Microsoft responds to Xbox Live ban class-action lawsuit
Microsoft recently banned between 600,000 and 1 million gamers from Xbox Live after they were found to have modified their systems or played pirated games on them. Then a U.S. law firm decided to launch a class-action lawsuit over the bannings. As they always do. And now Microsoft has responded to the lawsuit.
Abington IP is considering launching a class-action lawsuit against Microsoft over the timing of its Xbox Live bannings. According to the Financial Post, Microsoft issued a statement in response to this threat, saying:
Piracy is illegal and modifying an Xbox 360 is a violation of the Xbox Live Terms of Use. Microsoft is well within its legal rights to ban these users from Xbox Live.
Which can be easily paraphrased as, “These people broke the rules, we can do what we want to them, so go f**k yourselves.”
I’m finding it very hard to sympathize with those people banned for piracy or modifying their consoles because they knew the risks when they followed that path.
Microsoft may have chosen the harshest possible punishment but the company is clearly within its rights to do so. Abington IP is doing nothing but confirming that Americans love suing, even if there is no basis for a claim.
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52 Responses to “Microsoft responds to Xbox Live ban class-action lawsuit”
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November 23rd, 2009
That’s what I have been saying all along. It’s like it’s in their blood to sue for bloody everything. It basically fuels shows like Judge Judy and Judge Joe Borwn and there is that new white guy Judge too I just don’t know his name. Hell it even warrented a channel all to it’s self, Court TV LOL. Only in America.
November 23rd, 2009
This isn’t really something to sue for. It is their service and their system. Innocent bans and the XBL fees might stir things up a bit, but I’m glad that they took action.
November 23rd, 2009
Less hackers, cheaters, and pirates, thank you.
November 23rd, 2009
@Saber,
I detest frivolous suits myself, but you do raise a good point – thorough investigations do need to happen so that innocent consumers who have been unjustly banned do get a fair representation. Now thats the American way.
November 23rd, 2009
“Now thats the American way.”
Shoot ‘em all let god sort em out?
November 23rd, 2009
“innocent consumers” who mod hardware already understand it voids the warranty and risks being banned if they try to connect to XBL with it. If they do not then it is their own fault.
It is stated clearly in the documentation that comes with the unit, online, in the user’s agreement, and has been widely understood with modder’s worldwide since launch four years ago: if you mess with the hardware, there is a good chance it will no longer work online. They are justly banned and need no representation. They only need to read the legal documentation to understand they have no right to legal action because they broke the user’s agreement.
November 23rd, 2009
I expect a fringe minority mayt well have incorrectly have been banned – and they ought to be reinstated asap.
Whether that number is significant to justify a class action law suit is quite another matter and we’ll have to wait and see.
It does sound to me like the legitimate padding to an otherwise wholly illegitimate complaint.
November 23rd, 2009
these people are not looking for justice. Many people (and all lawyers) have always seen MS as the lottery. they have very deep pockets and fools will always be going after their money.
the harshest punishment, dave, would be to brick their consoles once the modders connect on ‘live.
i don’t see a ban as being that harsh.
oh well…..they knew the risks…
November 23rd, 2009
w.e method MS is using to ban “modded 360″ is not 100% accurate. I know 3 friends who are still playing on XBL with their modded 360 (with pirated copies of games) and also Ivan managed to not get banned somehow.
November 23rd, 2009
Hackers will always find a way. This just makes it a harder target.
November 23rd, 2009
roca – “I know 3 friends who are still playing on XBL with their modded 360 (with pirated copies of games) and also Ivan managed to not get banned somehow”
*cough* B.S. *cough*
November 23rd, 2009
sick??
November 23rd, 2009
roca – yes…sick of you lies.
do have any idea how many times you use the “friends” excuse when lying?
it’s getting really, really old.
i just wish for ONCE you would use some actual facts in your insane ramblings….
November 23rd, 2009
hahha dont believed me. im sure you can see Ivan still using his 360 and he modded it to hell
November 23rd, 2009
roca – of course, little man..becuase ivan is sooooo credible…. almost as much as you…LMAO…!!!
November 23rd, 2009
dont you have his gamertag? it even says his name
November 23rd, 2009
roca – whatever you say….lmao…
November 23rd, 2009
nice exit..lmaooo
November 23rd, 2009
Always reminding me of Terry Silver Kev. Love it.
November 23rd, 2009
“FOR 360 OWNERS ONLY”
Games to look out for in 2010 ON xbox 360.. The list isn’t complete deadly prenominition is also coming i 2010 + rumored mistwalker game etc etc
http://www.vgchartz.com/forum/thread.php?id=90812
November 23rd, 2009
OMG I looked Toshi, are you going to come slap my wrists now? So cute.
November 23rd, 2009
@Carlb,
““innocent consumers†who mod hardware already understand it voids the warranty and risks being banned if they try to connect to XBL with it. If they do not then it is their own fault.”
Where in the world do I say that the innocent consumers I am refering to have modded their hardware??? Again your building these strawman arguments.
Happyhockum understood what I was stating –
“I expect a fringe minority mayt well have incorrectly have been banned – and they ought to be reinstated asap.”
YES, those who have been banned without any just cause- we need investigations to happen so these types of issues get corrected. Checks and Balances, sort of like our wonderful democratic system here in America Carl. Unless, you prefer dictatorship.
November 24th, 2009
Look at the new PSN/Sony Future, not anything like XBL after all
http://blorge.net/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=141&p=1011#p1011
November 24th, 2009
“Where in the world do I say that the innocent consumers I am refering to have modded their hardware??? Again your building these strawman arguments.”
Sorry if you did not understand/comprehend what I stated Mike. I merely stated that in order for a “innocent consumer” to upgrade their hard drive on the 360, they needed to physically alter the hardware and/or software/firmware on the system so it would recognize a non-OEM hard drive. The actions taken in order to do this are not simply plugging in a non-OEM hard drive to the USB and automatically being banned from XBL.
No, the “innocent consumer” must make a concerted effort to not only ignore the documentation that came with the hardware they purchased, but also ignore entirely the user’s agreement for XBL, and then methodically seek out and install firmware on the 360 and or mod the hardware in order to get their non-OEM hard drive to work. Reading legal documentation for understanding before taking legal action, sort of like our wonderful educational/legal system here in America Mike. Unless you prefer purposeful ignorance. Nothing more, nothing less.
November 24th, 2009
@CarlB,
Man, can’t believe you still don’t understand what I am saying. Happy seems to understand my point.
Re-read my original comment, “innocent consumers” as in those who have done nothing (no mods, no hacks, etc…) and just banned without just cause. If you mod your system you wouldn’t be an “innocent consumer.”
Why do I even bother?
I think Carl is stuck in the “three laws of robotics” loop
November 24th, 2009
Mike F – “YES, those who have been banned without any just cause- we need investigations to happen so these types of issues get corrected”
let me guess…one of your “friends” had this happen…lmao…
Mike, you’re a proven ps3 fanboy. why should we believe anything you write, after writing so much that has been false in the past?
ROCA – how do you know Ivan’s 360 is modded? hint: because he told you so… nice one.
still believe in Santa Claus too? lmao…
November 24th, 2009
why should I believe anything you say? just because you tell me so….? lmaoo
your exact same line came back to bite you.
November 24th, 2009
Roca
There’s one great reason not to believe a word Ivan says.
He claims to have bought a Sony Vaio with a 500gb SSD as standard fit in June 09.
By his own words typed here for all to see he’s a liar – do you need them copied &pasted with – dated – link, I’d be happy to oblige.
November 24th, 2009
Rofl Mike, 3 laws of Xbots?
November 24th, 2009
@Mike,
“‘innocent consumers’ as in those who have done nothing (no mods, no hacks, etc…) and just banned without just cause. If you mod your system you wouldn’t be an ‘innocent consumer.’”
One has to mod their system in order to get a non-OEM hard drive to work on the 360.
“Happy seems to understand what I am saying”
Yes, he does, and he also disagrees with it:
“Happyhockum: November 24th, 2009 , 2009 Mike Well ok, but I think anyone who significantly hacks the firmware on the Xbox takes what’s coming to them, if Microsoft decide to go after them. The level of firmware hacking necessary to enable any hard drive to be used (as opposed to the example I gave of just using the exact make & type they already use themselves(OEM)) goes way beyond anything any regular person would be into.”
November 24th, 2009
@Happy.
link?
I’ve seen so many things misinterpreted on this site that i simply want to read it myself. I figure you have the link stored somewhere as this bit of info has been your anti Ivan trump card for a while now.
November 24th, 2009
@Carlb
Lets just say someone didn’t mod their console at all. We all know for a fact that all software written by MS is fullproof and never needs to be patched. In this crazy speculated instance, someone who didn’t mod their console gets banned for no other reason.
hence Mikes point.
November 24th, 2009
@Jofa, read,”I, Robot” by Isaac Aasmov. He may be stuck in the 3rd… lol.
November 24th, 2009
@Jofa,
Here is the original comments from his article and ensuing thread for some understanding:
“The firm is also collecting information from users that have been affected by the ban but have not pirated any games. It seems like the firm has reports of users getting banned for modifying the hard disk drive (non-OEM replacements). The firm is asking Microsoft to reimburse all banned users with the remaining balance of the annual subscription cost for Xbox Live… To be clear – the class action lawsuit also includes those users who have been banned that have not pirated any games, but may have modified their Xbox 360s with non-OEM hard drives. So this is not just limited to those that pirate games… Making sure you guys realize its not all piraters who are getting banned. People just upgrading their harddrives to non-Msft hard drives who have not pirated at all have gotten banned.”
I agree with you Jofa, there may be some theoretical “innocent consumer” out there who has done absolutely nothing in the way of modifications to their console, and has abided by the existing user’s agreement to the tee, but might have been banned for some strange reason. Fortunately, Microsoft has an excellent support system in place to alleviate these and other cases expeditiously. However, the law firm is basing their case off of “users getting banned for modifying the hard disk drive (non-OEM replacements)”.
November 24th, 2009
Thanks HH, I am fully aware of Asimov’s “3 laws of robots” as used in I Robot. If you will notice, I changed the wording to “3 Laws of Xbots?” for the hilarity. The question mark was for extra current blorge discussion reference.
November 24th, 2009
And a class action lawsuit doesn’t require an obscene amount of victims: as long as there is a definably, effected group that is too large to succinctly include in the precedings, and the source of the wrongdoing is a definable entitly, then class action is appropriate. If only .1% (1 of 1000) of those 600k-1mil banned were done so improperly, and MS is incapable of reinstating their access, then yes, class action is very appropriate to get MS to change their processes, not just reimburse the funds or 360s to those who actually stood up for themselves.
November 24th, 2009
“3 laws of Xbots?
The question mark was for extra current blorge discussion reference.”
the question mark has turned to be useful after all
November 24th, 2009
3 laws of PSbots?
November 24th, 2009
Haha, touche~
November 25th, 2009
@Carlb,
Where do I refer “innocent consumers” to those who have modded their Xbox 360s?
Re-read my writing you have encapsulated there in your post. I think you have proven my point. No where do I refer to those who have modded their hard drives “innocent consumers.” I clarified in the comments section that those banned is not limited to “piraters” but also those with non-OEM hard drives. This is a clarification point – no where do I defend this action at all nor refer to this as “innocent”. I repeatedly state that this is a clarification point, that is all.
The comment I make here in Dave’s story is regarding actual “innocent” folks that have been baned for no reason. Absolutely no relation to the clarification comments I made about modded Xbox 360s vs Piraters.
My personal social commentary on frivolous suits highlight the fact at times they do serve as a necessary evil in that they provide checks and balances of sorts like our democratic process here in the USA.
Jofamang seems to grasp and understand what presumption you are making. Now where do I say, those who have modded their Xbox 360s are “innoccent consumers”.
Please quote exactly here where I refer to those who have modded their Xbox 360s as “Innocent consumers”?
Gotta say your pretty thick Carl. Break out of that infinite loop your stuck in.
I think you’ll get it soon enough.
November 25th, 2009
Thanks for defining the term of the discussion Mike. By all your preceding comments to mentioning the term, I mistakenly perceived you meant, or were implying that, “innocent consumers” meant those who had simply replaced their existing 360 authorized hard drives with some other standard off the shelf PC hard drive that happened to be larger in memory capacity, and that these users were not pirates or hackers, but simply wanted a larger hard drive that was not authorized for use with 360.
I now know you really meant “innocent consumer” to mean those who simply purchased a 360, hooked it up to XBL, and were banned for absolutely no reason whatsoever, to include not breaking the XBL user’s agreement in any way shape or form. Admittedly I am “pretty thick” in the face of your absolute stunning brilliance here, forgive me my trespasses, oh supreme highness of Gamer.Blorge.
November 25th, 2009
Btw, have you ever heard or can you link to absolutely anything in reference to said “innocent consumers” who were permanently banned from XBL for absolutely no reason at all? Just curious. Thanks Mike.
November 25th, 2009
@CarlB,
Its all good, no harm no foul.
The first time I’ve used the term “innocent consumers” was right here in Dave’s story. In the previous story I made no mention of it. In the previous story, I was merely clarifying that the suit also includes hardware modders as well.
The reason I made that comment about the lawsuit here in Dave’s story was in direct response to Saber’s comment. If you read it, I’m sure you will understand why I made reference to “innocent consumers” – à la Répondez.
November 25th, 2009
I understand Mike. On a slightly different note, any thoughts on Erik Estavillo?
November 25th, 2009
Congrats Jofa, here your FTotT (CAD has you by one so far). “‘Now thats the American way.’ Shoot ‘em all let god sort em out?”
November 25th, 2009
phranctoast
“link?”
Sure.
Like I said the guide does mention a ‘hack’ but it’s just a bit of code so that the hard drive can operate on Xbox firmware.
Nothing happens to the Xbox itself.
This is for the 120gb hard drive.
The word is that the 250gb unit has been identified and details will follow shortly.
It’ll be much the same deal.
There’s really nothing “trump card” about it, just keeping your ear to the ground and not believing the likes of Ivan/Roca when they claim Xbox owners must pay Microsoft prices and have no credible alternatives.
The only vaguely difficult part of this is that you need to have an Xbox hard drive enclosure already to slot the Western Digital unit into.
Anyone can pick one up on eBay tho.
November 25th, 2009
OK, so it might help if I actually pasted in the link, right?
h**p://ww.pcworld.com/article/150970/upgrade_your_xbox_360s_hard_drive_on_the_cheap.html
November 26th, 2009
@CarlB
Haha, I would like to thank my fans, my manager, my agent, my wife, and of course, Allah/L.Ron Hubbard.
November 26th, 2009
@ Jofa
“Haha, I would like to thank my fans, my manager, my agent, my wife, and of course, Allah/L.Ron Hubbard.”
lmaooo. good one!!
November 26th, 2009
@Jofa,
lol… Can you tell us more about that magical mixture and “synergy”(haha) of the Qu’ran and Dianetics?
November 27th, 2009
It reminds me of Jones Orange Creamsicle soda: Bubbly like a soda, tastes like orange icecream.
November 28th, 2009
hmmm… I did not know Kool-Aid had advanced so much over the years…