Xboxist

Console Modders Banned From Xbox Live

Microsoft has been busy this week banning users suspected of having modded (hacked) their Xbox 360 consoles. Certain Xbox 360 consoles can be modified using an unauthorized process in order to play pirated versions of games. Microsoft evidently has a system in place to detect when a modded console is logged on to the Live online service. Right now, Microsoft uses a sophisticated check to determine whether a game disc passes as the real thing by using the player's own DVD drive, and then sending that information back to the company. Certain rips of popular games -- especially early review copies -- have codes in place to tell Microsoft that the copies are unauthorized.

This round of bannings has caught a large number of pirates off guard, particularly after the widely publicized early leak of Gears of War 2. Only the console itself is banned, not the offending gamertag, so banned users are free to sign on to Live with a new (un-modified) console.

Microsoft spokesperson Major Nelson responded to the gaming community about the bannings this week, basically spelling out the terms and conditions that legally allow the company to deny service to unauthorized users.

[Source: NFO Hump]