Microsoft banning hacked consoles, users from Xbox Live

Console hackers: beware! Microsoft has officially taken the hard line on hacked consoles connecting to Xbox Live. According to the Xbox's Gamerscore blog, henceforth when a modded console is detected on the Live network, users can expect to have their account auto-banned, and their console permanently disabled from the system. Damn. (We just hope that doesn't affect the kinder, gentler type of Xbox modding.) Granted, we can't really fault Xbox for trying to keep cheating between gamers on the level, but anything that so actively deincentivizes people from toying around with their own hardware is a serious bummer.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[2ASquared @ May 17th 2007 9:20PM]

Oh man, that really is a bummer, so much for my plans..

[JeffNLA @ May 17th 2007 9:24PM]

I say good - screw the modders. I love the way they claim it's for "homebrew" only - shove that BS!

[akijikan @ May 17th 2007 9:25PM]

lol jealous that he paid full price for his shit while everyone else is getting it free.

[Paul @ May 17th 2007 10:52PM]

To vote down for pig ignorance? or to vote up for the barrel of laughs I got?

Oh the quandaries!

[David McNice @ May 17th 2007 9:23PM]

Lets see how long it takes GaryOPA and Commador4eva to circumvent this update. They thought they had it down with their most recent 'disc-jitter' trick but apparently not.

I can see it now...Xtreme
firmware 6.0Added:-undetecable by Live servers

[akijikan @ May 17th 2007 9:23PM]

So is this for people running unsigned code on those certain kernels or for people who have flashed their firmware to play backups?

[sn0b0ard @ May 20th 2007 10:36PM]

You cannot run unsigned code on an XBOX360. This is only for game backups, which are unmodified.

[Mark @ May 17th 2007 9:24PM]

Just to get one thing straight there is no way I know of that people can cheat on a modded console. Just because you have a different firmware on your DVD drive doesn't mean you can run unassigned code.

[Paul @ May 17th 2007 9:46PM]

you could mod gears of war weapons

[Mark @ May 17th 2007 9:54PM]

Hmm, that is unrelated to modded firmware though. If I recall that is do to with editing files on your hard drive, correct?

[Joe @ May 18th 2007 3:58AM]

Not really true. ++Cracks (that is plus plus cracks) have been around for ever which are modified versions of games which have added cheat modes.

That being said - this approach is purely to scare the bones out of anyone who is not confident about their ability to either mask the mods or mask/dopple the XBox hardware ID; which would be most would be modders by my estimation...

Rather underhanded.

[paul34 @ May 17th 2007 9:24PM]

"does not provide details of bans"

That's ridiculous... kind of like those forum mods who don't know how to mod lol.

[Matt @ May 17th 2007 9:24PM]

I'd wager it's less about preventing cheating and more about preventing piracy.

[Steve D. @ May 17th 2007 9:25PM]

Oh boy, pretty soon it'll ask you to activate your "copy" of your games and console EVERY time you run it...

Good job, Microsoft.

[Andrew Fong @ May 17th 2007 10:29PM]

Developers eat too.

[DrewG @ May 17th 2007 9:29PM]

Does anyone know ppl in Sydney, Aust. that can get a 360 modded to backup games? or a PS3?

[Mitch @ May 18th 2007 9:42AM]

Whats your e-mail DrewG. I can.

[DrewG @ May 19th 2007 10:03PM]

[e-mail] thanks

[lotech @ May 17th 2007 9:32PM]

Apparently theres reports of un-modded 360's being banned - its WGA all over again!

[Hangender @ May 18th 2007 5:01PM]

heh, I love to see what will happen to Live once the PC users start to flood in. As we know all how hackable PCs are

[Phred @ May 17th 2007 9:40PM]

Correct me if I'm wrong but the screen shot is talking about gateway/router issues with the NAT... Isn't that external to the 360? Surely this isn't the message a hacked 360 user would receive.

[Steve D. @ May 17th 2007 9:46PM]

That's just the way M$ fools you.

Anyway, many confirmed ban report are coming in and the number are growing.

So careful now! Reminds me the paranoid copy of Vizda I bought.

[Paris K @ May 17th 2007 9:46PM]

Yeah, why is it mentioning routers and NAT ?

[ak @ May 17th 2007 9:52PM]

Actually i really do have a n unmodded 360 and i got the banned error code when i tried to sign in to xbox live to download that aegis game from the arcade. So i'm getting kind f'd in the A here.
Ps and i know everybody is going to say, "He is just lying, he really did mod his console," but it won't do you or me any good to point fingers. I just want my live access back.

[akijikan @ May 17th 2007 10:47PM]

HA! Not even close towards the majority of what we pay for a game goes towards developers' salary so don't give me that bullshit

[Andrew Fong @ May 17th 2007 11:00PM]

Some does though -- apparently enough of an incentive to keep people producing games. Or do you write a check to the developers every time you pirate a game?

[Liam Gladdy @ May 17th 2007 9:54PM]

Good. :)

[Jon Graft @ May 17th 2007 9:57PM]

Wow...you guys have fun getting kicked off of LIVE while I play with my PS3 with Linux on it...PS3 > Wii > 360

[Hangebokhan @ May 18th 2007 6:01PM]

Hear hear! Personally I am a PS2 gal until the PS3 is a bit more affordable though ^^

[tchiseen @ May 17th 2007 9:59PM]

I have a completely untouched console and I got the same message today, I'm not really surprised. This is the kind of thing I expect M$ to do. I'm looking into class action in AUS.

[xxdesmus @ May 17th 2007 10:20PM]

...lol... yeah, let us know how well that class action suit goes for ya *roll eyes*

[xxdesmus @ May 17th 2007 10:17PM]

Who woulda thought, you mod your box, you break the EULA you agreed to, you get banned? Sounds like logic to me. These ass hats get what they deserve.

[andy @ May 18th 2007 8:47AM]

I modded my xbox1 because the HDD died. MS wanted about 300 to replace, a new box cost 150, and I could fix it for 100 by modding the box.

SO I had to mod to fix my box.

Is this only 360's or xbox1 as well?

[xxdesmus @ May 18th 2007 8:54AM]

only 360's in this instance, modded original Xboxs have been banned from Live for a long time (as far as I know).

[Diego souto @ May 18th 2007 2:23AM]

man in Brazil they are begin to call the "Black day in game history"
About half of the tags registered in one Brazilian game forum were banned just today.

[Marc-O @ May 17th 2007 10:21PM]

So let's see if I got this straight:

a blanket ban that doesn't stop modders from playing their pirated games (they'll keep playing offline and getting new ripped games just the same) while preventing them from keeping giving their money to MS in form of downloads, arcade games, subscriptions... Genius !

[Ryan @ May 18th 2007 3:43AM]

I suspect that your dollar on Live goes further than your dollar off the store shelf. Marketing and distrubution costs are practically nil.

[LJKelley @ May 17th 2007 10:49PM]

Yes you own the hardware. You can do whatever you want with it including blowing it up. But there are terms & conditions to the warranty and to be able to participate in Xbox Live. People that play pirated games or mod their 360 in that manner should not be suprised when Microsoft acts. I assume this has to do with the Crackdown Halo 3 Beta, as I'm sure there may be a few pirated versions circulating.

Now, obviously if Microsoft banned a good 360 then they must repair the problem and compensate for lost Live time. Mistakes do happen, lets just see their reponse to correct their mistakes. And as for reports that non-modded xbox are being banned, I take that with a BIG grain of salt. Also, beware if you buy a used 360 it may have been modded or even tampered with. Only time will tell how much Microsoft can detect thru OS when it comes to tampering.

[akijikan @ May 17th 2007 11:02PM]

I agree, you own the hardware and can do with it what you please. But microsoft owns the networks and services and they can do with them what they please and that includes deciding who can and can't use them.

[Mel @ May 17th 2007 11:05PM]

You might own a baseball bat, but don't expect the other team to let you play if you've 'corked' the bat. If you want to mod a system for local LAN parties or whatever, where everybody knows who has what, fine. But MS has a right to make the rules on its 'field'.

[Daryl Herbert @ May 17th 2007 11:09PM]

This isn't just about piracy. Someone who mods the console for homebrew, and only plays non-pirated games online, will be cut off.

Many of the gamers with modded 360s will probably want to sell them (so be careful buying a 360 on eBay!)

The best defense, if you want to do homebrew and online play, is to get a 2nd 360.

[JeffNLA @ May 17th 2007 11:17PM]

Please don't give me the HOMEBREW bullcrap. I am so sick of this argument. Use your computer then - it's better at it.

NO ONE hacks a console to run homebrew. I had 2 shipped PS2's. I would not do it again.

[Jamar @ May 17th 2007 11:59PM]

Homebrew doesn't just mean games, you know. It also means being able to play DivX video on your 360 as well as emulation (yes, we all know that's illegal, but hey, if you didn't want a Wii to buy them legally with...).

[fischju @ May 18th 2007 12:08AM]

Actually, I do, and a lot. XBMC is one of the best homebrew applications ever created, and turning old xboxs into media centers is pretty popular

[JeffNLA @ May 17th 2007 11:19PM]

^^ I meant "chipped PS2's" - my typo.

[merderjunkie @ May 19th 2007 5:37PM]

another case of if they were not out there, microsoft would not have even had to do this

[akijikan @ May 18th 2007 12:00AM]

My original question has yet to be answered. Is this for people running unsigned on the old kernels? Or is it for Flashed DVD drives? Or better yet, is it for people using saves from other consoles? MY drive is flashed and I still have yet to be banned.

[sn0b0ard @ May 20th 2007 10:35PM]

Just to set things straight. This is not about cheating in games. This is about stopping piracy. You cannot, I repeat you CANNOT play unsigned code on an xbox360. The games that are burnt and played on a modded xbox360 are the original games, just on a DVD+R DL disk.

[... @ May 18th 2007 12:05AM]

Mark if you ever played a game such as Halo you would know that's not true. You see people "speed hacking" all the time, and I rarely ever played and out of 5 times I would get a speed hacker.

But I do agree, this is just to stick the piraters not really the cheaters.

[Zeus the God @ May 18th 2007 12:17AM]

Yeah, there are absolutely NO consoles being banned unless they have modded firmware, hardware, or are caught hacking.

Why do you PS3/Wii fanboys make up shit like, "haha dere are rperots of xboxs getin baned 4 no reesin".

Exaggerated, yes, but you should be more mature than to spread lies.

Jon Graft, have fun playing on an inferior, laggy online service on shitty games. Us honest Xbox and Xbox 360 owners will have fun playing Gears of War and the Halo 3 beta. :)