Microsoft Banning consoles / accounts for game glitch

zaphod79 · **Joined:** 16th Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 14518

So in the past Microsoft have often messed up game pricing and region locking which resulted in free games including things like Assassins Creed III but recently they have had a number of regional glitches (including Costa Rica / Oman / Bosnia) which allowed people to grab games like Injustice and Rayman for 'free' (clicking the appropriate games info page would show the game as 'free' and you could download it for free to your Xbox).

I posted one of the glitches around this here : viewtopic.php?p=783946#p783946

In the past they have never taken any action against people doing this , they simply fixed the system and moved on, however this time it seems they are , there have been sporadic posts on CAG / Neogaf / trueachievements of people who used these glitches getting their consoles banned , their 'out of region accounts' banned and if they played the games on them - their main accounts banned (talking at the moment of maybe around 10 people) - the wording used is 'marketplace fraud' and that this was against their terms of use.

Its not everyone , but there are enough of these happening to make it seem like they are either making an example of some people to deter everyone else or are just going to take their time and slowly go through people who used these glitches and ban them.

If they ban the console you will see it when it turns on - you can still access the content on the local machine but will not be able to connect to Xbox live so no multiplayer gaming , no achievements , no 'apps' , no chance to re-download content , no chance to purchase new content on that box.

If they ban your main account then the same as above but you cannot use your account on any other systems and will lose any money / credit you have on your account (along with your gamerscore)

Most of the threads that I've seen in other places revolve around some very silly analogies (stealing a car) or arguments over whether downloading these free games were 'morally right' or not

tldr - If you grabbed one of the free games and have not played it on your main account dont - wait and see what happens.

Grim... · **Posted:** Fri Sep 27, 2013 10:09

Oh, that's what happened.

TheVision · **Posted:** Fri Sep 27, 2013 10:10

Grim... wrote:

Oh, that's what happened.

Are you banned then?

Grim... · **Posted:** Fri Sep 27, 2013 10:24

Well, I've been unable to get online a lot recently and I didn't know why.

Wait, I still see when my friends start playing, though.

How can I find out?

myp · **Posted:** Fri Sep 27, 2013 10:25

I hope they don't ban the jogadores.

TheVision · **Posted:** Fri Sep 27, 2013 10:27

I saw you come online last night at about half 11 ish... So I don't think you've been banned. I got kicked off for no reason and couldn't connect for a few minutes so maybe there was a fault somewhere along the line?

zaphod79 · **Joined:** 16th Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 14518

Grim... wrote:

Well, I've been unable to get online a lot recently and I didn't know why.

Wait, I still see when my friends start playing, though.

How can I find out?

If you can see stuff online on your xbox then your not banned

If you can login to Xbox.com with your account then your account is not banned.

The general Xbox network has been pretty crap this week (slow sign ins and disconnections regularly)

lasermink · **Joined:** 31st Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 1883

I often get kicked off live for no apparent reason. I tend to blame my wifi connection, but it could just as well be flaky Live service, I guess.

myp · **Posted:** Fri Sep 27, 2013 10:29

It's a good job they didn't have plans for always online or anything.

zaphod79 · **Joined:** 16th Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 14518

SilentElk wrote:

It's a good job they didn't have plans for always online or anything.

Well the other thing is , if they do this to plenty of people it also removes one of their reasons for moving to an Xbox one instead of a PS4 - if you've "lost" your account and all the stuff tied with it then why bother with the Xbox One - just go with the PS4 since your starting from 'scratch' anyway.

One of the posters who has been banned on Neogaf also just pointed out he has a 'banned' system with around 150 games installed that cannot go on live but can play those games offline 'forever' , he can just sell that (clearly marked) and get another 360 and do a license transfer and he now has a second copy of all of those games since his main account was not banned - so they've just given him a second copy of every bit of content that he had on that machine

zaphod79 · **Joined:** 16th Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 14518

http://stevivor.com/2013/09/microsoft-a ... t-regions/

Quote:

Microsoft allegedly banning consoles that have accessed free content from other regions

We’re seeing several reports from forum users of Xbox360Achievements.org and Cheap Ass Gamer that allege Microsoft is currently swinging the banhammer around.

Users on both forums are crediting their console bans to the fact they’ve used a specific Xbox 360 to create “fake” accounts to take advantage of free game deals in locales other than their own.

Cheap Ass Gamer’s forum hosts a thread that lists free Xbox 360 games organised by the region they’re offered in. The users who are reporting console bans have used that information, alongside a secondary Xbox Live account created and registered to a particular region, in order to download select content. This works because the secondary gamertags would use the (now-banned) console as its home console, meaning other gamertags could log in and access that same content.

Several users say they’ve been issued with the following blanket statement after finding out they’ve a banned console:

This Xbox console has been permanently banned from access to Xbox LIVE due to involvement in fraudulent activity. This conduct was discovered by an investigation into the activity occurring on the console or associated accounts. The conduct that caused this ban may include, but is not limited to: - Repeated unauthorized account recovery or usage- Unauthorized purchases/redemptions on an account- Attempts to commit fraud To help avoid future account or console suspensions, please review the Xbox LIVE Code of Conduct and the Terms of Use here:

http://www.xbox.com/Legal/CodeOfConduct
http://www.xbox.com/Legal/LiveTOU
http://www.xbox.com/consoleban

This makes perfect sense; those affected by the ban have engaged in the conduct that is in violation of Microsoft’s terms and conditions.

The silver lining here is that gamertags haven’t been banned, though we’d suggest those affected by this wave of console bans don’t use anything but their proper-region gamertag from here on in.

For those who’ve legitimately moved from one region to the other, Microsoft provides a free license transfer service. Some content may not transfer from region to region due to licensing issues.

We’ve contacted Microsoft for further comment.

Grim... · **Posted:** Fri Sep 27, 2013 13:59

I think it's fair enough - you commit fraud, you pay the price :shrug:

lasermink · **Joined:** 31st Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 1883

Grim... wrote:

I think it's fair enough - you commit fraud, you pay the price :shrug:

Yeah, in cases like these where it's obviously done in bad faith, Microsoft has a good case. In terms of PR, I'm not sure if it's a good move or not, though. I suppose it depends on the size of the problem. They don't want everybody to start doing it.

TheVision · **Posted:** Fri Sep 27, 2013 14:30

I can see it as a measure to put people off doing it. I know I'll think twice about doing anything dodgy in future.

MaliA · **Posted:** Fri Sep 27, 2013 15:15

Grim... wrote:

I think it's fair enough - you commit fraud, you pay the price :shrug:

Es. Me, too.

Grim... · **Posted:** Fri Sep 27, 2013 15:16

MaliA wrote:

Grim... wrote:

I think it's fair enough - you commit fraud, you pay the price :shrug:

Es. Me, too.

Mе también?

zaphod79 · **Joined:** 16th Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 14518

I think a permaban for this might be a little extreme (especially if they are banning the consoles and the gamertags) , and as Lasermink mentioned possibly not great PR for them but its their decision.

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Microsoft Banning consoles / accounts for game glitch

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