Sinobytes

Xbox Live bannings leave Chinese and ex-pat gamers stranded

Nov 25, 2009 19:50

Microsoft's recent piracy clampdown in its Xbox Live online gaming service is leaving a lot of gamers in China stranded. They're now finding that their modded consoles or pirated games are getting their consoles blacklisted by Microsoft, despite paying the US$50 annual subscription.

Of course, pirated games and modded consoles are illegal. But Chinese gamers have little choice when the Xbox console and its games are not officially sold here, and a modded console is the norm here in order to play the (necessarily) pirated games.

Expats in China, too, are getting into the same trouble. Paid for Xbox Live? Paid for the genuine game from Amazon.com? Bought lots of added content? If you answer "Yes, yes, and yes," to all that, but you have a modded console you bought in China, then: Pirate Alert! Yes, Microsoft is branding you a filthy pirate, and your console is blacklisted, too.

That's exactly what happened last week to Kellen Parker, an American graduate student now based in Shanghai. Talking via Twitter and email, he explained: "I have a number of friends who... paid for downloadable content and independent games in addition to the US$50 annual subscription cost, who are now out of luck, myself included."

As for Microsoft's motives, Kellen was phlegmatic: "From a business perspective, the bans make some sense, so I don't fault them for doing it. It is frustrating for those of us without any other options outside of piracy. I hate to repeat the same cliché that's been put forth by all the pirates in the West, but for a place like China where piracy is the norm, it does seem like Microsoft is shooting themselves in the foot by eliminating an entire country from their service, especially considering it's the most populous country and there was no shortage of users here who were happily paying for the services and additional content. Instead, they're managing to alienate some of the Chinese user base and drive the rest to come up with new ways around their DRM."

It all boils down to mainland China apparently not being deemed worthy of business for media companies that see only rampant piracy. So, while Xbox Live has been launched in Hong Kong, it is not supported here in the mainland; though you can play it here if you have acquired a membership via another country. Just ensure that your game and console are genuine, or your whole Xbox Live experience will be ruined very easily. 

h/t & thanks to @kellenparker for alerting me to this situation, and speaking about it.

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