Hacked xbox...

[a4dp]

What do you all think of it from a Christian point of view? Would you consider it stealing?

For those who don't know, you can chip an xbox and then you're able to copy complete games to the hard drive and play them without the cd.

 

[Pseud]

If you're taking something without paying for it when it's intended for sale, I say it's theft.

 

[Mr.Cheese]

That's piracy, which is illegal.

Personally, if you want to system link your XBOX at a friend's house to play a game, It would be nice if you both did not need to own a copy to play. So in this sense you wouldn't be trying to steal the game. It's still illegal to do, but I can understand not wanting to drop 50 bucks in order to system link for a night or two.
Renting would be an option though.

 

[a4dp]

I forgot about the piracy thing. I guess that would make it wrong.

 

[oworm]

It would be ok if you were buying the original game and then chipping for the purpose getting the game to run smoother.
My favourite pc game ;Battlezone 2, runs better without the cd so i downloaded the "No_cd crack".

 

[santaclaus]

Cheater.

 

[GodBoy809]

hey, i like not cd cracks...i hate it when you get to an area and your it has to load something off the cd.

 

[CHR15T05]

If you are chipping in order to copy games you do not own, then yes, illegal.

If you are chipping so you can:
Run DVD's from any region
Watch VCD's,
Watch DivX movies,
Network with your PC for easy file transfer,
Play MP3's,
Mod your interface,
Backup games you DO own,
Add a bigger hard drive,
Use the USB port on the motherboard,
etc etc etc

...and all the other countless things a well modded Xbox can do........
Then I dont see that as illegal. I see it as more moral than MS creation a box with so much potential, but then limiting that box so thay can sell you THIER updates at a later date.
....all imho.

 

[SAint Mark]

If you are chipping in order to copy games you do not own, then yes, illegal.

If you are chipping so you can:
Run DVD's from any region
Watch VCD's,
Watch DivX movies,
Network with your PC for easy file transfer,
Play MP3's,
Mod your interface,
Backup games you DO own,
Add a bigger hard drive,
Use the USB port on the motherboard,
etc etc etc

...and all the other countless things a well modded Xbox can do........
Then I dont see that as illegal. I see it as more moral than MS creation a box with so much potential, but then limiting that box so thay can sell you THIER updates at a later date.
....all imho.

If you are chipping so you can: play mp3's and watch DivX movies... well most of those are illegal too... I know they don't necessarily have to be but most are.

And from a strict Christian point of view, chipping the xbox to copy games is not right. Since according to the law it is indeed stealing.

And if you want to be a perfectly lawbiting citizen then even no-cd cracks are illegal... but basically when it comes to those I really don't care

 

[Waterhouse]

Do people really back-up games/software/movies and music CD's they legitimately have bought to take care of their originals, which they then put in safe storage and just use the copies, which means you would have a stack of burnt CD/DVD's just as big as your original collection. Or is it an excuse that people use when they are caught?

 

[SAint Mark]

Do people really back-up games/software/movies and music CD's they legitimately have bought to take care of their originals, which they then put in safe storage and just use the copies, which means you would have a stack of burnt CD/DVD's just as big as your original collection. Or is it an excuse that people use when they are caught?

My dad actually does take back-up copies of the most important stuff.

 

[Waterhouse]

My dad actually does take back-up copies of the most important stuff.

Okay... no offence to your father. But rather than back-up copies, why don't you 'take better care' of what you have? If you can't afford to get a new copy if the original is damaged, then why aren't you being more careful with what you have? Aren't there warranties on defective discs these days?

Really, when's the last time you've had a damaged disc? Of course if you leave them lying around without the covers, frisbee them across the room, use them as coasters etc, they will get damaged.

I reckon though for every one person who is backing up their discs legitimately, there are 100 more using it as an excuse to pirate and copy.

 

[prince didymus]

If one of the reasons you're chipping and XBox is to back-up your games then no it is not wrong or illegal as long as you own the game. Last time I checked you are allowed to make back-up copies of games you own.

 

[oworm]

hey, i like not cd cracks...i hate it when you get to an area and your it has to load something off the cd.

More often than not its only the music which is spooling from disc. This is the case with my game which is most annoying in MP when it stutters while the next piece of music loads, then after the game resyncs your standing in the middle of your base with no ship and half your base destroyed!!!

 

[CHR15T05]

If you are chipping so you can: play mp3's and watch DivX movies... well most of those are illegal too... I know they don't necessarily have to be but most are.

And from a strict Christian point of view, chipping the xbox to copy games is not right. Since according to the law it is indeed stealing.

And if you want to be a perfectly lawbiting citizen then even no-cd cracks are illegal... but basically when it comes to those I really don't care

Sorry if I was unclear in any way. I was not debating the moral issues of direfent formats, but debating the use of an Xbox chip, as is the threads topic.

Yes the above formats can be used for illegal gain if you choose, but NONE are ilegal. None of the formats mentioned are "illegal formats" but all have "possible illegal uses" ...just like the good old audio tape. Are audio tapes illegal? erm.....

In the USA, is owning a Gun illegal?
In the words of the opening song in "Canon Ball Run" ..."it's not what you got, it's how you use it.."

I'll stop now!

 

[Dracil]

Okay... no offence to your father. But rather than back-up copies, why don't you 'take better care' of what you have? If you can't afford to get a new copy if the original is damaged, then why aren't you being more careful with what you have? Aren't there warranties on defective discs these days?

Really, when's the last time you've had a damaged disc? Of course if you leave them lying around without the covers, frisbee them across the room, use them as coasters etc, they will get damaged.

I reckon though for every one person who is backing up their discs legitimately, there are 100 more using it as an excuse to pirate and copy.

I backup my CDs.

First, I've actually had CDs eventually become unreadable due to wear and tear.

Second, it's not a question of how well you take care of your CDs. With the speed of CD drives nowadays, the CDs can get damaged slowly, and there's even the occasional exploding CD that may destroy your CD drive and sometimes other components of your computer. No, it's not going to happen to most of us, but when it does inevitably happen to that one unlucky person, it's rather unpleasant (usually when they put in a CD that's already showing some cracks)

Third, with several dozen CDs, I don't want to waste my time looking through all of them to find 1) the CD I want to put in and 2) the CD case of whatever's in the drive at the moment.

Fourth, for games, I actually prefer ripping the CD image to my hard drive. No matter how fast that CD drive of yours is, it's still faster reading it off the hard drive.

Fifth, copyright infringement is not stealing! No matter how much the RIAA wants to make you believe this, there is a reason they differentiate the two. Copyright infringement is not technically a crime, it is a civil offense.

Sixth, modchipping the XBox does have legitimate uses as has been mentioned already. Of course, that's usually not the reason people put a modchip in... Furthermore, if you go online with a modchip installed and on, you risk having your XBox banned permanently from playing online.

Seventh, a lot of games companies require that you pay some amount, like around $10 or so for them to ship a replacement CD.

Eigth, as far as actual piracy is concerned, they are an economic substitute of generally inferior quality but with a much cheaper price tag. What do economic substitutes do? They cause competition, which reduces prices of the legitimate products, unless the company is being silly. It's why games that cost $50 in the US only cost about $15 here in Thailand, where game stores stock more pirated CDs than the legitimate products. Yeah, cost of living affects the prices a bit, but not to that extent.

 

[Kokopelli]

I see no problem with making back up copies of the originals if you own them. Unfortunately the "no-cd" cracks also prevent you from playing on-line most of the time with the newer games. So unless you're at a LAN party or only want the single player apsect of the game, you're pretty much stuck with the original CD.

While I can understand the obvious reasons due to piracy, it prevents the legitimate users from making backup copies of their favorite titles. Especially when you're one of the ones that has had an "exploding CD." I had a NT4.0 disk that went "boom" when I was installing it in the lab during my A.S. program.


@Waterhouse

Wait untill you have a toddler running about. I've already told my wife that we should look into investing in a DvD burner for the computer this year as games are going to start switching to DvD format and so we can back up our DvD movies. I don't know about you, but I take very good care of my DvDs am tend to be more uptight with my "special" DvDs, like the extended versions of the LoTRs movies.

 

[Noddingdog]

Actually, if you read the agreements with most games, software etc., they state very clearly that you are permitted one backup copy. So, no problemo there But as far as chipping, copying etc. goes if you don't have the original game... that's illegal, and not something you really want to be doing.

 

[CHR15T05]

Sorry, big point being missed here.

DOn't know how true it is but I have heard (from good sources) that having a chiped Xbox will be detected when you sign on to Xbox live (if you're heading that way).

I have heard many possible outcomes of this from "Getting kicked" to "Having your IP BANNED from the service" to "Having your Xbox banned from the service (by Serial number)"

I have also heard that even installing a chip that has a switch (to disable it for online play) does not guarentee you wont get detected and banned.

I think this is sooo unfair as the Xbox has sooo much potential that can only be unlocked by installing a chip.

How seriouse do I take these rumours?

Well me and my Bro in Law went to a mod shop. He got his chipped. I asked the guys there "Will it affect online play with Xbox Live?"

Answer, "Yes, we dont know what will happen but we know they can detect it and may ban you" (Xbox live wasn't "live" in Oz at the time).

I walked out of the shop, Xbox in hand with NO chip installed.

It's a bummer, but something to think about.

 

[Dracil]

Yes, it's true that modchips can get your XBox serial number banned. There are modchips that allow you to turn it off, but I've also heard that they may have updated their detection algorithms so that may not work. That's why a lot of modders have 2 XBoxes. One for offline play (modded + lots of nice goodies, like a much bigger hard drive, etc.), and one for online play (unmodded).

That said, there are also ways to replace your XBOX serial number with a backup... the details of which I'm not sure.