Have you modded your Xbox 360 and now afraid that you will get banned from Xbox Live? Maybe so, Maybe not.  Microsoft has built in guards that will prevent the Xbox from playing bootleg copies of games.  Yes, Microsoft does want to block pirating, but should they block people that mod their Xbox from Xbox Live that are using legal copies of games?  No, I don’t think they should.

Many users have been modding their Xbox 360’s that can play bootleg games by soldering a chip or installing unauthorized firmware, which does avoid the warranty and may even be illegal under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Well, Microsoft has been banning some modded Xbox 360’s from Xbox Live online multiplayer service, saying modding violates the console’s Terms of Service agreement.  In November of 2009 which was around the time Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was released, Microsoft had banned a huge number of modded systems in one big sweep.  Some people report that the banning has totaled a number as high as one million Xbox 360 consoles. Microsoft will not release the number of banned systems nor will they discuss how they are detecting these modded systems, maybe Microsoft is breaking privacy rules?

If these consoles are banned, only the modded ones of course, will be banned for good.  Not even removing the mod will let them get back online.  This ban is not small thing, many Xbox 360 users is upset.

Xbox may not have certain functions like the Wii and Playstation 3 has, but when it comes to online gaming, it’s the leader and with games like Halo and Call of Duty, the multiplayer world has grew hugely.  It’s so popular that millions of users are willing out $8 per month or $50 per year for accessing the online service, despite the free online gaming services offered by the Wii and Playstation 3.  With the latest update for the Xbox 360, users are now capable of streaming movies from Netflix and being able to access sites like Twitter and Facebook.  Though still doesn’t have a browser.

Users shopping for used Xbox 360’s now have a much greater risk of getting one that has been modded and banned from Microsoft and will frankly be useless online.  But remember that it’s the machine that gets blocked, not the user.  So when buying a used Xbox 360, you take extreme caution when buying because there is no way to know if it’s been modded and or banned. So if I was you, I would personally not buy a used Xbox 360 unless you tried it and it was able to access the interwebs.

Soldering on the chip will allow the Xbox 360 to have Linux installed, able to download games to the hard disk, being able to upgrade the disk and yes, as well as playing bootleg games.  But you paid for the system, shouldn’t it be yours to do what ever you want to it?  It’s the company saying yes you bought it, but we still own it. No that just isn’t acceptable.  If you want to make the system unstable, you should be able to with out Microsoft complaining about it.  If you want to install the chip to run Linux and browse the web, more power to you! But don’t player bootleg games.  I really don’t think Microsoft should be banning these systems from Xbox Live, even if they are not playing bootleg games.  They should at least figure out who is playing bootleg games and who isn’t.  So what do you think about all of this stuff?

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