Millions of Xbox Live users may be cut off for changing their Xbox to play pirated games. Microsoft said they had banned “a small percentage” of the twenty-million users that they have. They have said modifying the console is against the rules of the service. They haven’t yet announced how they will choose which users to ban. According to reports the ban will stop them using the Xbox Live service but not the actual games.
It has been thought that piracy of video games costs the people who make the games in the first place as much as £740 million a year. The games haven’t been downloaded from their own service but from illegal downloading sites which means that the users are breaking the law as well. In a statement from Microsoft they said “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”.
Millions of users might get a bit of a surprise when they turn their Xbox’s on soon. When the user switches the console on their user ID will be collected and they will be banned forever. It’s a bit mean but a good way to stop people from breaking the law. The problem is that people can still get pirated Xbox games if they know where to get them. This can’t be stopped just yet as it would be a pretty big operation to take on. The banning has already started so if you haven’t been banned already and use this then expect it some time soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment