While not exactly sexy, it is a fitted an Atari 2600 emulator into a SEGA Game Gear shell. What it lacks in slick good looks, the modder makes up in functionality. It's possible to load actual 2600 cartridges in the portable's back slot. Dubbed the "Atari Gear 2600," the handheld can go for 7-8 hours on AA batteries. Looks aren't everything!

Oh, and the guy who made this? His name is Chris Koopa. And he should really should be doing Nintendo mods, not Atari and not SEGA ones.

Atari Gear [CHRIS KOOPA via Ben Heck via technabob via Gizmodo]

Hit the link below to check out the whole project from start to finish, and then enter Bit-tech's contest for a chance to win the piece for yourself. Just in case you haven't been paying attention, the answer is Africa.

Far Cry 2 PS3 by Butterkneter [bit-tech]

Media Molecule has revealed plans to keep a close eye on user-created levels in Little Big Planet to see if any talented designers float to the surface.

LBP producer Pete Smith could not completely dismiss rumors that Media Molecule will resell popular user-created levels, but said that the company would like to get popular designers on board creating official content for the game.

"If a user becomes known as being great at making levels, I can't say we wouldn't but I don't think we'd want to take his level and then charge people for it, because it's free - that's the whole premise of the game," said Smith, "However, we will be aware of who those awesome designers are and certainly there's the potential to get them building levels as part of the dev team."

Make awesome LBP levels, get job at Media Molecule [CVG]

Graphic Designers! Don't waste money on expensive Apple Macintosh desktops - just gut your Xbox like a fish and stuff its innards into a Lan-Li PC-XB01!

The Lan-Li case really does look like one of Apples more industrial numbers with the cheese grater effect on the front. It has plenty of room inside to let air flow around your now warranty-free Xbox, plus housings for a water cooling system if you are really paranoid about getting the RROD or live on the Sun.

The PC-XB01 will be available later this month for around $150. Time to start looking for a minimalist Phillip Starke controller to go with it.

Lan-Li PC-XB01 [via The Register]

Work is currently being done towards an install solution for retail Xbox 360 systems, but you know what? I'll just wait. Hit the jump for a clip of the new dash in action, or hit the link for the full rundown of how they did it.

Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard 08 Leaked! [xHaVoK87's Blog - Thanks Madgame]

3PS60 Controller WIP, The Wario of the PS360
Ps360 Controller, Middle of a WIP [xbox scene]

Ben Heck's Latest Wonder Project: PS3 Laptop [Gizmodo]

We'll keep you updated if Dragula ever reveals his secret methodology and anyone is able to replicate the finding. Until then, you'll eat your hardware-gimped Linux and like it.

PS3 Hello World Homebrew Method Found, works with fw 2.20 [DCEmu]

The "Great Satan" Case Mod [ExtremeTech]

The process is far from simple as once you modify a save game it requires it be to signed with 3 keys. Here's some info from Bushing.

"Once the Wii decrypts the save game, it checks its signature. Every Wii has its own private key which is used to sign save games, and when you save a game, the Wii actually saves three bits of data:

* The encrypted save game
* The signature for the save game (using your console's private key)
* A copy of your console's public key, signed by Nintendo."

Of course, the end user wouldn't have to go through this process unless they were wanting to inject their own code into the save game, but that shouldn't be necessary...

It would appear that the Xbox modding business was a lucrative one, as the subject of this particular clip—thank you, Danny—seems to have quite the mortgage. There's not much to add to 1,500 original Xbox hard drives falling down in succession, but we certainly don't recommend disposing of yours in a nearby pond. Think of the fishes!

First up, we have one account of a raid in Ohio via Xbox-Scene - and while I'm sorry the guy is now up a creek without a paddle, supporting one's self via means of questionable legality is never a particularly smart plan:

... I have been out of work since early may, and modding is the only thing that was keeping me above water with the bills. Now I can't mod, and I can't even sell anything off to pay for bills either since it has all been confiscated due to a ludicrous interpretation of the DCMA. Now it's all said and done, and I just have to wait for them to decide what I did wrong, but while I'm waiting, I have NOTHING of any worth anymore, other than a computer monitor, and my car. Because of what happened I'm not allowed to see my girlfriend and our 4 month old daughter, and last night, I slept in my car and my girlfriend sent me a text message telling me it felt like someone was taking me away from her. They took my life away. I would like to formally thank Microsoft and Nintendo for cracking down on the little guy with a soldering iron in his garage, rather than going after the people that are responsible for the bootlegs being available.

Moving on to the nitty gritty, the Console Tech forums have a post with lots and lots of scans: a copy of the search warrant, and a surprisingly small list compared to what they had the scope to seize (and one, count it, one mod chip - hope the government feels that was worth the expense of manpower and resources to seize it). GP points out that "not shown is the probable cause affidavit, which would have explained the government's basis for the search. That document apparenly [sic] remains sealed by a federal court," which is more than a little odd, especially considering the results were less than thrilling. Wonder what they thought they'd be seizing?

And from the Xbox-scene forums comes a long rant that GP describes as "probably the most lucid, detailed and passionate criticism we've seen concerning last week's Homeland Security raids on mod chippers":

The root of the problem is the DMCA. The ideals behind the DMCA are good but the wording really is far too broad... Digital Rights management is being... abused to technologically lock consumers into a fabricated monopoly... our laws work to criminalize anyone and everyone and designed not in the best interests of the American people but in the best interests of politicians and big businesses.

And finally, conservative and liberal blogs jump into the debate. On the right, we have Conservative Gamer, tying mod chips and the illegal alien debate together:

ICE appears to be diverting resources to going after people with mod chips instead of dealing with the illegal alien influx .... How wonderful. It's great to know our government is looking out for us. Next time I hear someone complain about illegal aliens in their town, I'll just remind them that ICE has more important things to do. They'll understand.

And from the left, Freedom Democrats:

The Copyright Mafia is going to greater and greater lengths to take ownership of American culture. First there is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which effectively allows electronics manufactures to own our equipment even after they have sold it to us. This past week, we received news that reminded us that the Feds are serious about enforcing this new form of ownership .... And to make it worse, Google and friends point out that several media companies have been deceitfully undermining our fair use rights, by forcefully claiming that such rights do not exist.

Well, at least there's something that all of us can agree on, even if it's not for the same reasons.

Time will tell what the long-term fall out over these raids (and subsequent crackdowns, perhaps?) will be, but the chatter probably won't die down any time soon. What - if anything - of substance was netted from these raids? What is in those still-sealed probably cause affidavits? What's next?

Check out GamePolitics for what I'm sure will be continuing coverage, and to see their take on the articles posted above.

The Optimus Prime PC Case Mod [ExtremeTech]

Nintendo and its developers and publishers lost an estimated $762 million in sales in 2006 due to piracy of its products. Nintendo's anti-piracy team works closely with law enforcement officials worldwide to seize mod chips and counterfeit software. Since April, Nintendo has seized more than 91,000 counterfeit Wii discs globally.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from nearly two dozen cities executed 32 federal search warrants in 16 states in the past 24 hours as part of a mammoth crackdown on chip modding.

Operation Tangled Web, the result of a year long investigation headed up by the ICE office in Cleveland, is the largest national enforcement action of its kind targeting the sales of modification chips and "disc copyright circumvention devices" in history.

Neither the Department of Justice nor the ESA would name the businesses, homes or storefronts involved in the sweep that took place in California, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin today.

The modchips and circumvention devices allowed users to play pirated software on the PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360 and Wii.

"Illicit devices like the ones targeted today are created with one purpose in mind, subverting copyright protections," said Julie L. Myers, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "These crimes cost legitimate businesses billions of dollars annually and facilitate multiple other layers of criminality, such as smuggling, software piracy and money laundering."

Newly minted ESA chief Michael D. Gallagher was quick to offer federal kudos:

"Plain and simple, selling and distributing products to illegally bypass game consoles' piracy protections is a crime with real-life consequences. This is not a game; we're talking jail time. Enforcement initiatives of this scope send a clear message to both the public and pirate community that this illegal activity will not be tolerated," said Michael D. Gallagher, president of ESA, the trade association representing U.S. computer and video game publishers. "We commend Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Department of Justice, and the participating U.S. Attorneys' offices for targeting individuals and groups selling 'mod-chips' and pirated game software."

Now that the threat of terrorism and border safety concerns are a thing of the past we can finally get down to dealing with the real threats to America's borders... dodgy copies of Wii Sports.

Press releases: Jump

ICE partners with industry to launch largest enforcement action of its kind targeting importers and distributors of illegal devices used to circumvent anti-piracy technology in top gaming consoles
32 search warrants executed in nationwide intellectual property rights investigation

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from 22 offices assisted by representatives of the electronic industry today executed 32 federal search warrants in 16 states as part of an investigation into the alleged sale and distribution of illegal modification chips and disc copyright circumvention devices. This investigation represents the largest national enforcement action of its kind targeting this type of illegal activity.

The search warrants were executed at businesses, storefronts, and residences located in California, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin at locations associated with subjects who are allegedly involved in the direct importation, installation, sale, and distribution of the devices that are of foreign manufacture and smuggled into the United States.

The modification chips and circumvention devices allow users to play illegally obtained, pirated and/or counterfeit software on video game consoles including Sony's Playstation 2, Microsoft's XBOX and XBOX 360, and Nintendo's Wii. Modification chips and swap discs for gaming consoles violate laws under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA). According to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the makers of the gaming consoles, game developers, and others in the industry have incurred billions of dollars in losses worldwide due to sales lost to those selling counterfeit and pirated video games.

Counterfeiting and piracy is estimated to cost the U.S. economy between $200 billion and $250 billion annually and results in the loss of up to 750,000 jobs according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

"Illicit devices like the ones targeted today are created with one purpose in mind, subverting copyright protections," said Julie L. Myers, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "These crimes cost legitimate businesses billions of dollars annually and facilitate multiple other layers of criminality, such as smuggling, software piracy and money laundering."

As the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, ICE plays a leading role in targeting criminal organizations responsible for producing, smuggling and distributing counterfeit products. ICE investigations focus on keeping counterfeit and pirated products off U.S. streets, and on dismantling the criminal organizations behind this illegal activity. In fiscal year 2006, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and ICE marked an 83 percent increase in the number of intellectual property rights (IPR) seizures, including 14,675 seizures of counterfeit goods worth more than $155 million, a 67 percent increase from the year before. ICE investigations resulted in 219 arrests, 134 indictments and 170 convictions in intellectual property rights violations.

Between fiscal years 2002 and 2006, ICE agents arrested more than 700 individuals for IPR violations and dismantled several large scale criminal organizations that distributed counterfeit merchandise to nations around the globe. At the same time, ICE investigations into these networks resulted in 449 criminal indictments and 425 convictions. Together, ICE and CBP seized more than $750 million worth of counterfeit goods from fiscal year 1998 through fiscal year 2006.

This enforcement action is the result of a year long investigation conducted by the ICE Office of the Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Cleveland, Ohio.

The names of those targeted, addresses and case specifics are not releasable at this time.

The investigation is being coordinated with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio in Cleveland and assisted by the Department of Justice Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS). In addition, ICE has received valuable technical assistance during this investigation from ESA and other industry members.

Video Game Industry Hails Nationwide Piracy Raids In "Operation Tangled Web"
Action Shuts Down Importers and Sellers of Illegal Modification Chips

August 1, 2007— Washington, DC — The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) today commended U.S. law enforcement agents and prosecutors' work in undertaking the nation's first and largest anti-piracy raid of its kind. The action, code-named "Operation Tangled Web," targeted retailers selling modification chips through the Internet for the Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony game console systems. Law enforcement executed 32 search warrants in more than 20 localities across the country within a 24-hour period.

"Plain and simple, selling and distributing products to illegally bypass game consoles' piracy protections is a crime with real-life consequences. This is not a game; we're talking jail time. Enforcement initiatives of this scope send a clear message to both the public and pirate community that this illegal activity will not be tolerated," said Michael D. Gallagher, president of ESA, the trade association representing U.S. computer and video game publishers. "We commend Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Department of Justice, and the participating U.S. Attorneys' offices for targeting individuals and groups selling 'mod-chips' and pirated game software."

Modification chips or "mod-chips" are typically installed in video game console systems to circumvent the technological protection measures and enable the user to play pirated game software. These chips, as well as other circumvention devices, are illegal under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

"As an industry, we protect our intellectual property, encourage our government to crack down on those who break the law, and urge other governments to take similar action against video game pirates. Yearly worldwide piracy costs total over $3 billion and it impinges on businesses and employees who create, develop, and distribute innovative products," said Gallagher. "The ESA will work with federal law enforcement to ensure that those engaged in the illegal trade of circumvention devices are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

The ESA is the U.S. association dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of the companies publishing interactive games for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers, and the Internet. ESA members collectively account for more than 90 percent of the $7.4 billion in entertainment software sales in the U.S. in 2006, and billions more in export sales of entertainment software. For more information about the ESA, please visit www.theESA.com.

Obviously it's in the rumor bin because it's from a forum where only one user has experienced this "problem". If it is true, all that you can do is make a trip down to Home Depot to buy some fancy soldering irons and find some one with some very tiny, steady hands. Kim Phu

Nintendo Shipping Mod-Proof Wiis in Japan ]]> Kotaku-264378 Wed, 30 May 2007 09:40:00 MDT Kim Phu http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=264378&view=rss&microfeed=true

Ah, to be console modder Ben Heckendorn (AKA Ben Heck). No, to be Ben Heck's buddy and get some of his amazing creations! The modder's recent project? Stuffing a PS3 SIXAXIS in an Xbox 360 controller, thereby giving birth to the PS360 controller. You don't just have to be BFF with Ben or pay him gobs of money for the PS360. Now Ben has put a how-to up, you can make it. So, if you know the difference between a Phillips screwdriver and a Small Torx screwdriver, they have a gander. Who knows, you might just be able to pull it off! That, or totally muck up controllers. Either way, good luck. Brian Ashcraft

Make A PS360 Controller [Engadget]

Apparently I am the Death of electronics, and they fear my icy touch.

Still I cannot resist the urge to tinker, which is why I sat down the past weekend and pimped out my PSP with a Campy Pro Gear faceplate, which was graciously sent to me by the fine folks at Camy International.

What strikes me about the Camy Pro Gear faceplate it the glossy finish created by having a clear layer of plastic over the black, giving it a sort of force field sheen effect, just like the original PSP face. You see the same effect on a DS Lite.

Anyway, down to business.

As you can see, the kit comes with everything you need to do the deed, including the tiny screwdriver. You get replacement buttons, extra screws, instructions, and, of course, the faceplate itself.

There were a couple of different designs to choose from, but I come from that esteemed school that sees no point in modifying something cosmetically if you can't work a skull in there somewhere. Not only did I get a skull with this faceplate, I got a flaming skull with wings, which I believe entitles me to free refills at the biker bar of my choice. Note my huge, snausage fingers.

Eager to get started, I grabbed the screw driver and set upon my poor, unsuspecting PSP. There it sat, wagging its little nonexistent tail, perhaps hoping for a rousing game of Yu-Gi-Oh, only to have me setting in motion events that would tear the very skin from its face. I find it helps taking electronics apart if you imagine them as living things that feel pain when you disassemble them.

Anyway, it was round about that time I ran into my first snag.

Remove the 6 screws as shown. Count the arrows. A simple typo in the manual, but for someone terrified of destroying their $200 (at one point at least) handheld it amounted to around 15 minutes of poking around the system with the screwdriver, sweating as if I was diffusing a Cartoon Network movie advertisement.

Finally, after the girlfriend assured me everything would be all right, I removed the Sony faceplate from the PSP, and thus was a warranty voided.

Okay, technically the warranty was voided the moment I removed the screw under the serial number sticker, but most game shops never look there anyway.

I removed the analog assembly, the rubber undersides to the d-pad and buttons, and finally the buttons themselves, setting them aside in no particular order at all, until finally my table looked like this:

Note: If you are planning on doing this sort of thing, make sure you place the parts down in the direction you need to put them back in. It'll keep you from having to unscrew the faceplate and put it back on again 4-5 times after you are done to make sure all the buttons work. Not that that happened to me or anything...just saying. *whimper*

Now the instructions told me to remove the bottom button strip from the original faceplate (select, start, etc.) but the new one seemed to already have one in place. I also opted to use the unmarked buttons Camy provided for the X, O, square and triangle buttons. I felt they offered the same coolness factor as an unmarked keyboard, only with less to remember.

Once everything fit together and I verified that all my buttons worked, I sat back to admire my handiwork.

The Camy Pro Gear Dual Layered faceplate is, for all intents and purposes, exactly the same as the Sony one, only much prettier. It contains all the same features and ridges as the original covers, down to the odd golf ball dimples along the top. The finish looks dead-on, and the plate sits perfectly flush with the system, maintaining the same line without any over or under hang. The only real problem I have with it is the screen. It looks fine when the system is on and playing, but as you can see here it looks like it is covered with radiating scratches or scour marks of some kind.

In short, if you are looking to void your PSP warranty in the name of good looks or simply need to replace a damaged faceplate, the Camy Pro Gear is an excellent choice, and one I would certainly recommend. Considering my staggering ineptitude when it comes to tinkering with electronics it is definitely easy to install, and aside from the screen looking scritchy at certain angles while you aren't playing it looks amazing. Plus, now everyone who goes into my bathroom (the PSP's home) will know how much of a badass I am. Flying flaming skulls for the win! Michael Fahey

Camy Pro Gear Home Page

When Sony first unveiled its 1.3 megapixel PSP "Chotto Shot" camera, the world wondered why. And still does. The add-on can do things like take pictures and video, but so can any cell phone — At better quality to boot! A modder over at AcidMods created a night vision Chotto Shot. Likewise, the world wonders why. But, we won't judge. You will. Hit the jump for a slightly creepy clip of it in action. Brian Ashcraft

Chotto Shot Camera For Night [Siliconera]

Camy Pro Gear Website [Product Page]

This is not for sale, I repeat, this is not for sale. Japan's T-ZONE.PC DIY SHOP (their caps and wacky punctuation, not mine) has outfitted a PS3 with external HDD for funnsies. The shop is rather famous for modding game consoles and putting them on display. This go round aimed to prove that it was possible to install large HDDs. With the demo, mirroring was do-able but data stripping wasn't. Just know: This sort of modding isn't recommended by the manufacture or even the store at that! (When is it?) Anyway, hit the jump for a look at the Frankenconsole.

Wow. That's kinda ugly. Brian Ashcraft

Lots of HDD Space [Akiba 2 Go, Thanks Sakura!]

The Hole - video powered by Metacafe

Industrious Adam Thole got his Xbox 360 controller to tilt. Slight delays aside, it works). Now, if he could figure out how to do it wireless! Hit the jump for another vid. Brian Ashcraft

On his blog, he writes:

Here is the video of the tilt controller in action. I played Full Auto and Marble Blast Ultra for the Xbox 360, Crimson Skies for the Xbox (on the 360), and Goldeneye 007 for the N64 on a Windows laptop. I wish I could have gotten better quality on the Xbox titles, but I only had a CRT to play the games on.

When I play Goldeneye 007 on the laptop I am using the keyboard to shoot because when I shot that video I didn't have the controller guts inside the controller yet so none of the buttons worked.

Xbox 360 Tilt Controller [OnTheBox, Thanks Ryan!]

Basically the program circumvents the checking of the software code on the disc. The kicker is that in order for it to bypass the software code, you have to first know the software code, making an extra step necessary. An extra step Muslix hasn't provided yet. In his video brag below he advises us to keep watch for source code in January.

It's cracked. Sony's protection of its PSOne Emulator for the PSP has been busted open by hackers. While the emulator requires you to download games to the PS3 and then to your PSP, new customized firmware and a small converting tool (popstation) make it possible to play any PSX (PlayStation 1) game on the PSP at full speed using the official emulator. Currently, PAL titles might be glitchy, but they're working on a fix-it. Don't you just love PSP hackers? Brian Ashcraft

PSOne Emulator Cracked [PSP News, Thanks wraggy!]

A phone receiver, a PSP and one truly bored individual lead to the creation of this, and I quote, "PSP Stereo Speaker." This post falls under when-modders-get-goofy. That, or drunk. Brian Ashcraft

PSP Phone Doohickey [I'm Bored]

Besides possibly being fake, two gripes about "mod" videos:

• 1). They are long.
• 2). Someone is usually making money (and not me.)

The above clip falls guilty of all. I would've belly-ached about mod vids always being shot in low light, but that's kinda the point here. Brian Ashcraft

PulseVU Mod [Sick Mods]

Thing I hate about cool mods? They crap on my Plain Jane console. An individual over at the Xbox-Scene Forums has crafted this slick as hell Gears of War Xbox 360.

*Round of Applause*

Thanks for making my 360 look boring as hell. Mine, and pretty much everyone else's. Well, except for the dude with that Half-Life 2 case. Brian Ashcraft

The Gears Mod [Xbox-Scene via Destructoid]

Those inbred gearheads at big brother site Gizmodo point our attention to this one-of-a-kind PalmPS2. This homemade, DIY portable is a regular PlayStation 2 in a duck press. All of the console's insides have been squeezed out and then shoehorned in this custom slim case with a DVD drive and mounted LCD. As many actual PlayStation 2 parts were used as possible, and the final product plays regular PS2 games. Cool bit: A day's worth of sanding went into making the PalmPS2. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Gizmodo]

With some folks running into DS Lite crackage, now might be a good time to consider your options. Take this Shock! casemod, for example. Just gut your portable and put it in this clear plastic DS Lite case, on which the good taste jury is out. Or rather, don't. Cracks or not, the part of the Lite's appeal is the glossy color of the original cases. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Go Nintendo]

An Xbox 360 laptop? Believe. Uber modder supreme Ben Heck has created a custom 360 computer-type that boasts a 17-inch display, integrated keyboard, Wi-Fi and a 3-port USB hub. What's more, he handmade the custom aluminum case and even added a water cooling system. And it weighs in at only 14 pounds! Well, not only, but still that is merely twice as much as an unmodded 360. Says Ben:

A friend of mine asked back in May 'Can you build an Xbox 360 laptop' And I responded 'Sure, can you pay for it?' He agreed, and thus I set forth on what was surely to be my most complex and insanely ridiculous videogame project yet.

Don't you just love how the first word out of Ben's mouth was "sure"? Brian Ashcraft

More Here [TechEBlog]

Quick rant: If you are going to make something cool, please also make a video clip that is at least one-fifth as cool. The vast majority of silent films are better looking than the heinous clip above. Okay, onto the post:

An Israeli modder has designed an developed a phone chip for the PSP, dubbed the "PSPhone." It's not able to make outgoing calls, but is able to received incoming calls. The modder is trying to figure out how to get it into mass production and hopes to sell it for $60. I hope he figures out how to take a better video before then. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [TechEBlog]

Into modding? Better watch out or the Feds will be all over your ass like a cheap suit. That is, should you take your "hobby" and make it a rent-paying endeavor.

Jason Jones, a Los Angeles video game shop owner, has been put on probation for three years. Better yet, Jason gets to wear one of those stylish ankle bracelets so that the authorities can monitor him 24-7.

He and two other buddies were caught selling chipped Xbox consoles and pirated games by an undercover agent (huh?) from the Entertainment Software Association. Both have been ordered to pay ESA a fine of US $2,648.

Another involved modder, Pei "Patrick" Cai, has yet been apprehended. He's described as a fugitive by the US attorney's office. Screw drug dealers and murders, the real bane of society are those damn Xbox modders! Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Eurogamer] Thanks, Chilly!

Petulant Microsoft blogger Ozymandias tackles modding in his latest post.

He breaks down the reason people mod consoles into three arguments (the ability to copy and play pirated games, the ability to play import games, the ability to add new functionality (such as running homebrew software) and then proceeds to argue why none are valid.

Piracy he dismisses out of hand, and rightfully so. It's wrong and if you do it, there isn't anything that can be said to make you change your mind.

Importing he dismisses just as quickly by saying essentially that game developers should have the right to control who plays what when. I couldn't disagree more.

Finally, Ozy sinks his teeth into the third issue: adding functionality and running homebrew software. While I don't agree with his conslusion, I do see his point. Here's a taste:

The console business is a razor/razor blade model. Hardware (the console) is subsidized (meaning Microsoft sells it at below cost) to make it easier for consumers to get it into their homes. The business then makes this up by selling you additional hardware (peripherals), software (games), and services (Xbox Live). The success of this razor/razor blade model is tracked by analysts as the "attach rate," or how many of these add-ons an average person might have per console. (The most common metric you'll see tracked is the game attach rate to a console, but some analysts also track the attach rate of peripherals and Xbox Live.)

Over time you buy games (and other peripherals and services). The revenue generated from those purchases helps to make the business a profitable one (which is the reason you see a healthy game industry, and continual investment in new features, games, and hardware). Some folks point to the fact that they bought the hardware and believe they should be able to do anything they wish with it. Unfortunately, this argument ignores the fact that they're buying that hardware at below cost, and it's the razor/razor blade model that makes it even possible to buy at that price. The other solution would be to sell the hardware at a price that covers cost and also includes a profit margin so that selling the console alone (with no game/peripheral/service sales) could be a stand-alone business. Problem is A) this model already exists (it's called a PC), and B) selling a console at PC prices (especially with the capabilities the console has in it) would simply be too expensive and no one would buy it. At the end of the day, the cost difference needs to be made up somewhere, and that's why we need to you buy those razor blades.

The interesting thing to me is that I think the idea of homebrew/user-created content is looked at with much interest at Microsoft (we are a software company after all), but the challenges caused by the impact to our business model make it very difficult to enable. Interesting tidbit: a friend of mine at Microsoft once demonstrated a modded PSP to Bill Gates and showed off all of the interesting things that enabled. According to my friend Bill was intrigued and asked the audience what we might be able to do to encourage this sort of thing without damaging the business. I love that our top executives think this way - the challenge, of course, is that modchips allow much more than just homebrew software, and so it's a tough problem to sort out.

What are your thoughts? How would you defend the three arguments, or would you?

On a totally unrelated note, does anyone else find it ironic that the name for Microsoft's angry, attacking blog is Ozymandias? Brian Crecente

The Problem With Modchips [Ozymandias]

Like Philip Morris telling you why smoking doesn't cause cancer or like Ford explaining how automobile transportation is superior to rail, Xbox team member Andre Vrignaud lays out the reasons why mod chips are bad in his Ozymandias blog. Sure, piracy sucks for game makers. That we know. And Vrignaud does an excellent job of explaining what mod chips and modded consoles are. In short, they enable the machines to run unauthorized content or games and enable new functions. It's his arguments against that are hard to swallow:

The desire to play import games is at least a reason I can rationally understand, but cannot condone. Sure, there are games you might want to play that are either released earlier or, quite possibly, not released at all in your region. But sometimes companies have good reasons to either not release a title into a region or release it at different dates. It may be because of the time and cost of localization, marketing plans, ad buys, cultural considerations, or perhaps even because of the impact of piracy in the region. Whatever the case, it's safe to assume the publisher has thought about it. The good news is that most publishers are developing with multiple platforms, regions, and languages in mind up front, so this is becoming less and less of an argument.

From a business point of view, he's dead on. Thing is, most gamers aren't in the gaming business. They are just gamers. To hear tisk, tisk, don't do that, companies need to remain in control, reeks of corporate stick. To his credit, Vrignaud runs his site on his own time and his own dime. But at the end of the day, he's still Microsoft. Am I interested in eventually modding my 360? Not really. Am I happy to pay for software? Sure. Do I need the company giving me reasons why modding is a no-no? Nope. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Ozymandias]

Eek! Tacky modders strike again! French-based PYPE Industries has put this Xbox case into production for commercial sales, gawd help us all. It's made out of tough acrylic, is mounted with a white cathode and even has a temperature readout on the front. There's the ubiquitous water-cooled CPU as well. Just what everyone needs—another bulky game machine. Yippie.

Note: I just did a search of the company, but turned up nothing, and the original article isn't clear where this is an original Xbox casing or 360 (I assume 360). Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Born Rich]

GamePolitics has an exclusive interview with the Oblivion modder who made it possible, through a series of hacks, to play the game surrounded by topless NPCs. The ESRB found out and slapped a new M rating on the previously T-rated RPG.

The modder, Maeyanie, disapproves of the re-rating and proclaims the modding community bears responsibility for the boobs, not Bethesda. I'm inclined to agree. The next step is M-rating games for user-created skins.

CM: Do you think companies should be held responsible for content discovered by modders?

Maeyanie: In the case of content in the game waiting to be unlocked by a certain button-sequence or whatever, yes, they put it there. In the case of mods requiring third-party software, downloads from the Internet, and other things, absolutely not. The ability to add content to a game is a great thing, and leads to much greater replayability (if that's a word) and all-around fun. Just because some people like me "abuse" this ability to add "evil" content based on a single culture's narrow definitions of what is and isn't appropriate isn't the fault of the developers.

I wonder if the skin artist got in trouble for this. There's no reason to create an anatomically correct base skin except for simple aesthetics (and a desire for publicity via the inevitable modder "discovery" of nipples), and if I worked in games I'd probably be doing it too. Eliza gauger

Complete interview here [GamePolitics]

A Lite owner tricks out his portable with what looks like a camera peripheral running homebrew application. Voila, instant camera. Even if it is real, all that crap he's jammed into his Lite sure is fugly. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [TechEBlog]