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XBOX Hacking

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The Wall Street Journal published an article today ‘Hackers' Xbox Game: Decoding The Console’ that includes an interview with Andrew Huang author of Hacking the Xbox: An Introduction to Reverse Engineering. While the article is interesting and points towards the significant efforts underway to hack the Xbox 360 the author also interviews someone who creates and sells Xbox modchips for the original Xbox. This unnamed individual claims that creating a piece of hardware that enables use of copied games is not wrong. This is claimed because he says he only sells the hardware but not the software also needed to enable piracy and that therefore what he is doing isn’t wrong. I don’t understand this point of view ( even if I do understand his motivation for making the claim). My understanding is that such a modchip has only one use and that is to enable the playing of copied, stolen or re-distributed games. How can one think that this isn’t wrong? Is there anything else that can be done with such hardware?

Comments

  • Anonymous
    July 06, 2006
    Not all copying is certainly illegal. By US law, we are permitted to make one backup copy of our software, to safegaurd against loss, damage, etc. In such a case, stopping copying is taking away our rights as US citizens. To be honest, I don't own an XBOX 360 and I do not know if you have a clause in your license that would offer a replacement copy in the event of loss or damage. But I do know that any protection against copying - although it may be legit to stop counterfeiting - is not legit against the holders of the game. So creating a mod chip, at first glance, is not illegal nor wrong. If you think otherwise, please explain.
    All the best.

  • Anonymous
    July 19, 2006
    I believe that generally these mods also allow for homebrew games and applications.  Such modchips also generally allowed cross region games to join.  I don't believe it is illegal to play a game you purchased in japan on your xbox/playstation/console in the US.  It doesn't always have to be for merely playing backups.

  • Anonymous
    July 31, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    December 19, 2006
    Hiya!  (A few words, if I may; I generally only lurk, but I found your well composed explanations a delight to peruse, and quite elucidating.) . About modchip stuff-- . Generally, the only purpose I've considered that kind of hardware for myself is to use homemade games and backup cds*.  With the former, I'm now really happy, since XNA and the Creators' Club pretty much wiped away my concerns about the former.  (Big kudos to the people who pushed releasing the XNA development kit to the public; I'm totally planning to study C# and DX during the holiday this year.  And XBOX360+Live is totally awesome!) . Regarding the latter, I've always worried that I'll clumsily fumble a disc and scratch it up to uselessness when swapping between games/dvds... but since I haven't realized my fear (yet), and modchipping used to be expensive compared to the cost of games (but now nextgen games are mostly $60 :( . ), I've been vaguely thinking about investing in one if I see my clumsiness increase in the near future. .

  • though now that I've thought about it, there were a few occasions where games were released over in Japan that never got localized here in the States, and I really REALLY wanted to play them. :( (Hopefully the scrolling space shooters get themselves released here/aren't going to be region-locked this time around. sigh -_-;;) . (I'd like to second Otto's request for a way to perma-install disc games, but I don't really see how one could implement it and still respect both the game renting/trading service industries and the developers.  Except for subscription games, like Final Fantasy XI.  But is the reason that part of that game is streamed from the DVD on the XBOX 360 version?  Its HD usage after the install looked like it was lot less than the other releases. o_O`` resigned sigh) . (on a side note) I was reading through your blog after I saw the forum post on the Windows Genuine Advantage validation issues forum and I wanted to say thanks for taking the time out to write up explanations that were more human and such. I appreciate it.  (To tell the truth, when I first saw WGA (via Windows Update trying to install it along with a bunch of standard bugfixes) I got quite upset -- I took the mere request for authentication of my license personally, as a direct affront towards my integrity and good name, and I trashed my plans of buying Vista Ultimate and Halo 2 -- which was perhaps a bit juvenile in hindsight :/.) Since then, though, I've seen the attitude some of my contemporaries have been taking towards proper software licensing (... :( ), and now I think I can understand (and respect) your prerogative over there at MS in adding the module a little better. . goes back to plotting towards getting a copy of Vista Ultimate+Halo 2 for his gaming PC . Do have an awesome holiday, by the way.  Finding your blog today really made my week! . Merle Zimmermann

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