QUOTE(gsharpshooter @ Nov 6 2009, 12:35 PM)
I don't have a modified firmware (wish I did though) but this is just so stupid MS banning consoles now makes the console paper weight. There are so many people on ebay probably getting ripped off getting banned consoles saying "this console is banned from xbox live". Why not just ban that one user with his gamertag from that one console rendering his gamertag useless only on that console but let everyone who isn't pirating use that console instead of making the entire console useless to everyone its such a waste of good technology....
There are several "kinds" of Xbox users, and they all have different kinds of gaming habits/preferences. For example, I care about my gamertag and my gamerscore, and getting my system swapped out isn't a problem for me; I have the resources to change out my console as many times as necessary. Thus, if they banned my gamertag, it would truly be a proper punishment for me. However, there are others where their gamertag is basically meaningless. I know people that use an exploit to get free Xbox Live by starting a new gamertag every month. So to them, gamertag banning would be meaningless and Microsoft would accomplish nothing by doing that to that person.
You do make a good point though, one that I have been contemplating since these bans have started up again. I communicate with a lot of people from the "scene" in my community and all of them are finding ways to get their consoles replaced. Wal-Marts, Best Buys, GameStops, Targets, etc. are all unknowingly taking back banned consoles. In the short term, this is awesome, we all get to keep playing our games, but these systems all eventually get back to Microsoft and, again, it's a two-pronged reaction:
One, Microsoft will get this influx of useless systems that they will either have to unban and redistribute, or if they keep to their word and never unban, rescrap the parts and do whatever they do to make that cost effective. My first impression of this was that Microsoft shot themselves in the foot by banning consoles because, as everyone knows, this community is incredibly resourceful, and now, as thanks for banning our systems, we send them back to you courtesy of Wally and Geoffrey Giraffe, and keep doing what you banned us for intially. Basically, you burdened us with inconvenience while we burdened you with incommensurate man-hours to ban us in the first place, to the retailers that unknowingly took our defunct systems, and to your already-busy-with-rroDs repair department for them to find out the only thing wrong with the system is that its banned.
This brings me to part two of that reaction, and that is how Microsoft will respond to this cost that they will be bearing, and the steps they will take to try and ensure it doesn't happen again. I say try because, to reiterate, the pirating community is resilient, and will always find a way, but I certainly don't want to see more robust and thorough warranty checks and new equipment to verify bans, etc. One reason I don't want to see it is because I used to work for a GameStop and trading in systems is not a well-oiled machine. There aren't any real rules or regulations to checking them and any extra steps make the whole process longer and more arduous for the employee and the customer. That's just one example but my main point is that this action/reaction inertia sways back and forth and one could make the argument that pirates pushed first, Microsoft banned, pirates push back, and so on and so forth. I'm sure someone will also say Microsoft pushed first for charging $60 a game and cite the RRoD fiasco and blah blah but if you focus on that part you're missing the point: Piracy is a cat & mouse game, but this whole console banning and the subsequent reactions to it add a new element, and that is that Microsoft may actually incur further costs by banning consoles that play pirated games, while piracy itself loses a lot of money originally.
It's obviously my opinion, but I'm a bit concerned about how Microsoft will respond to how ineffective their solutions to combat piracy really are, especially when they begin getting a rush of consoles and have to now spend money on that. Say what you want about Microsoft, but they are a sleeping giant. Then again, pirates aren't no pushovers, either.
This post has been edited by DivinedSin: Nov 6 2009, 11:38 PM
Was Your 360 Banned From Live Recently (after Oct 28th)?
Nov 6 2009, 03:25 AM
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