More on Xbox Live bans
by Steve Parsons 
{ Nov 14th 2004 at 6:23PM }
As we covered a few days ago, Microsoft decided the release of Halo 2 was a good time to start banning people with
modded Xbox's. as they reserved the right to do in the terms of service everyone agreed too when they signed
up.
Microsoft's official word is "Users are not permitted to manipulate the system to the detriment of others." Modchips,
for those who don't know, are devices used to hack Xbox's so they can play backups of games, and do things outside the
scope of the original system design. For example a modded Xbox can, with the right software, be used as a home media
centre to play not just DVD (which is a feature of the Xbox, albeit with a purchased addon), but also DIVX and XVID
encoded AVI files, MP3's etc…
Microsoft's primary concern, at least publically, seems to be online cheating. A modchip would allow a modified
version of software to boot, giving cheaters an unfair advantage. (Wouldn't be much of a cheat otherwise.) Now as all
sane thinking people know, cheaters are scum, so banning them is a great idea. However, a lot of people that have never
broken the law are being caught with this. Merely upgrading your Xbox internal harddrive seems to, according to
reports, count as modding the system, and results in a ban.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Pat Cavit @ Dec 18th 2005 9:47PM
You aren't allowed to modify your Xbox in any way, it says so in the materials you receive with it.
So why does this surprise anyone?
Ian Firth @ Dec 18th 2005 9:47PM
It suprises people because they think that since they "own" their Xbox, they can do whatever they want with it. Most people are idiots though (just listen to them on Live for proof), and don't understand licensing, and never will.
Ban them all, please, more bandwidth for honest people.
Uncle Sam @ Dec 18th 2005 9:47PM
*snicker* modded XBox is bad healthy for online. Frankly, I think it's good for anyone who feel more fair to play without being rape by someone.
tpp @ Dec 18th 2005 9:47PM
What's wrong here is the whole idea of not owning what you paid for. It's completely ridiculous that I can't do whatever the hell I want to with a piece of equipment I own, as long as I don't commit crimes using it.
Edward Ho @ Dec 18th 2005 9:47PM
You can do whatever you want with your machine and you do own what you pay for. You could even smash your xbox with a hammer.
They own the Live! service and they reserve the right to restrict membership. It would only be wrong if they restricted your xbox from functioning, as it stands now they are only restricting you from using the service they own.
Alan @ Dec 18th 2005 9:47PM
Upgrading your harddrive is rightly considered modding your system because the way the xbox works is it has a locking harddrive. Without a locked harddrive, you won't even be able to boot your xbox unless you install a mod chip and some hacked bioses. But in order to lock the drive, you need the special key inside the boxes EEPROM. So unless you've went through the trouble of figuring out how to read the EEPROM on your own and get the locking key, there's no way for you to swap HDDs without a modchip.
You *should* be able to swap out your DVD drive without a modchip though, but there was that article on joystiq previously that mentioned someone got banned just for doing that. While that's possible, I don't think he's that innoccent.
Mirza Pasalic @ Dec 18th 2005 9:47PM
Well,
This is so stupid. Microsoft should concentrate on people cheating, because not everyone cheats with a modded xbox. I use my modded xbox so I can backup the games I own. I have so many that its just a hassle to organize them all, and find them when you want to play them. You have to remeber that *probably* only 1% of people cheat with modded xbox (I know at least 10 people who have modded xbox, and they have never even thought about cheating, I personally never knew it was possible)
I understand Live is a service, and they reserve the right to ban... But they should make their banning more accurate to the reason they are baning, cheating...
killjoydie @ Dec 18th 2005 9:47PM
It doesn't seem like any one is stopping them....
I see cheating all the time on live, but no one stops them....why???? This is just "call of duty finest hour"....so why isn't any one doing any thing about them???????