....Ahem....

BigBro · #1 10-30-2002, 10:27 AM

I know this kind of topic would be more suited for OTD, and it will probably be moved anyway, but I seldom visit it so it seems more appropriate to post in here. Anyway, to the point, I have returned. I know you all probably didnt notice me gone but I thought I would announce my return.

But of now I shall state a few things of relevance towards this section:
1. I have only been away for about a week and a half and this place has already been swamped with too many other subjects, so I shall ask of some nice individual to state me the basic topics of these Threads at this moment in time as Im tired and just about to go to bed.

2. I have recieved an email from a friend who is aware of me wanting to purchase an Xbox so he sent me an email saying that they may not be sold in Australia anymore coz of some idiot 'chipping' the consoles to play pirated games and DVDs on PS2s and Xboxs, so Microsoft may have to consider pulling them out of the Australian market. Have any other Australian residents or anyone else, for the sake of argument, heard of this yet? Im pretty pissed about it coz I am $200 short of getting one and if they pull it out just before I get one then Im just gonna snap.

depthsofodd · #2 10-30-2002, 10:37 AM

I live in Australia, I haven’t heard about anyone stopping the sale of Xbox? Isn’t it a little extreme for Microsoft to stop selling Xbox's because some people chip them? As far as I know people are still buying Xbox's, as long as there is a demand...they should keep selling them...they are still making money. I hope u get to buy one soon, they should come down in price closer to Christmas.

M.O.M · #3 10-30-2002, 04:01 PM

it is a bit extreme but microsoft doesn't want some punk getting money out of the Xbox ileagally!!!!!!!!

depthsofodd · #4 10-30-2002, 09:02 PM

yeah thats true... i hope it doesnt happen though, it would be a shame for so many people to miss out.

M.O.M · #5 10-31-2002, 04:40 AM

if they do every one down under will miss out which is bad!!!!!!

BigBro · #6 10-31-2002, 07:30 AM

Hey, who moved this??

Anyway, it is pretty sucky that it might be 'deported'. This is what it said in the email:

Court decision may force Xbox out of the country 23/Oct/2002

If you were planning to get an Xbox and stick a mod chip into it, you may find it a little hard to do if Microsoft decides to pack up and leave Australia with its system. If it decides to stay, however, you’ll legally be able to mod your system - to play DVDs and legitimately purchased games, that is.

This is a result of a July court case between Sony and a Sydney man who allegedly ‘chipped’ gaming consoles and sold pirated games. The ACCC stepped in as a ‘friend of the court’. The end result being that the defendant (the chipper) was acquitted. The win however, also included making ‘chipping’ legal within Australia. The primary reason for this was that it allows users to play region coded DVDs in their PlayStation or Xbox consoles. The ACCC saw region coding as anti-competitive.

So did the judge apparently.

Anyway, this sparked a variety of comments from Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer, comments that seemed to indicate that if Australia does not change its stance regarding mod chips, Microsoft would have to seriously consider whether or not it should sell the Xbox console in Australia.

'Given the way the economic model works, and that is a subsidy followed, essentially, by fees for every piece of software sold, our licence framework has to do that,' he said.

'If there are aspects that are not allowed, it would encourage us to require a change in the legal framework. Otherwise, it wouldn't make economic sense.'

So what does this mean? Simply that it 'wouldn't make economic sense' for Microsoft to continue selling the console here.

Wolfpac · #7 11-01-2002, 01:42 AM

Oh Yeah, Microsoft is going to take something off the market that's making money. In the short term it might make them more money. Because it you could Chip an X-Box to play PS2 games then what do you think people are going to buy. 2 Consoles, or one that can play both types. And the fact that a PS2 is dearer than an X-Box is another plus for Microsoft. So if this was going to happen then I guess it wouldn't be until the PS3 comes out.

Ashe · #8 11-06-2002, 05:47 AM

Hello BigBro. A person where I work was telling me the other day that he heard it was all Xboxes that could be chipped, and not just those from Australia. He was saying that Microsoft want to release Xbox 2 as soon as they can because that will not let anyone chip them. I do not know if this is true though. He said he read it in a computer magazine.