Microsoft booting modders off Xbox Live
by Ludwig Kietzmann 
{ May 17th 2007 at 7:36PM }
Aside from the sudden disconnection, modders will be informed of their newly-banished status by the above screen and the status code, "Z: 8015 - 190D." Those recipients without eye patches will no doubt be livid and ready to assault message boards with all manner of exclamations and emoticons, but when used for evil, the power of Mod can open the door to online cheating and other unfair unpleasantness. Sometimes innocent bystanders have to pay the price in Microsoft's war on enemy solders.
[Thanks, keeel]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Viridium @ May 17th 2007 7:43PM
FINALLY! Get the fuck off of Live, you pirating assholes.
randomshagz @ May 17th 2007 7:43PM
thats pretty crazy.
What kind of Mods are there?
Rubang B @ May 17th 2007 7:48PM
So did Live just go from 6 million unique accounts to 6 hundred or what happened?
Daniel @ May 17th 2007 7:51PM
How long till a new stealth firmware is released?
I bet it'll be less than a week.
XsTatiC @ May 17th 2007 7:52PM
This detects ( somehow, doesn't seem to matter if people are using the new disc-jitter firmwares ) the hacked dvd firmwares that allowed people to play backups/burned games. Good... because those games could also be modified to give users unfair advantages when playing on Live in some cases.
x silence x @ May 17th 2007 7:57PM
There is no way to defend this issue. If you Mod your console, all the power to you just stay the fuck off XBL.
LowerHouseMember @ May 17th 2007 8:00PM
So basically they just cut off their only revenue stream (Live) with the pirates... OK then.
Huey2k2 @ May 17th 2007 8:00PM
Badass. Take that you filthy pirate scum.
Matt @ May 17th 2007 9:34PM
This has always existed. It may just be better and more efficient.
Tom @ May 17th 2007 8:04PM
I wonder how many former hackers will be buying an Elite now since they have to get a new console anyway.
monal @ May 17th 2007 10:33PM
haha of course the xbox-scene.com board is now dead
Hikaru @ May 17th 2007 8:07PM
This is stupid, they could just have 2 consoles, 1 for live and 1 for backups of single player games, then again, this only means a better hack that don't get caught by MS.
sheppy @ May 17th 2007 8:08PM
Actually, there is a way to defend this issue....
http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-br-49-en-70-1o6e.html
http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-br-49-en-70-1mje.html
http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-br-49-en-70-1mjc.html
http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-br-49-en-70-1cz9.html
http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-11e-49-en-70-1lvz.html
http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-11e-49-en-70-1t4w.html
http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-11e-49-en-70-1loi.html
Every console I've ever modded have NOT been to pirate games. It's always been to import games. Want a solution to slow these efforts? Make the systems region free.
Mr Khan @ May 17th 2007 8:11PM
Bad, bad move
ban the cheaters not other modders
stupid police state
losttoys @ May 17th 2007 8:11PM
sheppy -
I was just about to talk about Idolm@ster when I heard about this.
And for anyone that asks: no, I do not feel like purchasing a brand new system (Japanese) to play a couple of games that will never or will arrive castrated to the United States. I have my system, and I want to play my commercially bought discs, no matter where I bought them from.
shirizaki @ May 17th 2007 8:14PM
It looks like they ID via NAT. So the reading about firmwares doesn't hold water. Though they probably do it anyway. Just saying they aren't IDing hacked consoles via
If you pirated, you should expect this.
But only if they could do something about the whiny 13 year olds playing certain M- rated games.....
losttoys @ May 17th 2007 8:13PM
Mr Khan -
One of the best things about the original Xbox was modding it to make it a cheap video and audio server. Modifications do not have to be nefarious by nature.
Modders and homebrew users unfortunately get put into the same category of cheaters and pirates.
Kye @ May 17th 2007 8:19PM
Mk Khan
The modders are usually the cheaters, I believe.
Now, if only they could find a way to detect and ban assholes.
sheppy @ May 17th 2007 8:26PM
"The modders are usually the cheaters, I believe."
I have 4 modded consoles. I've never cheated in an online game. To cheat, you have to mod. But to mod doesn't necessarily mean you will cheat.
Joseph Villalobos @ May 17th 2007 8:29PM
Nice!
KEELr @ May 17th 2007 8:34PM
Fucking perfect timing!
I love it! Suck on that pirates while the rest of us plays the Halo 3 beta!
Kye @ May 17th 2007 8:35PM
Sheppy
Thanx for correcting me. I realise that I would be pulled on the comment the second after I posted it.
I stand corrected.
Anonymous @ May 17th 2007 8:46PM
@sheepy
Have you even looked in 360 firmware flashing? It doesn't do anything to bypass region-locking on the games. It's purely to bypass the security check. It's more or less only useful for "backing up games". learn2research
Btw, the 360 itself isn't region locked, though it specifies itself to a region. The games are the ones that decide to run or not
Also, Senko no Ronde comes out next week to the US, though with a vomit-inducing cover.
W3sk3r @ May 17th 2007 8:50PM
@11
Well look at this.. and I in my humble ignorance, thought that modded xbox360 ONLY played COPIED games from the SAME REGION the console is.
seems like I'm wrong don't I ?......
Please...
synthaxx @ May 17th 2007 8:52PM
This really is a great idea!
Maybe we can extend this policy to the highway! Next time someone puts a fart pipe or a way-too-big spoiler on his civic we'll just ban them from driving!
Or we can do the same if you just import a car!
/sarcasm
While i do agree that cheaters are a bad thing, solve it by looking for the cheat. So if you want to play cutting edge games, region free, and still be able to do anything you want with your hardware, stick to the PC.
ExMcloud @ May 17th 2007 9:00PM
Yo regardless of the fact Modding your system is against the terms and policies...That you should have read I think.LOL..So don't complain you knew it was illegal anyway..You just got caught this time no big deal right? ROFL
Dave @ May 17th 2007 9:11PM
I modded my original XBox--and it's the best media component I own next to my HDTV. I have never cheated. I don't even know how--because I never bothered to investigate how. When I smoke you in a game, it's real. Believe it.
The reason I wouldn't bother modding the 360 is because, at the moment, the only available mod that works with current firmware is strictly a DVD firmware hack--so it's not any good for anything exception pirating or playing region-free.
Anonymous @ May 17th 2007 9:13PM
Guys, the firmware flashing doesn't resolve region-lock.
Jb @ May 17th 2007 10:00PM
Right on, to bad the systems dont explode and take out the cheap bastards that claim to be playing region free games when they are just copying shit.
Hoffer @ May 17th 2007 10:23PM
I have a guy on my friend list that I know has a DVD firmware modded 360. He uses it to play copied games. He hasn't been banned yet because I seem hom on XBL right now.
Robb @ May 17th 2007 10:38PM
Hey, what the hell, how does modding a console allow you to cheat on an online game? It isn't even possible to run code on the 360, let alone gain some unfair advantage. By flashing one's firmware, you may burnt copies of the exact same game as everyone else, hence the term "Back-Up Copy."
Also, this seems to be a lose-lose situation. By canceling someone's live account, they just lose that user's subscription fee AND the modder in question can keep playing burnt games, just not online.
refinedsugar @ May 17th 2007 11:07PM
hey look at me ... blah blah blah .... #6 said it best.
Mike @ May 17th 2007 11:07PM
A few points:
It's clear that some people are getting banned unfairly, and, as someone else has already said, what exactly does NAT reachability have to do with it? That can be an issue on the part of your ISP. I've gotten hardware from an ISP that was improperly configured, causing NAT issues. Ban the modders, but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Also, here in the states, under the terms of Fair Use it's just fine to make a personal backup, and I couldn't agree with that more. Let's use oblivion as an example. I bought the game used for $50, and have bought every piece of downloadable content except for the horse armor, making that game worth over $100 to me. If my nephew is over for a visit, and puts the disc in the microwave while no one's looking, you're telling me I should have to buy another copy of the game? "But Mike, if you want to protect your investment, why not pay $5 to insure it w/ gamestop?" Because, speaking strictly legally, I don't have to.
Modding and piracy are two different things, and people lose sight of that very easily. While I haven't modded my 360, I did mod my original xbox strictly to use XBMC. It's the finest media player available by far. I continued buying new games for the system right up until I got my 360. Granted, I'm sure more than half of the modders are probably pirates, but it's not really fair to the other half now is it?
Some things to think about:
You could beat someone to death w/ a 360 and not get banned.
If you hit someone with your car, they don't take away your radio.
REUYL @ May 17th 2007 11:19PM
I have no problem with this. Follow the rules or get off Live.
tituspullo @ May 17th 2007 11:43PM
that's too bad, but this has been a long time coming and i think every modder knew that.
chris @ May 17th 2007 11:55PM
I think this is great and all about how long until microsoft bans a bunch of people that don't deserve it. 2)What stops the modders from just selling the console and buying a new one? and the person who buys that banned one gets screwed because they can't use Live because of the previous owner?
Wabaki @ May 18th 2007 12:47AM
Tell You what, Some people who mod their xbox 360s do it because they can't afford the overly priced games which developers/companies release. Also, all that the firmware hack does it let you PLAY BACKUPS, PERIOD!! No cheating can be done, no advantages can be imposed on any game during an online multiplayer MATCH!! SOme of us aren't as wealthy as some. Plus, what is so wrong with modding xboxs'? People have been doing this for years. WHy such a fuss. You want to know why? -Because Microshit is soo assholish.
Take a gander at how many xbox live users there are. And how many of those xbox liver users are modders? Home brew users? And just plain backup users? I can garuantee to anyone that almost half of the xbl users out there are of afore-mentioned.
Another thing I'd like to say is..Please...please and please Microsoft. Don't put so much security in your game consoles because. You can't even bypass your own code!!!
How many XBOX 1 games are playable on the xbox360!!
They take so many security measures into their next gen consoles, that they create a whole mess for themselves! The xbox 360 is basically a cheap and shitty emulator in it's beta stages for the xbox 1 console games.. It is complete crap.
wild homes @ May 18th 2007 1:17AM
@ Wabaki.
wow, where to begin.
nowhere in the world do you suddenly gain the 'freedom' to legally pirate games because "they're priced too high." if you don't want to buy them, rent them or wait for a sale. I'd love a maserati, but I doubt the police will let me off the hook for stealing one because the sticker price was "overly priced", as you butchered the language to say.
technically, the DMCA says you don't even have the right to backup your 360 games. so any firmware mod that would function to allow you to play backups of your games is implicitly an illegal object, as well. conceptually I am sure Microsoft has no problem with you playing a burned copy of a software you already bought. however, there is no way for them to tell who bought what, or rented what, and whether or not you're playing the burned copy long after you traded your copy in, or anything else. so, long story short: the DMCA is LAW, and backups are against that law.
it isn't about whether or not modders are cheaters. cheaters are technically only assholes, and modders are technically criminals, and Microsoft have every right to protect their intellectual property. it isn't assholish to want to protect your technology from being exploited.
John @ May 18th 2007 1:18AM
I notice that the screen, is of course, blue.
Lunaclown @ May 18th 2007 1:23AM
The bottom line is that the modding of the system broke the terms of agreement for XBOX LIVE. When you sign up to LIVE you have to agree to their terms..violate them and be banned.
On the note of backups. Take care of your games and you won't have this issue. People always bring up the fact that they want to copy their games to make sure their original stays in perfect condition. This is crap as the majority of pirates out there use this excuse....bottom line take care of your games and put them back into their original cases. Make sure that the top of the disc (printed side) stays scratch free as this is the portion of the disc that is most vunerable.
I love it when I talk to a modder/pirate and they say they just back up their games only to find out that they had traded in all their games they own and only had "backups" of the original software. Support the industry and then maybe prices wouldn't keep going up. These companies need to make money to reinvest into other projects and ultimately more games. I applaud Microsoft for keeping these guys in check.
OH..and Modders (IE the Cheaters) suck and completly destroy online gaming.
That's my rant..I'm done
Lobo @ May 18th 2007 2:21AM
My question is, if the modders sell their system on Ebay, or trade it to Gamestop, and the unsuspecting new buyer buys it... What can they do now that some asshole has fucked them of live?
Don't buy any used systems from now on I guess.
burninhell @ May 18th 2007 2:40AM
"As you can imagine, we have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to modded consoles connecting to LIVE."
Okay, Big Brother, you're all-powerful. I've had it. I'll never anything from Microsoft ever again. Vista, Xbox, Zune...sell it to someone else, I'm done with your shit.
Dustin @ May 18th 2007 2:58AM
lol @ modders.
This post makes me incredibly happy :)
reppy @ May 18th 2007 4:04AM
It's impossible to modify your games to cheat. The Xbox 360 will not play unsigned code and there is no way to get it to.
Any "cheating" is the result of: poor programming.. or.. *drum roll* you're not as good as you think are.
Brad @ May 18th 2007 4:12AM
the puns
THE PUNS
FLARAHALA
Yeah that's my friend probably banned then.
CNash @ May 18th 2007 4:33AM
While I do support banning the modders (as the firmware hacks pretty much only enable the playing of "backups", and as we all know, that's a euphanism for "copied games"), I'd just like to point out that your 360 is your property and you're within your rights to do what you want with it. If you mod the console, you're breaking MS's terms of service, and they're well within their rights to kick your console off of Live for doing so.
Poisoned Al @ May 18th 2007 5:09AM
To all the cool homebrew modders: "That sucks."
To all the cheaters and pirates: "HAW HAW! GUUUUTTTTTED!"
Region2 @ May 18th 2007 6:33AM
#42 Burninhell
Hahaha, good luck. It's over when Big Brother says it's over!
Miles @ May 18th 2007 6:14AM
I'm so glad you boners got kicked off of live. Stealing is wrong dummies. Why do you think you're allowed to get away with this? This came out now as a prelude to Halo 3. Halo 2 was crippled with cheaters for so long, I think they're just taking early precautions to fight all types of illegal mods, whether they improve gameplay or not. And can you idiots stop calling them "back ups" . They're just burned games that you play illegally. You fucking assholes.
Joansie @ May 18th 2007 7:32AM
Don't forget that MS wouldn't have sold as many 360's if it weren't for the hacked firmware. Got no numbers but all my friends chose the 360 before the PS3 for that "special" ability. As I see it, we helped them marketing their machine and reach their 10 million goal. :-)