Becareful buying an Xbox 360 on Craigslist, ebay etc

[Mercury]

This is a public service announcement: Be very, very careful about buying a used Xbox 360 right about now. As you might know, Microsoft is in the process of banning up to a million modded 360s from Live. These bans are affecting the black-market economy of mod-boxes; modders are racing to unload their illegal and soon to be perma-banned boxes on the internet. Craigslist is glutted with modded Xboxes at dirt-cheap prices, as well as people offering to unban your Xbox (My guess is, it won't work.). I've heard already from several TheFeed readers already who recently purchased used Xboxes that are banned. There's nothing that can be done, so, as they say in Latin: Caveat emptor. Or, "Don't a dink."

Of course, if you are in the market for a modded Xbox (and I don't condone this market, at all), it's a buyers' paradise of cheap, modded machines on Craigslist. As long as you never want to play online, won't use any Live services, don't mind not having any kind of a warranty, and are okay with stealing from people who don't deserve it, you can get a modded Xbox for super cheap these days.

According to Microsoft: "If you purchase a modified console second-hand, the warranty is not transferable and the purchaser assumes the risk for any previous modifications... If you purchase a console that has been previously banned, you will not be able to connect to (Xbox) Live."

Has anyone out there been banned for their mod? Have you purchased a used machine, only to find it's a forbidden Xbox? Leave a comment or shoot me an email!

http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/70066 ... eed-700667

 

[artRAMinMN]

so you're saying I might be able to get a cheap 360 AND not have to worry about being pestered by playing online? sounds good to an anti-socialite like me...

seriously though, this kind of BS is the result of the copyright end-run companies play with shrinkwrap and click-through license agreements... they sell you the hardware, but only license you the software that runs it ...like Ford selling you the truck, but only giving you a very restrictive lease on the tires

it's what happens when you get Gutenburg/Edison laws being applied to Gates/Jobs/Wozniak creativity

 

[Rambunctious]

It has been my understanding that the modded Xbox 360s are causing two issues now...1 - allow modders to play pirated games free (MS and their developers lose $) and 2 -provide online players with unfair advantages over those playing fairly online. I mean, it's just a game, but no one wants to suck at anything they do (especially when others are cheating and talking poop). It is just a videogame though.