People in the console modding community are well aware that in general, console manufacturers look down upon them. Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo have all stated numerous times they do not endorse modding, and with the advent of online play becoming so important, keeping the playing field equal for everybody is an important concern. Instead of "Punkbuster for the console," the typical approach is to ban people from service. As of this week, Microsoft has done just that on a mass scale, banning over 600,000 Xbox Live accounts in the U.S. and Canada.

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Wow...600k is a significant number. But I'm not up on XBox mods - what are people doing to these? And when they talk about piracy, are they talking about counterfeit game DVD's?

Currently, the modding consists of flashing the DVD drive with a firmware that basically ignores the authenticity check. This allows "backup" copies of games to load as though they were authentic.

I have to say, banning 1 million consoles is going to bring in even LESS money for Microsoft, not more. I have a modded console, but don't pay for a Gold account. (don't play online) However, I have spent upwards of $500 on DLC for the games I DO own. Let's say that half the people banned play online, that is 500,000 people who will no longer be paying their monthly fee for the Live service. Let's say that half the people purchase DLC for their games. Another 500,000 people who will no longer be buying Rock Band songs, or whatever else from Live. We are talking millions of dollars GONE. The main reason people pirate games is because they cost too damn much. If I pirate a game today and you ban me, do you honestly think I can afford a new console and a new copy of the game? Good luck Microsoft.

I cant wait till the "you bought it but you dont own it" business model applies to everything. This is a bunch of BS. Microsoft wants to control what and how you use your XBOX360.

M$ wants people to buy more crappy 360 so they can up their numbers on SONY. The current number is already flawed due to re-purchases of 2-6 360s by every RROD, E74, overheat and disc-burning customers.

i think you guys are missing the point, this is about stopping game piracy, which is important. the cost of game production these days is immense and if people are not buying genuine copies the production companies cant invest in new titles. it's very short sighted of modders to think its ok to not buy games they like to play.

if the modding community was modding them for other purposes and not copied games, i'm sure it wouldnt be such an issue.

It's like bitching about getting a speeding ticket. Don't speed you don't get one.

The sense of entitlement on the behalf of the people whinging about getting punted is laughable.

You're buying a service from M$ and they do get to set the rules. You got caught breaking the rules which you agreed to when you signed up for their service so suck it up princess.

I have to agree with the comment above me - i'm not for or against modding or piracy - my xbox isn't modded for this very reason - i was scared to get caught up and not be able to use it on live- someone made a comment about - not really owning what you buy - you do own your xbox and are free to do whatever you want to to it. You can still play "back-up" games. but you do not own xbox live service - which is what microsolft is controlling. That is thier's to do with as they will just as you are free to do as you will with your xbox - you pay to use their service - and if you break the rules - then they should be able to bann you.

People will continue to pirate, this will only prevent them from playing on live. Imagine there are also a ton of people who mod their xbox and DONT use live. Think about it, if they are pirating, then they wouldnt buy in the first place, or it would be seldom for them to buy a new game or they would rent. MS tries to push that modding the console allows people to cheat, but there is nothing people can really do to cheat with a modded dvd drive. Game files are encrypted and they really cant be messed with. Its all about the $.

People who cheat generally are using DLC from their Hard drive to cheat.

To be perfectly honest the only reason MS does the ban wave in november is to make their console sales for the holiday look better then the nintendo wii and ps3. This whole modding thing is a huge game of cat n mouse. People have been modding their xbox 360 since around may 2006.

You dont even have to buy a new Xbox, you just exchange it for a new one and return your old banned modded xbox. And retail does give a crap about it, they just send it back to M$ as defective and get a new one for no charge.

Very dumb move by M$.

Load of bull. I bought my console second hand, how was I to know it was modded? I don't even own a backup disc! Do microsoft support give a toss? Do they hell! I'm switching to PS3

the big gaming companies do this all the time. Cant tell you the number of times I've seen a ban wave on Warcraft.

I was going to write a nice little rant in contrast to people like the 'princess' comment 4 msgs above me, but I doubt it'll have much effect. People who cling to rules like scared children and laugh at those who choose to act differently all get their due in the end.

FWIW, here in the U.S., we are all granted the right to create, keep, and use a copy of our media. Punishing your customer base for attempting to exercise their legal rights after you've put measures in place to strip them away really doesn't sound like a wise strategy to me, but by all means, defend away.

It's there servers... They have every right to ban who evea tries to screw with their online services. It's not fair to the people who pay for it. End of story. If you don't like there services, why you complaining... Switch to PSN...and ill gurantee you , you will come back to MS. Remeber, they have the BEST online no one can touch PERIOD!

You remember Sony? How many people bought thier piece of sht hardware where thier laser burned out in matter of months. People had to buy multiple PS2 systems and thats what gave Sony a edge in numbers.But stupid people like you don't understand. Get your facts straight before you post anything here.

Tryit......letme know how it worked out. Stores check S/N#, and they fully take out the units to examine...

Thats your fault for buying a used Modded xbox 360. You should done your research before buyin it just to make sure that you can still be able to play on live.......HAhahaha

Sorry, this falls under "buyer beware" and has absolutely nothing to do with Microsoft, so your rant is misplaced. You'd be hosed if you bought a car with stolen parts off Ebay, and I guarantee you that the police wouldn't care about your "but I didn't know!" arguments, it'd still get confiscated. At least in the Microsoft case, you still have your console, you just no longer get to play on their service with it. If you need to have someone to yell at to feel better, start with the slimeball that sold you a modded unit without divulging that little detail.

Vrmithrax,

Nice reply

"FWIW, here in the U.S., we are all granted the right to create, keep, and use a copy of our media."

That's pushing copyright laws pretty far - there are limitations. And most importantly, you are not entitled to illegal distribution. Or to put it more simply, stealing.

Which apparently is the case here for a million XBox modders.

The comment "It's not fair to the people who pay for it. End of story." is flawed. People pay for the game once and then pay monthly to play it online. They are banning those people, effectively killing their own revenue stream. Now, instead of getting $10 per month from 500,000 people, they are getting nothing. Hmm...$5million per month revenue, or ZERO. Let's also add in the DLC content that will no longer be purchased by those banned users. Micorosoft is shooting themselves in the foot with this...

As for the whiners complaining about getting banned...get over it. You knew the risks when you modded your console. Just feel good knowing Microsoft is losing out on $5million every month in Xbox Live fees.

@realxboxmaster

Switch out the internals of Xbox, and return it with original S/N. Retail store will send it back as a faulty unit.

I understand the logic behind people who pirate software as i was in that camp at one point as well. However the problem is exactly what some others have mentioned: Entitlement. The truth is that it doesn't matter how ridiculously priced someone is selling something for. It is theirs and you can pay them what they ask or simply not buy it. Taking it is stealing, plain and simple.