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07 Sep 2007
Several Xbox 360 gamers have had their Xbox Live accounts and consoles banned until 12 December 9999, after getting hold of a pre-release version of Microsoft's highly anticipated Halo 3 shooter.
One of the gamers, known as 'Scar', then went on to the official Xbox forum to complain that his account had been banned.
The user said that he had been updating the game Uno at the time, but did later admit to playing the illegal version of Halo 3.
It seems that a release build of the game's code, dubbed Halo 3 Epsilon, which should have been restricted to developers and testers, was leaked to the public.
But, as the user has to be connected to the Xbox Live service to play the game, it quickly became apparent who had gained access.
There is speculation on the forums that the ban will be lifted before the specified date, but as it stands these users will have to buy a new console and create a new account before they can use their consoles online again.
They will still be able to play games offline. Halo 3 is due for release in the UK on 29 September.
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Do you agree?
Missing the Point
You guys are missing the other point here. In order for this gamers to have this demo: First: Someone with the demo would have had to share it, despite a terms of use policy. Second: In order to play it on their console, they'd have to have a modded box, which is illegal to use on XBox Live. Most people that use modified consoles on XBL are using them to cheat, thus Microsoft cracks down on them. Third: 8000 years wasn't an arbitrary number, it's rounded. The real number is 7992. 2007 + 7992 = 9999, which is the maximum year able to be displayed on the console. Fourth: Compare this to the early leaks of Harry Potter 7. The people responsible were sued for hundreds of thousands of dollars. These guys lost $50 for their accounts, or $280 if they buy a new console.
Posted by: MellowGamer 13 Sep 2007
Microsoft not Y10K ready?
slackers ...
Posted by: Andy Yates 13 Sep 2007
FU Youdwanttoknow
Don't be retarded. They banned him for 7993, but this article is rounding. Why 7993? because they set the ban to the maximum date allowed on the XBox 360, December 9999. Also, he *could* try to torrent Halo3, which I assume you meant by "download." However, he had to have done this already to have the Epsilon code, and thus would have also had to have had an illegally modified console, which is against the XBox Live service agreement. Furthermore, based on your blunders in this post, it would seem that you're one of the types of people that only hate Microsoft, because they are hopping on the bandwagon. There are reasons to dislike Microsoft. Banning people that are absolutely against their license agreements isn't one of them.
Posted by: YeahIWannaKnow 12 Sep 2007
Suck It!
I love to see cheaters, piraters and other nefarious users get banned like this. They ruin things for everyone else that just want to play the games.
Posted by: izo 12 Sep 2007
Sick.
Its sick they can and are doing this. Ofc anyone able to get a pre-release of the game would try it and then ofc later buy it aswell...
Posted by: IDG 11 Sep 2007
Fu microsoft
Seriously Ban people for 8000 years? Why not make it 8001 or 9000 years just to be sure? And they have to buy another xbox. Well dont be suprised when they download the game on PC cause I for one would do that instead of playing with crappy terms as of that. Microsoft you suck.
Posted by: Youdwanttoknow 11 Sep 2007