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Nice Job Microsoft

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ONTerriible
Posts: 1210 - Karma: 126

i found this in my morning paper, apparently microsoft shut down a bunch of peoples xboxs due to illegal download of games. haha why would these people risk it, they should stop being cheap asses and buy the fucking game

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/games/article/724675--microsoft-unplugs-1m-xbox-pirates

Upwards of 1 million Xbox Live players around the world, including scores in the GTA, have suddenly found themselves unplugged as Microsoft lowers the boom on suspected pirates.

Microsoft says the players were using consoles modified to allow them to play bootleg games, many of them downloaded from pirate sites and burned onto disc. Tech bloggers drew an immediate link to the release this week of blockbuster Xbox360 game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

The software and gaming giant would not reveal how it discovered which consoles had been modified.

Affected gamers who try to log on to the Xbox Live system for online gaming get the message: "Your console has been banned from Xbox." The consoles can still play any Xbox game, just not connected to others online.

Gamerama Video Games, on Yonge St. just north of Eglinton Ave., has had many callers asking the store to buy their modified Xbox consoles after they were disconnected.

"There's no way we can actually fix that because (the modification) is coded to the console's drive," said Will, an employee who declined to give his last name.

"It can't go online any more. The system is useless for that."

In a statement to tech magazine Information Week, Microsoft has said only a "fraction" of its 20 million users are affected, but the number of people reporting they had been knocked off the system was building through Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Canadian gamers were concerned about what would happen to their online game profiles.

"I don't wanna lose my rank in Halo 3," a gamer named Harjit B reported on a Canadian information site this week.

Nov 12 2009 7:58AM
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t-roy
Posts: 4041 - Karma: 52
i can understand them keeping people honest, but they most likely just lost 1million customers. but maybe some will go buy a new xbox haha.
Nov 12 2009 8:04AM
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00000000
Posts: 11075 - Karma: 82,508
.It is also being reported that this wave of bans is destroying peoples HDD, which is illegal since MS can be charged with damaging private property.

A lot of pirating is justified though. In Australia it is perfectly legal to mod your Xbox in order to play region-locked games. This wave of bans is on any machine that has been modified in any way, whether it's to play region-locked games, to use 3rd party apps, to use USB and external HD and yes, to play pirated games.

What about those "pirates" who live in Brazil and have to pay 1400$ USD for their xbox and another 540$ USD per game? Is it really fair that in order to play on xbox live they pretty much have to fork out a minimum of 2000$ USD for one game? Remember that Brazil has the biggest gap of wealth between the rich and the poor and that the average anual salary is less than 8 295$ USD per year. Imagine spending 25% of your yearly salary to play ONE videogame online?

I have a modded xbox, and if I end up getting banned then I will simply give my money to Sony and continue to pirate games on my 360. I have nothing against the game creators, and will pay money for games I support by either buying a copy of the game or picking up DLC. My beef is with Microsoft. My first xbox crapped out on me two weeks after my warranty ran out, and I figured that was just shitty luck. My second xbox got the RRoD two months in and I was charged 120$ USD to get it fixed. After that one died I picked up a used one, which again got the RRoD and led me to go get it repaired and modded for less than it would have costed if I was still under warranty. Also, why the hell does MS charge 80$ to play on live when it doesn't cost you a penny to play on the superior (at least in terms of hardware) Playstation 3 Network?

My 2 cents.
Nov 12 2009 8:32AM
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Crack.
Posts: 6020 - Karma: 84
if they spend 1/4 on their salary to play a video game then maybe they shouldn't be alive. if they already don't make a lot of money to begin with then they shouldn't be buying extra commodidies like an xbox. Just because you're poor doesn't give you the right to steal shit.

there's really no way to justify piracy.

also, it's not $80 to play xbox live. it's 50 for a year.
Nov 12 2009 3:54PM
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RcppF
Posts: 277 - Karma: 21
they banned all xboxes that had a MOD on them, you could get all games and shit for like 7 bucks
mine was modded, i no longer have a working xbox.
shit.
Nov 12 2009 3:56PM
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Crack.
Posts: 6020 - Karma: 84
serves you right.
Nov 12 2009 3:58PM
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LMPJibbin
Posts: 1607 - Karma: 17
im sure most of them will.......and will modify them again, they arent going to fix this....though it is a great way to sell more xboxs
Nov 12 2009 3:59PM
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theblackrod
Posts: 2162 - Karma: 575
if you'd like to play on the "superior hardware" of sony's network you should ask some people how they felt when the servers were down for the day yesterday. 
Nov 12 2009 3:59PM
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k-rob
Posts: 14217 - Karma: 2,891
play PC.
Nov 12 2009 4:00PM
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FUUUCK
Posts: 18426 - Karma: 4,888
well they were stealing games, so they weren't really customers in the first place.
Nov 12 2009 4:12PM
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belden...
Posts: 2914 - Karma: 1,274
To tell you the truth i think its bull shit that they banned people who were modifying their x-box (not the ones who pirated) because as soon as they pay the 200$ it's theres and they can go do what ever the fuck they want im a little ashamed to own an xbox right now.

-end rant
Nov 12 2009 4:22PM
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IanAdams
Posts: 281 - Karma: 89
uhhhhh well they bought a console which is the biggest part of the pie and comes directly from microsoft soooooo....?
Nov 12 2009 4:27PM
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kool.aid.man
Posts: 1416 - Karma: 526
you are an idiot. your xbox will still work. just dont go online right now and update to the new firmware when it is released. simple problem solution. your xbox will still always be able to play games. if your console does get banned it just means that you cant go online. the risk you take for modding your box. mine is modded and i havent been banned yet. just dont go online when the ban hammer comes around every few months. its easy, just be smart about it. quite simple.
Nov 12 2009 4:40PM
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FUUUCK
Posts: 18426 - Karma: 4,888
ummm no

the profit margins on consoles aren't that great compared to games.

think about it, you spend $60 on a disc, which costs basically nothing to manufacture and ship to the store. That pretty much leaves the initial cost of developing the game.

what costs more to manufacture? 10 games or a console?

Nov 12 2009 4:41PM
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FUUUCK
Posts: 18426 - Karma: 4,888
and I do realize MS doesn't see all the money made off games, but there's more money to be made their than off selling consoles.
Nov 12 2009 4:42PM
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IanAdams
Posts: 281 - Karma: 89
You have made an excellent rebuttle my friend and it makes a lot of sense.

+karma to you
Nov 12 2009 4:44PM
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a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9215 - Karma: 5,398
Yeah and besides that, Microsoft's main market isn't video games anyway, it's computers and software. Practically everyone uses something MS related on their computer. 1 million people being banned, their profit won't even notice.
Nov 12 2009 4:48PM
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MN_Nice
Posts: 3824 - Karma: 56
I completely agree with Microsoft on this one. Douschebag piraters deserve to be banned.
Nov 12 2009 4:48PM
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pmw
Posts: 5760 - Karma: 831
now does do companies such as microsoft and sony make almost full profit off games, and just pay companies such as infinity ward an initial amount to make the game? Or does microsoft only see a certain percent of the profits, and as long as games are sold will companies like infinity ward make money?

and ive read numerous articles saying micfosoft loses money when manufacturing and selling gaming consoles.
Nov 12 2009 4:51PM
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RcppF
Posts: 277 - Karma: 21
when you get caught, they do some shit and i you cant use anything online, i know
you can do anything thats not online, so like career and stuff, but i bought my xbox for online play, so its useless to me now.

but seriously, when your charging 60-70 bucks a game, pay like 70 bucks a year for live, their just sucking up all of your money, their making huge, of course im going to try and save some money, get it modded and start paying and 8th of the price for a game

Nov 12 2009 5:07PM
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GORlLLA
Posts: 1950 - Karma: 45
Omfg... this is a repost not even 4 hours after the first one. I've seen this happen twice; today.
Nov 12 2009 5:09PM
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holyDINOSAURS
Posts: 7038 - Karma: 639
who's fucking dumb enough to go onto xbox live with a modded xbox. even I know thats fucking stupid.
Nov 12 2009 5:12PM
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Malcolm
Posts: 15951 - Karma: 9,451
good thing i only play amped 2 offline
Nov 12 2009 5:15PM
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FUUUCK
Posts: 18426 - Karma: 4,888
So have I, but I don't know for certain if that's true anymore since the 360 has been around for a while now and hardware is probably a lot cheaper.
Nov 12 2009 5:19PM
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pmw
Posts: 5760 - Karma: 831
exactly what i was thinking
Nov 12 2009 5:34PM
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Pklink04
Posts: 5608 - Karma: 392
yeah and microsoft is free to restrict anyone who doesnt have a regular (non-modded) Xbox to xbox live
Nov 12 2009 5:35PM
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daringharry8
Posts: 240 - Karma: 10
Who downloads games anyways? pshhh
Nov 12 2009 6:01PM
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ATLskier
Posts: 8203 - Karma: 406
hahaha, poor kid is gonna lose his rank in halo 3...

fuck kids these days...stop playing fucking video games and do something with your life
Nov 12 2009 6:54PM
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Crack.
Posts: 6020 - Karma: 84
I've heard that microsoft actually loses money selling xbox's. It cost more to make the console then what they sell it for. What they catch you on is the accessories..
Nov 12 2009 7:09PM
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Funnel
Posts: 7815 - Karma: 1,531
Hahaha word.

I can't stand video games, especially those fucking war games, I always get my shit rocked. I would just rather be out mountain biking, hanging with friends, skiing, longboarding, even be on NS more than I would play a video game.
Nov 12 2009 7:33PM
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OhMyBosh
Posts: 5056 - Karma: 171
Dont hate on CoD just because you get facepwnt in it.
Nov 12 2009 7:37PM
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superpoluha
Posts: 1986 - Karma: 10
i pirate games on ps3 all the time, and they dont care, yet another reason to turn to playstation
Nov 12 2009 7:50PM
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InkShrink
Posts: 1079 - Karma: 30
I didn't like all the trouble I had with xbox...all the money it sucked out of me, and it got RROD a few weeks before MW2 came out. So I just got a ps3.
Nov 12 2009 7:55PM
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Mr.Panda
Posts: 17711 - Karma: 564
Way to come over from the dark side.
Nov 12 2009 7:56PM
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Funnel
Posts: 7815 - Karma: 1,531
I could be good at it, but I feel like saving my money for something a little bit more useful than a fucking video game.
Nov 12 2009 8:02PM
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InkShrink
Posts: 1079 - Karma: 30
They had cookies ^_^
Nov 12 2009 8:17PM
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Mr.Panda
Posts: 17711 - Karma: 564
Yup.

They do look like a George Foreman Grill though.
Nov 12 2009 8:22PM
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jibbinc.
Posts: 3355 - Karma: 2,497
Motherfuckers got me right before i was putting my MW2 disc in on Tuesday.
They figured out how to read the FW on the Drive, and if it returned to them as iExteme you are banned.
C4eva ( xbox mod guy ) is working on another firmware due in a week - a month which will be indistinguishable from M$. Until then, play offline.
Nov 12 2009 8:23PM
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JsNeagle
Posts: 1405 - Karma: 1,576
yeah you're right.  Some companies actually lose money on consoles and only make their profits from game.  The original Nintendo, for instance, was introduced to the market wayyy below cost. 
Nov 12 2009 8:24PM
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InkShrink
Posts: 1079 - Karma: 30
They do! They should just make a George Foreman Grill/PS3 combo.
Nov 12 2009 8:29PM
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Mr.Panda
Posts: 17711 - Karma: 564
Someone photoshopped a PS3 to look like the area that you insert the disc flips up and it has a burger cooking on it.
Nov 12 2009 8:31PM
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MN_Nice
Posts: 3824 - Karma: 56
Hey dude, thats your opinion and thats cool. Just don't go in a thread about video games when you don't even like them and talk shit about it. Everyone has there opinion and yours just so happens to be different. Don't hate, just accept.
Nov 12 2009 8:32PM
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ATLskier
Posts: 8203 - Karma: 406
haha, yes. same, except I like racing games, and snowboarding/skiing games...but I hardly ever play video games.
Nov 12 2009 9:28PM
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00000000
Posts: 11075 - Karma: 82,508
First of all, the server is not part of the hardware when you buy your console.

Secondly, I would much rather pay zero dollars for 364 days of great servers rather than paying eighty dollars for 365 days of decent servers.
Nov 12 2009 9:36PM
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g.muelheims
Posts: 457 - Karma: 110
If you make less than $8295 bucks a year, maybe you shouldn't be spending 1/4 of your income on video games.  The way you worded that made it sound as if it's everyone right to play video games.  I'm all for equality, but there's gotta be some amount of common sense put into buying things. 
Nov 12 2009 10:20PM
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skiierman
Posts: 28699 - Karma: -5,563
you must be on the debate team because your logic is fucking bullet proof!!!
Nov 12 2009 10:39PM
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syrup.
Posts: 644 - Karma: 302
"I don't wanna lose my rank in Halo 3," a gamer named Harjit B reported, I'm going to have to say this is the best part. I chuckled.
Nov 12 2009 11:22PM
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Static
Posts: 8553 - Karma: 4,089
how hard is it to mod an xbox? Obviously there are tutorials to look at but from those that have done it, do you have to soldier anything?
Nov 12 2009 11:35PM
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shabinka
Posts: 743 - Karma: 10
I love how people are going to PS3 because they don't give a shit about if you pirate games. However, this will eventually lead to companies not making games for PS3 and such systems in the future if its shown that m$ actually cares about their programmers. And whoever said "it's their xbox they can do whatever they want" - yes by all means go for it, however Live has its own ToS which restricts what you can and cannot do. What you cannot do involves modifying your Xbox. Also, paying $50 a month isn't even bad when you compare Live to the PS3 network.
Nov 12 2009 11:49PM
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Funnel
Posts: 7815 - Karma: 1,531
I love SSX, as shitty as that game is, you can't lie- it's fun. the unrealistic part is what makes it so fun and the rail combos are dope.

To MN_ Nice. You told me everyone has an opinion and I should accept it, I did. I never hated, I just said I think I myself can do better things with my time. That's not speaking for anyone else in this thread. I never criticized anyone's opinion and talked down upon someone's opinion. I stated my opinion and you told me to accept opinions and that I should not state my opinion about videos games in a thread about video games. Think a little more before you post and don't be hypocritical.
Nov 12 2009 11:55PM
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MrYeates
Posts: 1710 - Karma: 91
hahaha dont bash the pirates man... i'm one
So yeah i do pirate games
my xbox is modded
and im not banned
most of the people that got banned went and played COD:MW2 weeks early... online.. thats pretty darn obvious to MS that you have a modded xbox.

Nov 13 2009 12:42AM
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