Andre Yoskowitz
11 Nov 2009 13:49
In what would be a stunning figure if proven true, InformationWeek is reporting today that up to 1 million gamers have been banned from Xbox Live in the past two weeks due to playing pirated games using modified consoles.
"All consumers should know that piracy is illegal and that modifying their Xbox 360 console to play pirated discs violates the Xbox Live terms of use, will void their warranty, and result in a ban from Xbox Live," says the Microsoft statement.
Microsoft confirmed the bans but declined to give a specific number instead saying: "We have taken action against a small percentage of consoles have been modified to play pirated game discs. In line with our commitment to combat piracy and support safer and more secure gameplay for the more than 20 million members of our Xbox Live community, we are suspending these modded consoles from Xbox Live."
Certainly 1 million can not be considered a "small percentage," but the software giant may not want the negative publicity of admitting to banning 5 percent of all their paying Xbox Live members.
It is still unclear the exact methods Microsoft uses to detect modified consoles but it appears that "stealth" patching will do you little good. If you want to play games on Xbox Live, you better be buying them.