Microsoft Lays Down Ban Hammer On 1 Million Xbox Live Users

Microsoft laid down the banned hammer this week to over 1 million Xbox Live users who have modified their Xbox 360's to play pirated games. This has been an on going thing for most Xbox 360 pirates, but it all came to a head when leaked copies of 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2' made its way to bit torrents.

Users who modified Xbox 360's in order to play pirated games were met with a rude awakening when their gamer tag was banned from using the online service. Xbox Live allows Xbox 360 users to play with friends and other gamers across the world in a variety of different games. It has a yearly subscription fee of $50 and Microsoft has the discretion of banning users for a week, month, or permanently for violating their terms. So the banned offenders my just be out of $50 unless Microsoft grows a heart somewhere down the line and reverses their decision........... Good luck!

Its said that Activision may have exhorted Microsoft to enact the bans due to all the leaked copies that were being used on Xbox Live.

I do have friends who have modded their Xbox 360, and I've always felt that they were playing a dangerous game (not to mention illegal). I've never thought it was worth it to risk getting banned from Xbox Live, because that is a HUGH part of the fun of having an Xbox 360. Playing friends online is a very big deal to me, and a deciding factor if I buy a game for the PS3 or the Xbox 360. If the game doesn't have a good online content, then I get it for the PS3. If it has major online gaming content, then Xbox 360 wins.

So you Xbox 360 pirates who haven't been banned yet. I'm not here to judge, but you might want to reconsider that mod!!!

[CNN]

Xbox Live swings a mighty Ban Hammer

I saw this over at Xbox Live’s Major Nelson.

As you know, we are committed to keeping Xbox LIVE a safe and fair place to play for the more than 17 million active members. As part of our regular safety monitoring we have pinpointed a group of players who have unlocked specific Gears of War 2 Achievements through an unauthorized hack. Deliberate cheats like these are in direct violation of the Xbox LIVE Terms of Use and will not be tolerated. As I post this, we’ve begun taking steps to reset the Gamerscores of the offending players.  As I have mentioned in the past, this is something we do occasionally to keep the service free of cheating in order to maintain a fair and level playing field for everyone. If you play fair and earn your achievements without glitching or cheating, you have nothing to worry about. Read my original post that shows what a cheater looks like and head over to Xbox.com to read the Gamerscore correction FAQ that may answer some of your questions.

Theses are some pretty harsh consequences of cheating.

• Gamerscore reset to zero, and
• Unable to regain all previously earned achievements, and
• Labeled as a “cheater” for the community to view.

Guy With Halo 3 Gets Banned From Xbox Live

This has to be ranked right up there with the dumbest idea that a gamer has done.

On the Se7enSins.com forums board, some guy posted how his Xbox Live account got banned for violating the Terms of Service agreement. The moron was playing an early copy of 'Halo 3' while connected to the service. Check out the quote:

" You have been suspended from Xbox Live. You will not be able to sign in to Xbox Live until 12/31/9999."

You think Microsoft is a little bitter about this?

It's not said on how the guy got a copy of the game so early, but I don't think he'll be playing it on Xbox Live with the console he has for a long time.

[Official Forum Thread via Crunchgear]