It has been long rumored that Microsoft would start banning 360s, and people were certain it would start after the spring update. Modders best efforts have proven insufficient in stopping detection. Days before the spring update, the hacking community released new firmwares to preemptively protect them and keep their modded status hidden. Microsoft apparently has a few tricks up their sleeves, because even people with the latest firmwares have gotten the lifetime ban. There have been reports that even those that haven’t played backups on live have gotten banned, which indicates they are detecting the modified firmware, and not the backup disc. Hackers have been fairly confident that the firmware itself was undetectable, and it would be the discs themselves that would be targeted.
The morale of the story is, if you like Xbox Live, don’t mod your console. The banhammer shows no pity, and no matter how justified you think you are, no one will hear your pleas. There have been numerous reports of people with new and unmodded consoles getting banned. There is no word on what the recourse of action will be for this customers. I read one early report that someone was asked to send their console in for MS to verifiy it wasn’t modified. There is no word how many thousands of consoles have been banned from live, but I can’t imagine it would be feasible for them to do this for everyone.
The message is very clear, and made louder by waiting for the Halo 3 Beta to start. I can’t imagine the regret many must be feeling. As for me, I knew there was good reason I have two 360s
It’s been a long day for a lot of people but we’re happy to announce that effective immediately, a title update for Crackdown is available on Xbox Live that will fix the issue that previously prevented you from downloading the beta. The Microsoft team just deployed this fix and when you launch Crackdown you should receive a prompt to download the update.
Please note that it could take up to four hours for your console to receive this update based on various factors. However, the good news is that we’re in the clear and Halo 3 gameplay is just over the horizon.
We realize this has been a pain for many and an inconvenience at the very least. Given the circumstances, we’ve decided to extend the duration of the Halo 3 Beta from June 6th to June 10th at 11:59 PM PDT. So, you lost almost a full day of play today but to make up for it we’re tacking on four more days (and a weekend at that).
We apologize for the delay and hardships this issue has caused and hope that it quickly becomes a distant memory clouded by good times playing Halo 3 with your friends.
Thank you all for your patience and understanding. We’ll see you online!
That should make everyone happy. (Hah, who am I kidding). Thanks Bungie. I’m glad this fiasco is finally behind us.
The download is now working. HOWEVER, you need to clear your cache, which means you will lose your game updates (you will simply be prompted to re-download them next time you launch a game). Here is how to do it:
Restart your box, then do this:
Go to the dashboard.
Go to the system tab
Select memory
Highlight your hard drive
Press Y
Press X, X, LB, RB, X, X
Say yes when prompted to do maintenance on your hard drive.
Enjoy! I’m sure this will be sorted out in a bit and you wont need to clear your cache, but since I know how impatient you all are… see you soon. Start your download before the masses!
This just in! The Microsoft team has identified the issue that was preventing the Halo 3 beta from being downloaded via Crackdown. This problem is expected to be fixed within the next 3 to 6 hours. New information as soon as we have it!
We’re happy to finally announce that the issues being faced with the Halo 3 beta and Crackdown will be resolved shortly. The Microsoft team has found a solution and it’s undergoing final testing now.
Assuming the test pass goes according to plan, the fix will come in the form of a Crackdown title update within the next three to six hours.
We understand many of you were eagerly awaiting your chance to jump into the Halo 3 Beta and this technical issue has put a damper on your plans. Thankfully the fix is incoming and we’re sincerely sorry for any inconvenience this has caused. Ultimately we hope this will all soon be a distant memory once you pick up the Spartan Laser, launch yourself from a Mancannon and enjoy online shenanigans with your friends.
As a reminder, people who already have the Halo 3 Beta are unaffected by this issue. We’ll keep you posted as soon as we have more information.
In the past hour or so, while some are busy finishing (the beta) fight, the rest of the internet is up in arms wondering where their Halo 3 beta is. So far, the official word is a collective, “We Know!” Bungie states, “With any luck this will be a short delay.”
Meanwhile, in the past hour or so, the Halo 3 Beta page on Xbox.com has changed. The site USE to read that the beta begins “May 16 at 5 a.m. PDT and run(s) through June 6 at 11:59 p.m. PDT.” It now reads:
Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie Studios today confirmed the multiplayer beta of Halo 3 will debut to audiences worldwide via Xbox LIVE on May 16 at 10pm EST and run through to June 7 at 4:59pm EST.
So if these figures are to be believed, you could be waiting up to another 10 hours to get your game on (if you are getting in through Crackdown, at least). It’s a 17 hour delay from the original time, but the 17 hour extension should make everyone stop complaining. Right?
Update: Turns out, the Xbox.com link is to an Australian page. I don’t know why it says EST (does it stand for anything besides Eastern Standard Time?), but 10pm in Australia, is roughly 5PDT that has always been promised. The time US Xbox.com page remains unchanged. However, the following notice has been added:
Customers are reporting problems downloading the Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta via Crackdown. The Xbox team is well aware of this issue and working diligently to resolve it. Please check back for more information as it becomes available.
Wow, wasn’t expecting this tonight. Bungie just released the official release date for Halo 3: September 25, 2007.
We said Fall 2007, but did you expect Halo 3’s release date to be just two days into the Fall? On September 25, 2007 (just two days after the Autumnal Equinox), players will be able to finish the fight they started in Halo: Combat Evolved and continued in Halo 2. Halo 3 will release in Europe on September 26, 2007. Worldwide dates may vary slightly depending on local rules and conditions.
Awesome. I was dreading a release closer to winter. What was going to hold me over between the beta and the final game?! It will still be a long 3+ month wait, but much better than it could have been. More details and a full Q&A at Bungie.
Bungie has posted a more than extensive guide to get you ready for the beta tomorrow morning. There are FAQs, map guides, weapon and equipment guides, and more. See you there tomorrow!
The audio problems with the 360 HD DVD player are finally being put to rest (about time). Coming out sometime today (5/15), the update will fix some bugs, and add some features such as the much anticipated DTS output.
Has the Dolby Digital audio on your HD DVDs sounded flat and quiet? Turns out, it has been stuck on “night mode.” That has been corrected, and you now have the option to enable or disable this (default is off).
ANY audio track that HD DVD supports, including DD+, TrueHD, and DTS, can now be scaled and outputted in Dolby Digital, WMAPro, or 1.5 Mbps DTS. Unfortunately, straight TrueHD and other high bandwidth output are limited by the optical on the 360. 1.5 Mbps DTS is the best you can get out of the optical port. It should be a pretty big improvement over the (currently gimped) Dolby Digital, which is only 640Kbps.
Its unclear whether these new audio options are restricted to the HD DVD player, or if DTS will be added as a universal option in the 360 dashboard audio menu. My guess (hope) is the latter. Currently there are only options for DD and WMAPro. Either way, I’m psyched. That damn DTS logo of the face of my receiver has been taunting me, and I will finally get some use out of it.
Also fixed are some disc compatibility errors.
Update: It’s out. Sign into Live, and launch a HD DVD and you should be prompted to update. Unfortunately, DTS is limited to HD DVD (duh, I guess). Maybe with the next Dash update we will be able to choose it as a universal output? Well, since I don’t think any games have a DTS of DD+ track, I guess it wouldn’t make much of a difference.
Yeah, I’m bummed I didn’t get in. If you were among the selected, you would have already gotten the email, and the Home Beta download would be greeting you in the Playstation Store. ::gives you a minute to run to your PS3 and let the disappointment set in.:: To help relieve your bitter resentment, I recommend the following parody. It helped me.
