Microsoft’s recent mass banning of users of modded consoles from Xbox Live apparently did not go far enough – banned users are now learning that they can no longer use their console’s HDD for any meaningful purpose, with installation to the drive no longer possible on a blacklisted console…
An abridged description of the changes:
Firstly, and most obviously, you cannot connect to Xbox Live on this console any more. This means no more game updates (aka title updates), XBLA games, marketplace content, netflix/sky player and so on. There is no way around this, all online capabilities are now disabled PERMANENTLY.
Hard Drive installs are now disabled on the banned console. This means any disk-based games you have will no longer play off of the hard drive.
There is no way to fix this, that functionality is simply gone from the banned 360.
Windows Media Centre functionality is disabled. It is still possible to stream video/music content via the video library.
So, in summary:
Your Banned 360:
* Cannot go on Xbox Live
* Cannot install games to the HDD
* Cannot use Windows Media Centre extender
* Cannot be used to get achievements from backups without corrupting your profile
With no warranty, Internet access, or even hard drive, it might have been kinder just to “brick” the consoles and render them entirely inoperative…
I’m surprise they didn’t do something like this earlier. Would really suck if I had an Xbox360, good thing I don’t.
Microsoft should reimburse every person who brought their RROD garbage.
Now Microsoft walks around as the big bad pirate police.
Way to loose your customers microlosers
tl:dr, What Microsoft is doing is actually illegal because of US Property Rights laws.
Microsoft really didn’t think this out. Once they do this the modder will just pawn their system to GAMESTOP since it’s useless now, and the person who buys it from there will be completely outraged that their console no longer works!
To be honest, I’m surprised people aren’t suing over this, its actually violates property rights regardless of any EULA agreement. Because they paid for ownership and didn’t “Lease” the console, the owner legally has the right to modify any property belonging to them. Which does in fact cover modifying software on a console, just like it does when modifying a PC.
Microsoft can however legally ban the user’s static IP address from using their online services, but does not have the legal standing to infringe upon the user’s rights to use the console- excluding cases of experiments like alpha/beta tests, in which case a separate console, owned by Microsoft and not the user, is still required for them to legally take away those rights.
True!
Microsoft is illegally infringing upon intellectual rights!
Microsoft has NO right whatsoever to personally send disabling software and destroy hardware on a 360 that a user has brought!
Microsoft has NO business banning modded systems until it can prove that those modded systems are being used for pirating!
Microsoft needs to be SUED.
lol, consolefags.
lol, this
“all online capabilities are now disabled PERMANENTLY.”
“There is no way to fix this, that functionality is simply gone from the banned 360.”
As long as all the physical parts are fine, someone will find a way to hack them to work again.