If you’ve got a modded X-Box console, you may find yourself locked out of your X-Box Live account.
Microsoft has begun locking out users who use a modded X-Box according to the BBC. The company cites its user agreement as the justification for locking out the users who have modded their gaming consoles.
Microsoft has not revealed precisely what kinds of modifications led to the gamers being disconnected. However, many are thought to have been using “modchips” – a microchip for a games console that is not provided or supported by the manufacturer.
The ban could affect up to a million users of the popular gaming console and on-line portal.
Some reports indicate that Microsoft made the move after seeing illegal copies of the new game “Call of Duty 2: Modern Warfare” showing up in X-Box Live.
One user told the BBC that he was “completely gutted” by the move and that ” I was in shock.”
“I wasn’t expecting it. I was just like, ‘OK, what do I do now? Is this just a joke?’ So I thought, ‘Let me restart the Xbox’. I restarted, signed in again, same message. I did that three times, same message. I was pulling my hair out thinking, ‘No, why me?’,” he writes. “It’s like telling someone their dog’s just died. It was pretty much like that for me. I love it, I love playing Xbox live. I play with my mates all the time. It’s just a good laugh, we all sit there chatting, playing games. Now I don’t know what to do.”
A banned Xbox 360 console from the Xbox Live service does not render the console useless though. Users can play games, but the online multiplayer service will not be available to them. The only way to get back using the service is to purchase a new Xbox 360 console, without any modifications to it.
Following this ban, a large number of modded Xbox 360 consoles are being put up for sale on sites such as Craigslist. The average price for such a console is now around $90, much under the normal market price of around $200. Precaution when buying such a console is advised, as Microsoft warned that anyone who accidentally purchased a modded Xbox 360 console would not receive any help or compensation from the company.
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