Xbox Live, the current leader of Online System gaming
In a report released by InformationWeek, it has been said that Microsoft has banned almost 1 million players from Xbox Live due to game piracy. These players were those who have altered, or modded, their Xbox 360's to play pirated games such as Call of Duty World at War or Halo ODST which they downloaded freely off of the internet.
The major spur in bans may be due to Activision, developer of Call of Duty, pushing Microsoft towards this. Activision recently released their latest Call of Duty, which pirated version of began appearing on the internet before the game was released in most areas.
"Xbox 360 consoles are equipped with digital rights management technologies designed to detect pirated software," InformationWeek wrote, "but some players have successfully 'modded,' or modified, their machines to circumvent DRM protections."
Were you banned? Don't fret, your system isn't entirely useless. It will still be allowed to play offline games, and there is a slim chance Microsoft will allow these Xbox's back onto Xbox Live. Whether it is temporary or permanent is unknown at this time, we can't do anything but wait around to see.
Also, on the Xbox 360 Support Page, the Xbox Live Director of Programming, Larry Hryb, (who is also known as Major Nelson), discussed the circumstances that have lead many players to being banned.
"Players who find their Gamertags banned from Xbox Live have wound up in that situation due to violations of the Xbox Live Terms of Use," Larry Hryb stated. "The Xbox Live team monitors players for not just cheating, but also for things like threats, racism, profanity, and just being an all around poor sport and ruining the game for others."
"When a Gamertag comes up as violating our policies for online behavior, the person who owns that Gamertag is punished by being banned from the service. Keep in mind, this isn't just a ban on a particular game. This is a ban on the Xbox Live service as a whole, so you won't be able to go online at all during your ban. Initially, you may be banned for a day, a week, or depending on severity, permanently! Kiss that $50 goodbye."
Microsoft recently released a statement saying "commitment to combat piracy and support safer and more secure gameplay for the more than 20 million members of the Xbox Live community remains a top priority. All consumers should know that piracy is illegal and modifying their Xbox 360 console violates the Xbox Live terms of use, will void their warranty and result in a ban from Xbox Live. We can assure you that if an Xbox Live member follows the Xbox Live terms of use, purchased a retail copy of Modern Warfare 2 and played the game on an unmodified Xbox 360, no action will be taken."
