Xbox modders charged with copyright crime

[Krell]

December 19, 2005 5:30 PM PST

Two owners of a Los Angeles game store and a third man face a up to five years in prison on charges filed Monday in a federal copyright infringement case for selling modified Xbox game consoles (http://news.com.com/Xbox+hacks+becoming+childs+play/2100-1040_3-937124.html?tag=nl), prosecutors said. The modifications allowed the machines to play pirated video games (http://news.com.com/Another+tool+for+Xbox+mod+squad/2100-1040_3-948804.html?tag=nl), they said.

The three men are being accused of "conspiring to traffic in a technology used to circumvent a copyright protection system and conspiring to commit criminal copyright infringement," in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.

Jason Jones and Jonathan Bryant, two Los Angeles residents who own the ACME Game Store (http://dw.com.com/redir?destUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.acmegamestore.com%2 F&siteId=3&oId=/Another+tool+for+Xbox+mod+squad/2100-1040_3-948804.html&ontId=10784&lop=nl.ex) on Melrose Ave., allegedly sold Xbox game systems that had been modified by Pei Cai, of Pico Rivera, Calif.

Cai allegedly equipped the Xbox consoles with modification chips and large hard drives to allow the user to copy rented or borrowed games onto the device for future playback. Buyers would pay from $225 to more than $500 for the changes.

During the investigation, undercover agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement paid $265 to have a modification chip, a hard drive and 77 pirated games installed on an Xbox, according to the criminal complaint.

The consoles involved in this case were of the first-generation Xbox, not the recently launched Xbox 360 (http://news.com.com/Hackers+find+first+Xbox+360+cracks/2100-7349_3-5999169.html?tag=nl), a representative for the prosecution said. This isn't the first crackdown on modding (http://news.com.com/Xbox+crackdown+irks+mod+chip+fans/2100-1040_3-961498.html?tag=nl).

The defendants will have to appear in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles in late January, the prosecution said.


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[Mels_Smileys45]

Good. Im tired of people fucking up the video game market. I dont have a fault with people sharing old games but the new games should be allowed to make a shitload of money while theyre hot or the games will get very crappy as companies will be unwilling to sink big bucks in making good games. Go rent a game if you want to try before you buy.

[soulxtc]

as usual great find...................I didnt know it was illegal to mod them, like those sattellite black boxes where its illegal to use them but not sell them...................interesting, no wonder the guys at the game store down the street went underground with it, thought they were smokin too much weed.................

[mountain_rage]

Good. Im tired of people fucking up the video game market. I dont have a fault with people sharing old games but the new games should be allowed to make a shitload of money while theyre hot or the games will get very crappy as companies will be unwilling to sink big bucks in making good games. Go rent a game if you want to try before you buy.
I dont know if you have realised this but companies have been making shit games forever. This is not caused because people pirate its caused by lazy bastards who are just trying to make a quick buck along with investors who dont know the difference between an atari and a xbox360.

[thepuzzler]

^^^ Couldn't have put it better myself Mountainrage. Thats why I just seem to play the classic (SNES / Mega drive) these days, it was all about playablity back then. (Played Micro Machines II - Turbo Tournament for 6 hours straight yesterday on a multitap with some mates, awesome).

The only PC game I've ever bought was Unreal Tournement GOTY, I played a pirated verison first, but then bought the original as I thought it deserved some bucks.

EDIT: Just wondering if you downloaded films / music Mels, cause it's exactly the same IMO.

I, personally download a lot of music, but anything worth having I buy it on vinyl so I can play it out on my decks.

[DwarfBaby]

I dont know if you have realised this but companies have been making shit games forever. This is not caused because people pirate its caused by lazy bastards who are just trying to make a quick buck along with investors who dont know the differance between an atari and a xbox360.


Although, I mostly but not completely agree with you, I haven’t been excited about any upcoming game since my anticipation of the second Zelda for the original Nintendo. To be honest I’ve modded every game system I’ve had since the original Playstation. Not that it matters as I hack things just because they can be hacked not because I like to steal. To both agree and disagree with you I really don’t like modern games not because programmers are lazy but because they are unoriginal. It takes more talent and money to produce games then ever before but I truly wish EA, Square, THQ e.t.c. would realize that better graphics absolutely does not = better games.

Xbox 360 can lick my nuts as I’d be more entertained re-playing Chrono Trigger then any game they have to offer.

[thepuzzler]

It takes more talent and money to produce games then ever before but I truly wish EA, Square, THQ e.t.c. would realize that better graphics absolutely does not = better games.

I didn't think THQ knew how to make good games to start with.

[shawners]

I think its shitty that they can be charged with it. Its a machine, if you buy a PC and ripp out the NEW DRM thats on it.. You sale it, then you could be liable to selling a hack pc that lets you burn movies and music.. Its going to go down like that later on. IF i buy a car , and put a new chip and after market parts on it.. Its perfectly legal and legit.. IT makes it run faster and smoother. People like to have backup games or be able to play it from the hard drive to save loading times.. And people like to use the mOD to make it into more of a PC..Play DIVX and dvd's as well as other formats.

[boogiedan]

very harsh indeed
i wish em all the best -- getting off lightly i mean!!!

with xmas round the corner - they should start dealing with real problem's iin the world
e.g Starvation, poverty, child crimes terroism etc etc

giv em a break

[.:sp00ky:.]

I agree with mel also If you think games are so shit don't go though the effort of modding your console downloading them and burning them to disk. :/

I still think 5 years is harsh a big fine would of been better imo.

conspiring to traffic in a technology used to circumvent a copyright protection system and conspiring to commit criminal copyright infringement

now thats a mouthful.

[Jau_Peacecraft]

retards should've gave out for free, dur.

btw, konami makes very solid games.

yeah that was horrible.

[DwarfBaby]

I modded my Xbox to play emulators via the "Big Ass Emulator Disks" and to put games on the hard drive for much faster loading. I also use the 200 gigs on its new hardrive for movies and music which is shared through the rest of the network. The Xbox is the center of my entertainment system something both MS and Sony have been trying to do for years. All this can be accomplished now by a $45 dollar chip and 8 simple solder joints.

Legal or not the only way I’ll ever buy a Xbox 360 is if I achieve similar or superior functionality over my current modded Xbox. I see no reason to spend $300 to $400 dollars on flashy graphics and limited functionality.

I see nothing wrong with those guys modding the Xbox but installing 77 pirated games on the hard drive is simply asking for trouble.

[thepuzzler]

Piracy is piracy. What makes one copyright more valid than the next?

I assume everyone here downloads avi's and mp3's occasinally. I don't see the difference between that and copying a computer game.

but installing 77 pirated games on the hard drive is simply asking for trouble.

But then again, some people always take it too far. That was asking for trouble.

[Malakai1911]

All this can be accomplished now by a $45 dollar chip and 8 simple solder joints

Or if you get the X.BIT you can do it with 0 solder joints.

Disassemble xbox, unscrew a screw, line up two arrows and a hole, screw a longer screw through the modchip/motherboard, sandwiching them together. Reassemble xbox.

as usual great find...................I didnt know it was illegal to mod them, like those sattellite black boxes where its illegal to use them but not sell them...................interesting, no wonder the guys at the game store down the street went underground with it, thought they were smokin too much weed.................

You show me the law that says it's illegal to mod anything you own lawfully. The modchip is not illegal, installing the modchip is not illegal, using the modchip is not illegal.

Using the modchip to play copyright works you have no license (a purchased physical copy) to, thats illegal. And these guys got busted for copyright infringement for loading the machines with games, not for installing the modchips.

[wonderboy2005]

Or if you get the X.BIT you can do it with 0 solder joints.

Disassemble xbox, unscrew a screw, line up two arrows and a hole, screw a longer screw through the modchip/motherboard, sandwiching them together. Reassemble xbox.


Better yet, you could just do a softmod, which costs nothing except 1/2 an hour of your time and a blank CD.


As for these guys, I really believe that there is a line between getting stuff for your own personal use and extanging said stuff in extange for money. Even on an Amoral level, these guys were complete morons. You're bound to get caught eventually when you operate like that, and when you're making a profit by pirating the work of others you know the penalty will not be light.