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The Tulsa, OK-based law firm of AbingtonIP is currently soliciting recently banned Xbox LIVE users to participate in a potential class action lawsuit against Microsoft. For those of you who have not been following the news, Microsoft has been banning Xbox LIVE users who have been using modified Xbox 360s; modifications that allow for these console owners to play pirated games online. Unconfirmed reports placed that number anywhere from 600,000 to as many as 1 million users; a range of numbers Microsoft claims to be completely false. According to an IGN report of a class action posting listed by AbingtonIP, the law firm “takes issue with the timing of the bans, rather than the act itself. The firm states Microsoft knowingly banned modified consoles near the release dates of some of its biggest titles to help combat pirated copies.” “This “convenient” timing may have resulted in more Xbox Live subscription revenues for Microsoft than it would have generated had these Xbox console bans taken place at some time before the release of Halo 3: ODST and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2,” reads a post on the law firm’s website. The post continued to say, “Additionally, sales of both Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (published by Activision) and Halo 3: ODST (published by Microsoft Game Studios) would likely have been greatly diminished had the Xbox console ban occurred prior to the release of these games.” Naturally, Microsoft contends that they were well within their legal rights to ban such users, as piracy is against the law and the modification of Xbox 360 consoles is against the terms and conditions of service for Xbox LIVE.
Class Action Posting: An investigation is currently being conducted regarding business practices of Microsoft with respect to its recent cancellation of certain modified Xbox consoles for use with Xbox Live. As has been reported widely in the media, tens of thousands of Xbox owners have had their modified Xbox consoles banned from Microsoft’s online gaming service Xbox Live. Although modification of Xbox consoles is *arguably* against the terms of use for Xbox/Xbox Live, Microsoft “conveniently” timed the Xbox console ban to coincide with the release of the new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 game and less than two months after the release of the very popular Halo 3: ODST game. This “convenient” timing may have resulted in more Xbox Live subscription revenues for Microsoft than it would have generated had these Xbox console bans taken place at some time before the release of Halo 3: ODST and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Additionally, sales of both Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (published by Activision) and Halo 3: ODST (published by Microsoft Game Studios) would likely have been greatly diminished had the Xbox console ban occurred prior to the release of these games. Additional *reported* problems resulting from the bans include, but are not necessarily limited to: * Disabling/altering Xbox functionality *NOT* associated with Xbox Live or piracy (HDD functionality for example); * Disabling/altering Xbox functionality *NOT* associated with piracy (Netflix, game add-ons, music, and arcade games for example); * Obtaining information from Xbox consoles without permission of the owner; * Other problems/consequences associated with these bans have been reported here and elsewhere. As an aside, PIRACY IS A LEGITIMATE CONCERN for Microsoft and other content producers. HOWEVER, (to use a poor analogy) Microsoft has chosen to use one of the most indiscriminate “weapons” in its arsenal in an effort to combat piracy — as a result, use of this “weapon” has resulted in a great deal of collateral damage — many people were affected who had nothing to do with piracy. Furthermore, Xbox console functions that have nothing to do with piracy were also affected or disabled. Details aside, Microsoft’s bans could (and should) have been more measured. |
