Spartan_X Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 Exclusive: Xbox 360 Piracy Spreading Fast In China As part of Gamasutra's visit to Shanghai for this week's ChinaJoy game exhibition, we've discovered that Xbox 360 game piracy appears to be spreading notably in the country, with at least one vendor offering Xbox 360 titles such as Hitman: Blood Money for around 30 Chinese yuan ($3.50). This development has occurred after an incident in March 2006, in which hackers managed to flash changes to the firmware on the Xbox 360's DVD-ROM drive which allowed non-authenticated (copied) games to be played. Further information on the hack surfaced in late May, when other parties appear to have released a public version of the exploit, and Microsoft's Gamerscore Blog published an official response to the problem. At the time, the company's John Porcaro noted: "The core security system has not been broken. However, on some Xbox 360 consoles the authentication protocol between the optical disc drive and the console may be attacked via a complex software and hardware modification which could allow people to play illegally copied and modified games. We continue to invest in the security of the platform and will respond appropriately as unauthorized activity is identified." Obviously, it seems likely that connecting to Xbox Live will, at some point, download system updates which will prevent continued playing of pirate titles. In addition, it appears that pirated versions of PlayStation 2 and Xbox discs are much more common on the market stalls throughout Shanghai, thanks to the high cost of the Xbox 360 relative to average Chinese wages. But, judging by the shrinkwrapped copies of Xbox 360 titles available publically in the country, Microsoft's much-vaunted security system has been definitively bypassed for physical media-based Xbox 360 games - with stores or individuals in Shanghai presumably offering to flash the Xbox 360's disc drive BIOS for a fee. As for the large selection of Xbox 360 games available, a recent Chinese-language article at Sina.com pictures some of the titles readily available at game vendors throughout China, also including Ninety-Nine Nights, Fight Night Round 3, and Project Gotham Racing 3. News source: Gamasutra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rahul Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 SWEEET Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spartan_X Posted July 27, 2006 Author Share Posted July 27, 2006 SWEEET :angry: :angry: :angry: :trout: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecableguy Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 :laugh: , i love the chinese. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThehAWKs Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 You See This is What Happens When You Rush In To SomeThing To Fast could Of used Disk That Could Only Be Read By a XBOX360 To Bad For Them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magik Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 You See This is What Happens When You Rush In To SomeThing To Fast could Of used Disk That Could Only Be Read By a XBOX360 To Bad For Them Sorry to burst your bubble, but it has nothing to do with the disc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdsams Veteran Posted July 27, 2006 Veteran Share Posted July 27, 2006 You See This is What Happens When You Rush In To SomeThing To Fast could Of used Disk That Could Only Be Read By a XBOX360 To Bad For Them Your post almost makes sence...you act like MS did not put anytype of security. Also the way you typed that is very annoying, its not a title therefor no need to capitalize the first letter of every word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawkMan Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 You See This is What Happens When You Rush In To SomeThing To Fast could Of used Disk That Could Only Be Read By a XBOX360 To Bad For Them Much like your attempt at writing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1ceman Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 Yea this has been out for a while, I have access to the firmware and the games to download, I just know that I would probably have to cut myself off from LIVE, and I really like that aspect of the 360 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rahul Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 :angry: :angry: :angry: :trout: ??? why all i said was SWEET Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deaf Spacker Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 ??? why all i said was SWEET He works for Microsoft ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad_onion Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 ??? why all i said was SWEET its a very bad thing, why should anyone bother making these games if your not going to pay for them. its not like microsoft is making money off the console you need to buy the games or its not just the company not getting money they should be getting, they are actually losing money because they price the console so cheap. He works for Microsoft ;) you can be enraged by people's complete lack of understanding about what they are doing without actually working for the company in question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambiance Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 I don't feel bad for Microsoft at all on this topic. They have destroyed my PC games with their garbage console contracts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 It's strange.. Microsoft have the team, money yet hackers can still do this on their machine. :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fascist Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 I don't feel bad for Microsoft at all on this topic. They have destroyed my PC games with their garbage console contracts. It's a buissness what the do you expect them to do? Give everything out for free and hope for donations :rolleyes: . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambiance Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 It's a buissness what the do you expect them to do? Give everything out for free and hope for donations :rolleyes: . Not at all. I would prefer them to stop making consoles period. There are already proven companies that are far more innovative than theirs in that market. It just doesn't make sense to me that they would not invest in making Windows their only gaming platform instead of an inferior console. PS - I am never buying a console unless it is free, and it would still collect dust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EduardValencia Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 sorry for you,but that won't happen bacsue a candaian says so,you way of thinking is simply out of any reality Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fascist Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 Not at all. I would prefer them to stop making consoles period. There are already proven companies that are far more innovative than theirs in that market. It just doesn't make sense to me that they would not invest in making Windows their only gaming platform instead of an inferior console. PS - I am never buying a console unless it is free, and it would still collect dust. Far more innovative? I dont think we would of seen such a push in graphics from sony or even some type of unified online service if it wasnt for Microsoft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambiance Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 sorry for you,but that won't happen bacsue a candaian says so,you way of thinking is simply out of any reality I just tend to think out of the box. Far more innovative? I dont think we would of seen such a push in graphics from sony or even some type of unified online service if it wasnt for Microsoft. Kudos for Microsoft for tapping a market that already exists for free and then throwing a fee on top of it. I had an XBOX and rarely used the service. I did like the fact that they automatically renewed the service without my consent though. They market Live like its an essential part of XBOX, so if you buy one shouldn't that part be free? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yusuf M. Veteran Posted July 29, 2006 Veteran Share Posted July 29, 2006 Not at all. I would prefer them to stop making consoles period. There are already proven companies that are far more innovative than theirs in that market. It just doesn't make sense to me that they would not invest in making Windows their only gaming platform instead of an inferior console. PS - I am never buying a console unless it is free, and it would still collect dust. Uh.. what are the so called "proven companies"? Give me names, charts, and facts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fascist Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 I just tend to think out of the box. Kudos for Microsoft for tapping a market that already exists for free and then throwing a fee on top of it. I had an XBOX and rarely used the service. I did like the fact that they automatically renewed the service without my consent though. They market Live like its an essential part of XBOX, so if you buy one shouldn't that part be free? Not as big of a push. Live is an essential part of the 360 and they are trying to push it into many homes since its being unified (console, pc, cell phones). Also why would it be free they are hosting it on their servers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambiance Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 Well Sony has always been a strong when it comes to Playstation, and they actually care about its game developers by submitting their hardware. Wii is probably the most innovative of the bunch with its control design and true interactivity with games. Don't get me wrong, I do like Microsoft, but they should to what they do best. Fresh ideas and innovation are not on that list unfortunately. Not as big of a push. Live is an essential part of the 360 and they are trying to push it into many homes since its being unified (console, pc, cell phones). Also why would it be free they are hosting it on their servers. If they can afford to pay million dollar EU fines daily I don't see why they can't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattmatik Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 Do you think the Wii would even exist if it weren't for the multiple competition that Nintendo has to face? Nintendo had to be innovative this time around - another drop like the GC and they would be out of the console business. If it weren't for MS, the online gaming world for consoles would not exist. Now, the PS3 and Wii both have online capability. And Live is free, thank you. You get a free Silver account out of the box. In my opinion, for $50/year, that's a fantastic price given the amount of use it gets (it pays for itself in a month). Just curious, but, how come nobody brings up Blizzard? $15/mo. to play WoW? In 3 months you've spent what you would spend for a year for Live. And that's for one game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnast Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 ...[sony] actually care about its game developers by submitting their hardware. This sincerely isn't a jab at you, but I didn't understand what you meant by that. Just curious, but, how come nobody brings up Blizzard? $15/mo. to play WoW? In 3 months you've spent what you would spend for a year for Live. And that's for one game. Well Blizzard actually hosts the game, which has thousands (I'm guessing - never played it myself) of players online playing together in a persistent world. I'm not complaining about the Live fee, though. I can only imagine how bad it would be if jerks had nothing to lose by annoying the rest of us and only had to create another free account when they got banned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambiance Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 "Developers were just getting final PS3 hardware [around E3], which is a long time before ship," Rein told Eurogamer TV in an exclusive interview now showing. "Developers did not have finished Xbox 360 hardware last year at E3. So Sony's actually maybe in a better place vis-a-vis Microsoft in relation to launch." Yeah I wasn't very clear in that point and I also agree that Blizzard's fee is lamer than WoW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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