Mod crackdown via Xbox Live
Allison Linn in Seattle
November 16, 2004
IN THE days before Microsoft released the hotly anticipated Halo 2
video game for Xbox, some gamers noticed a sudden spike in the
number of people being kicked off the company's online game
service.
The spike was no coincidence. With Halo 2 expected to entice a new
batch of users to the Xbox Live online gaming community, Microsoft
says it got tougher with people suspected of making unauthorised
modifications to their Xboxes.
Gamers who modify Xboxes usually do so either to be able to cheat
on games or use pirated copies, although some also have made
changes so they can use the Xbox for other functions, from running
Linux to playing music.
Cameron Ferroni, general manager of the Xbox software platform,
says Microsoft is not interested in suing individual users. But the
company does want to banish modders from its online service, Xbox
Live.
It's hard to know how many of Microsoft's 15.5 million Xbox users
have modified their game consoles, although the percentage is
believed to be small.
Microsoft has a unique glimpse into the approximately 1 million
Xbox Live users' consoles because, by virtue of signing up for the
service, users agree to let Microsoft gather certain information
from their machines.
Mr Ferroni declined to go into specifics on how the company can
check Xbox Live users' machines for suspected modifications. He
said Microsoft has no way of checking whether players who don't use
Xbox Live have modified their machines.
Neil Smith, an intellectual property lawyer with Howard Rice in San
Francisco, said there was little legal risk in modifying a game
system for relatively benign personal use, such as making players
invulnerable.
But it is important to Microsoft to prevent such cheating on Xbox
Live, where multiple players can take part in games. Mr Ferroni
said the goal was to make sure there's a level playing field.
Mr Smith, who has represented several video game companies, said
users face greater legal risk - and companies have more leverage -
if a person is modifying the system to play pirated or other
unauthorised games, especially if the system's security codes or
settings are altered.
Microsoft says it has focused its legal efforts on those it
believes are manufacturing pirated games or mass-producing Xbox
modifications.
The legality of modifying other people's technology remains hazy,
Mr Smith said.
Other technology companies have grappled with how much can be done
to their systems without their consent.
Earlier this year, RealNetworks caused a stir when it said it had
developed software that allows songs purchased from its online
music store to transfer to Apple's iPod by skirting internal copy
protection.
Apple, which has closely guarded control of its music player,
responded by accusing RealNetworks of adopting "the tactics and
ethics of a hacker".
Other video game consoles don't seem to face as much tinkering for
the sake of piracy as the Xbox, said PJ McNealy, an analyst with
American Technology Research.
Sony 's PlayStation 2 doesn't have as complex anti-piracy measures,
he said. Nintendo cartridge-based games are much more difficult to
pirate than the CDs that Microsoft and Sony use.
Analyst Rob Enderle said Microsoft's Xbox is also much more
vulnerable to tinkering because its popular built-in hard drive
more closely mimics a conventional personal computer, whereas the
other systems rely on less familiar technology.
"The very thing that made the Xbox a rapid success is also what
made it easy to hack," Enderle said.
Mr McNealy said Microsoft was right to go after those who are
playing pirated games, but said Microsoft might be flattered by
some of the other homemade tweaks.
"To modify it to the umpteenth degree is simply a by-product of the
geek culture of the hardcore gamer," he said. "It should be good
news for Microsoft that there's that much demand (for Xbox) that
people want to spend so much time figuring that stuff out."
The Associated Press