A conversation with a friend who works for a call center that handles an Xbox 360 account has yielded a disturbing truth: Microsoft has started its annual Xbox Live banning spree and it has disabled 600,000 accounts so far in the US and Canada.
The target of the banning spree are mainly people who have modified their consoles to play pirated games. My trusty source says that they have been given instructions to push for a million banned accounts by the time the holidays are over.
"Our office has gone to hell," says the source. "People have been calling in around the clock and most of them are screaming teen-agers who don't understand the terms of use that comes with the console they bought."
There you have it. If you're a big Mininova fan like GamerTotoy, stay away from Xbox Live until after Christmas to continue playing online.
44 comments:
I hear it runs on Geforce 7xxx so it should work fine. Just tell me whenever you're gonna hop online.
I'm interested, but I'm not sure if the humble SF4-capable laptop can hande the requirements of Borderlands.
Also, I just read that article at Sankaku prior to reading this. Just so I can share my two cents, yeah. You can't expect to have online capabilities with a hacked console, especially if it's from Microsoft. The angry 360 users don't know about the previous Microsoft raid, banning rental shops who used pirated copies of Windows XP, as well as putting up Modded Xbox consoles for rent.
So yeah. No online. D:
That PS3 and PSN is starting to look good now. A 30+ inch HD-TV aren't badly priced, that is if you aren't poor either or can easily be financed.
In before PS3 has no GAEMS.
I miss my Xbox...
Anyone wanna play Borderlands on PC?
seriously.. u know how much money I saved not only on my geico insurance but gaming itself.. I liked xbox live for multiplayer but there are alternatives. I had the xbox and had it modded and used xbconnect and now I just got on xlink. I think the only feature I really miss is the hdd install. I'm pretty sure that's the next way microsofty is gonna stop pirates.I wouldn't be surprised if there are mandatory installs. I still feel its an awesome system and I'll probably help boost sales again by getting another.. ha..
While it's true that paying the full price for a game that's basically a few maps (stringed together by a negligible storyline) where you can shoot things and collect loot may not be appealing for everyone, Borderlands is fun for what it is if you're in for an interesting FPS/RPG hybrid.
Players being penalized minimally for dying isn't necessarily a bad thing, because that way you can jump straight back into the action and pick up where you left off - a positive for such light-hearted action title.
It's up to you to take the fun away by exploiting respawning chests instead of battling monsters so you're actually gaining other things like experience points while searching for gear. Doing so is pretty stupid, anyway, given that better and rarer stuff appear only when you're with other players; I doubt you can easily get three friends to exploit respawning chests when you can be putting your characters to work instead.
And multiplayer is where Borderlands shines. On its own, it's an FPS with numbers set on a drab and unpopulated world. With other players around, you suddenly gain a sense of character progression because there are allies you can compare yourself to. The action also ramps up when you have more party members. I won't go into PVP because Borderlands wasn't made for that department, but it's there.
$100,000 is petty cash. Money is trivial in this game. You should only care about the good loot that come from chests and monster drops. The only time you'd really care about money is when you want to upgrade your ammo limit, and at higher levels, they cost hundreds of thousands. Fortunately, money is really easy to fetch in subsequent playthroughs where things pick up and you start messing around with builds.
Basically, yeah, single player Borderlands can get old very quickly because there's not a lot to do. If you enjoy mindless monster slaying and loot collecting with three other people, though, you'll sink in a few hours.
MW2 is a soulless cash-in that'll probably be great to play but has negative implications to the already deteriorating game industry.
Anyone stupid enough to illegally mod their console deserves to be banned, they should be banned from playing any type of game ever again. All they're doing is trying to cheat developers out of money for their games, hurting the industry. People who do that are not real gamers.
This is one thing Microsoft have done right with their Xbox policy.
Well, if your xbox360 is modded to play pirated discs, you deserve to get the banhammer.
Here in the Netherlands me and my friends are banned as well, in total around 23 people.
We all had to make a quick decision before Modern Warfare 2 came out, we all choose for the PS3 now, because its online gaming is free, its blurayplayer. Most of the games are not really worth buying original, MW2 is worth buying. We all play the PS3 now and a lot of people will do the same, we keep the banned Xbox for the crapgames and offline play, see it as a test-console for testing a game before you buy it original on the PS3. Xbox Live is dead, my whole friendlist was banned in a week. I knew the risk, but buying a secondhand xbox is no option anymore, USA quality always sucked so now the step to Sony... I liked the xbox, but why should I buy a new one if my whole friendlist died in a week???
God that sucks. Ang lupit talaga ng Microsoft when it comes to capital punishment. BTW GT, FPS RPG daw yang Borderlands ah. Isn't that the same with Oblivion?
Borderlands is ok, but not worth the money. Pick it up at $30 used. It's a grind game, quite easy and aside from paying some money, there is zero consequences to dying.
When killed, pay the fee and charge right back to where you lost. Monsters will basically retain the same status when you left, so even if its a hard battle, just attack, die, pay, re-attack, die, pay.... until you beat the boss and finish the quest.
There are also many infinitely respawning loot chest hotspots if you reload a game with no monsters around. Keep doing it till you have good weapons and piles of cash from selling equipment. I made $100,000 selling stuff quickly and when I die (not too often) it costs $3,000-4,000.
Easy game.
Most missions are quick and take no more than 10 minutes to complete. A good portion of the 100 quests is simply driving from point A to point B in your vehicke and talking with an NPC...... Quest Accomplished!
Stick to MW2
Everyone knows that a modded xbox is prone for banning im using a latest ixtreme firmware for benQ never played early has to accounts both for offline and online just played games 100% green on abgx
I just got mine banned last 10th nov and bought a new one day after. I was playing my original tekken 6 with my friends that i ordered on cdwow.au I would suggest to get another console for the sole purpose of playing backups and just get updates for titles via usb stick that is available on there website that would be a better approach.
nice info mann
MW2? That gimped up activision game with no dedicated servers, 9v9 gameplay and god knows how slow online shit will be? Pirate that motherfucker for the single player. That isn't worth ANY MONEY its asking for. Borderlands at least is satisfying on both ends plus coming with a DLC which effectively turns it into L4D/D2 ordeal.
If you're dissing borderlands, the magic is in the multi-player co-op. Which I haven't touched the game at all until me and my buds setup a lan party. Other than that, my Asus G51 has been eating Risen, Torchlight (awesome D2 clone btw with tremendous potential upside for what it is), SF4 on decent settings and now trying to get my hands on Arkham Asylum (yes I'm fucking late)and Dragon Age Origins (because I'm a huge fan of Bioware WRPGs).
Titles like Torchlight and "AaaaaAAAAAaaaAAAaaa - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity" helped me move from console to PC gaming and there's no looking back. Now if only the struggling little Japanese companies get used to making games for the easily-pirated-but-still-kicking platform as if it was the PS2's heyday again.
It's more of a Diablo-type RPG with less padding. You kill and loot stuff, not piss your pants when the guards catch you stealing forks on shelves.
Id just like to say ive been banned for a modded xbox,and i kno it was wrong BUT!,I couldnt fork out 80 dollars everytime a new game came out,this month i would of had to pay 160 dollars for cod and assassins creed
What the hell? I used to BE a tier 2 rep at one of those Xbox 360 call centers, and Xbox customer support has -zero- influence in the banning process. All they do is take phone calls, how do THEY know if you need to be banned or not? Do they ask everyone who calls?
What a load of crap. Besides, it's the console itself that's banned, not the account.
I highly doubt that this number is accurate. A supposed friend from a call center isn't a very credible source. and it doesn't matter if you stay offline if you were going to be banned. you will be banned, theres no way of getting around it.
aaah shit hopefully im not one of them
to all you xbox 360 suckers looks good on you guys who ruin all the fun out of online game playing
"console itself that's baned, not the account"
totally possible. If the gadget goes online, they just find the machine mac address and it won't be able to connect to the live network.
Torchlight is awesome! :D
Isn't it xbox's that are being banned from XBL, not the gamertag itself?
You tell em jreed1337! Even though, with all the games they pirated over the 3+ years people have been doing it, they could just buy another xbox for 200 and mod it and stay offline, or buy 2 one for ofline modding and one for legit online. Or, ya know, just wait until new FW comes out. But yea, you totally showed them!
haha suckers. and all my friends gave me shit for not modding my xbox.
Sucks to be you!
Am I the only person that thinks of things other than playing pirated games when a system is modded?
Personally, if I was to mod my OG Xbox, it would be solely to tinker with homebrow programs, emulators, and other stuff that's been coded for it.
I can afford the (used) games for sure, but I'd only mod my box if I was looking to tinker.
Im glad all those stupid teenage moders have been banned. They used to ruin Xbox live on the original Xbox. So fairplay to microsoft.
I have a friend who gets banned every year on the dot. And you know what he does? He actually gets another x box every year. And it's still much much cheaper than paying for games (unless you get like 3 a year). So if you got banned you still probaly saved loads of money. In short microsoft aren't banning fast enough. ps yeah i still think games are overpriced too but...I've get enough money so i don't really care.
then microsoft just needs to ban the I.P address, which I am sure they soon will.
"but sometimes people are sick buying expensive games even its not that good."
The U.S. has an answer to that. Its called Gamefly and it is an AWESOME rental system. You love the game? You tell gamefly you wanna buy it. Or if you really love it, buy the limited edition what the fuck not. I actually bought used games for titles that wasn't worth the full price.
Yes the game devs also have a hand in this but it doesn't mean as a consumer that you aren't left with much alternatives. Unless you live here in the Philppines.
no wonder this post sky rocketed your traffic. supposedly insider info is leaked.
could not of put it better myself.
Well thats what you get if you decided to modify your 360. but sometimes people are sick buying expensive games even its not that good. so! for the game developers provide us with good quality games to be able for us to buy it. not doin something stupid you pay 60 dollar for a game and then after you play it its done. (if you know what i mean) make something worth it. so people wouldn't do this kind of things
I'm glad.
All these banned people are probably jerks irl who would make XBox Live crap if they were allowed online.
XBox Live is as strong as ever, and games that i play (Halo 3, Gears 2, GTA 4) all have excellent online play.
Heck i can even jump straight into an online game as old as Lego Star Wars (which i do occasionally) and there is people playing.
XBox Live is a great service and always guaranteed that people are playing.
Ban ALL modded XBox users. XBox Live Gold costs less than the cost of the mod chip anyway, and if your that desperate to play every game that ever existed, then heck, your better off not going online anyway ;)
Good Job M$, this is one of few things i actually approve of what you do. XBox 360 rocks ! (Just remember to actually buy things legitimately and you'll be fine)
sure buddy i know for a fact the gaming community was better online b4 the games hit the store and every annoying lil brat like yours had the game......u r jus a hater whos 200$ system is worth more to then his most likey xbox raised children......MODDERS FOREVER.....
And all these ppl taking smack download movies by the tons.....U R ALL LIARS......
Well lets get one thing straight.
Downloading a movie affects almost no one. Its unlikey that you would of bought that movie in the first place, and it affects ZERO end users.
Modding an XBox 360 to play games by yourself also affects ZERO end users.
BUT.....
Modding an XBox 360 and then playing on Live RUINS OTHER USERS EXPERIENCES.
Modded Online Games can crash other peoples XBox's and just ruin legitimate payers online experience.
I have nothing against modding a console IF YOU ONLY PLAY THE GAMES AS SOLO.
This post is NOT about modding a console, IT IS ABOUT MODDING A CONSOLE THAT RUINS THE EXPERIENCES OF PAYING CUSTOMERS ONLINE EXPERIENCE.
So dont try and give a morally correct point of view comparing this to downloading movies. It is not the same thing.
If you want to cheat the industry out of a few dollars by downloading movies or console games, FINE, I DONT CARE, ITS NOT LIKE THEY LOSE MUCH MONEY ANYWAY.
If you then want to go online with modded games, then you can just plain F**K OFF, YOU RUIN IT FOR OTHER CUSTOMERS.
That, my freind, is the difference.
I think that if I play online with a modded console, I don't ruin any other "legal" player.
I make my game and respect the others (modded or not modded!)
I think that I'll not buy anymore a XBox Console! Now PS3!
There's no difference between downloading games and movies. Either way, you are breaking the law.
I do it. I've downloaded hundreds of movies and both my Wii and my 360 are modded. I play online. I don't see how that ruins anyones experience, though. I haven't crashed a game. There aren't any cheats that you can turn on. Me playing a burned disc online has no effect on anybody that I play with.
You, my friend, have no idea what you are talking about.
Playing Online games with modded XBox's crashes other peoples machines.
Modded XBox's dont get the correct version of game that updates automatically over legit versions of Live.
Examples of this is in GTA 4. A modded XBox that runs this game will not allow legit users to see other peoples cars.
It DOES ruin legit customers experience because you are running out dated games that interfere with legit online customers machines.
Go buy a PS3, all modders should do that and play PS3 instead.
We dont want you here on Live, Live is the superior online experience, if you want to mod, go do it with the PS3.
Goodbye, you wont be missed.
At all.
Console banning is not done by microsoft employees (specially call center employees). Its the service (server) itself that bans consoles.
"A conversation with a friend who works for a call center that handles an Xbox 360 account has yielded a disturbing truth: Microsoft has started its annual Xbox Live banning spree and it has disabled 600,000 accounts so far in the US and Canada."
If that friend of yours indeed works in a call center handling xbox accounts, he/she should know better.
I just found out that my son was banned from xbox live because of a mod to his console. He's 19 and the account was under my name. I cancelled the account immediately... PIRACY IS ILLEGAL!!!
That whole argument that pirated games can't update like legitimate versions is B.S.. I have over 30 pirated games and have never ruined or seen anybody else's experience ruined.
The copied game is every bit as capable as the versions the suckers fork over $60 bucks for. Just because you're angry and arguing doesn't mean you're right.
If you're law abiding, good for you, enjoy your system and shelling over all that money when you don't have to. Don't be mad at those of us who work the system.
I modded my original XBox and downloaded nearly every game.
But the guy is right, i have actually heard someone over my headset say "the game is abotu to crash because someone is running a pirated game of GTA 4"
When the map loaded, the game crashed :)
I have to agree based on this that pirated games can make games on Live not work properly.
I too have played maps on GTA 4 where we are racing and all the opponents cars are not there, reading, this i would have to come to the conclusion it didnt work because someone was running an outdated game version.
I dont like people who ruin my game experience. Go mod a PS3 and leave Live alone !
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