industry that entertains us so much?

They still work offline. With a console, that's 99% of the functionality retained.

Come on... almost all modern games have a major online multiplayer element, and for a lot of more recent ones, especially for the 360, that's the main attaction. Take the major releases for this week and next - MW2 and L4D2 - sure there is a single player campaign, but it's pretty much an afterthought.

It raises issues for people who modded their consoles, knowing the risks (and if they didn't know the risks they should have done - these people are even deeper into no sympathy country).

With a million banned consoles entering the used market or being scrapped, I think it's a problem for everyone into gaming. There's no obvious way to tell a banned console from the outside (a new warranty sticker can be ahad for less than a pound by the unscrupulous). Environmentalists could rightly take the view that crippling useful hardware in this way, with no recourse for refurbishment, is a massive waste of materials and manufacturing energy.

The point raised about ensuring a level playing field online isn't relevant for 360. It has never been possible to play games that have tweaked code. That was xbox original only.

Of course Microsoft has to protect it's revenue stream, no one can say they're wrong to do that. And they've gone some way to helping with the disc-scratching issue by allowing hard-disk installs. But was a no-recourse blanket banhammer forever the right approach for freeing up the DVD drive firmware? I don't personally think so.

Call me old fashioned but I am still of the belief that if I buy something then it is mine and I should be allowed to do what I want to it.

Call me old fashioned but I am still of the belief that if I buy something then it is mine and I should be allowed to do what I want to it.

Sure you can, just don't go on xbox live.. You don't "buy" xbox live, you subscribe to the service. And as with any other service, there is a contract / agreement .. In the agreement for xbox live it states that you can/will get banned for altering an xbox, cheating, and a bunch of other reasons..
People love to complain after not reading their agreement, here it is ..
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/legal/LiveTOU.htm

I for one get annoyed when people mod Call of Duty, it's impossible to play against them. And if Microsoft DIDN'T do anything about it, it would really annoy me as a pay them good money for this service. Personally, I think they should ban the Xbox device and the users account, but they aren't able to tell which user modded the console. i could easily use my profile on a friends modded xbox and get banned ..

I modded my secondary console just to see if I could do it, but i have enough common sense not to go online with it.

And as far as the sony fanboy, yes, nobody is modding it ... yet.. Blank blueray disks are still $20(usd) retail ..

Oh yeah, and before someone says you can't mod the game, a quick google revealed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f5s3VYMDuw

Just an fyi ,..

BearVsPorsche,

Come on... almost all modern games have a major online multiplayer element, and for a lot of more recent ones, especially for the 360, that's the main attaction.

If you say so. Most of the people I know who are still into console gaming are about the single player or local multiplayer, and do their online gaming on the PC. Even if we assume that my acquaintances are atypical, you're still arguing for the continued provision of a service to people who have knowingly violated the TOS.

With a million banned consoles entering the used market or being scrapped, I think it's a problem for everyone into gaming. There's no obvious way to tell a banned console from the outside (a new warranty sticker can be ahad for less than a pound by the unscrupulous).

There's an easy way to recognize a banned console: try to play it online. Anyone who buys a second-hand console and only later discovers it has been subjected to an unauthorized modification and doesn't work as a result is entitled to their money back.

Environmentalists could rightly take the view that crippling useful hardware in this way, with no recourse for refurbishment, is a massive waste of materials and manufacturing energy.

They could. And the people who so crippled them - i.e., the users who installed the modchips, not MicroSoft - should perhaps feel ashamed of themselves because of it.

What is interesting here is a couple of things:

Firstly there is no mention of the second hand games market - a market that costs the developers considerably more of the market than piracy or so stats would suggest. Remember developers / publishers only get there share of the profit from the first time the game is sold - the second, third and even fourth time it is only the retailer that makes a profit. There was a movement not so long ago to attempt to stem the flow of second hand games.

The ban component only acts as a deterent to those that play online - but because of the current ban system Microsoft also cut off a revenue stream by not allowing gamers to pay for DLC after the cut off.

The modding of consoles will not go away - piracy has been around for ages. the big issue is the cost of the games. Do they really need to be charged at 40 - 50? The budgets now on these games are huge but only that of a holywood blockbuster. How much does a DVD cost £15? If holywood can make a profit from that why can't the games industry?