Microsoft: No Xbox for You! 588
Markel writes "According this this story in the Sydney Morning Herald, Microsoft is very concerned about a man having been acquitted after allegedly selling [mod chips for a PlayStation]. So concerned in fact, that they are saying: change the law, or they will have to reconsider selling the Xbox in Australia. Not selling the Xbox is well within their rights, but putting it in a (I paraphrase slightly) "change the law or we'll .." context seems assuming a bit too much. I guess well see how many of our MPs are XBox gameheads."
Misleading Summary (Score:5, Informative)
Excellent editing there.
Re:Misleading Summary (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Misleading Summary (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Misleading Summary (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Misleading Summary (Score:5, Interesting)
Are you absolutely certain about that? If they're going to go so far as to threaten the government of an entire country (Australia), who's to say they wouldn't have the brass to try it here?
We've seen Microsoft pretty much ignore and circumvent our Department of Justice, with no real retaliation. We've seen media companies push through legislation that tramps upon the rights of the people just becuase they can. With the way things are going, I would be surprised if Microsoft couldn't get some sort of law passed on the importation of a circumvention device, provided they threw enough lobbyists at it.
Re:Misleading Summary (Score:5, Insightful)
Erm...how does refusing to sell a video game console "threaten the government of an entire country"?
Are they really that important?
Re:Misleading Summary (Score:5, Informative)
It more than sets a precedent, it re-asserts our fair use rights.
A bit of context would help. The modchips that were allowed on the PS/2 bypass the region restrictions. This allows someone to import a game from the US and play it on an Australian PS/2. Clear and obvious example of fair use. Similarly, under Australian law, it's not legal to sell a zonded DVD player. Or prevent someone using a backup of their game.
It's not saying that you can sell a modchip to bypass, say, anti-piracy protection. Of course, your anti-piracy protection better not interfere with someone using a backup of a game they legitimately own, or someone can legally install a modchip (which can be legally sold) to bypass it.
Re:Misleading Summary (Score:5, Funny)
There are vast differences in the hardware. It's just a badly worded story.
Re:Misleading Summary (Score:5, Insightful)
The thing that hurts Sony is somebody buying an MS game instead of a Sony game. Nobody makes beans on the hardware, and anything that broadens the set of people who buy software is good for the licensor.
Re:Misleading Summary (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm not saying this is flawless logic, its just probably the logic used to justify the "or else!!!
"
Re:Misleading Summary (Score:5, Funny)
Future Slashdot Article (Score:5, Funny)
Microsoft announced today that they have uncovered over 20 companies operating out of south eastern Asia that are buying Xboxes from Japan at a reduced rate (because the Japanese hate the xbox) and selling them to citizens of Australia for $199. Microsoft indicates that the local law enforcement agencies must shut down these companies or they will "stop making the xbox" worldwide.
In other news, Sony (SNE) stock is up 6 points to 51.25
While Nintendo (NTDOF.PK) stock is still going down, down, down......
Re:yet another example (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:yet another example (Score:4, Interesting)
Another reason Nintendo releases at different times in different regions is they have a policy of only releasing a game after translating it to the local language, which takes time (some companies release English language games all over Europe). That's why THQ published Conker's Bad Fur Day in Europe instead of Nintendo - Nintendo didn't think it was worth the cost to translate it, but THQ thought the sales potential of an English language version was worth it.
Re:yet another example (Score:5, Insightful)
Additionally, how the images are output to TV at hardware level has nothing to do with the game software at all.
It's just another excuse to fix prices.
Re:yet another example (Score:4, Insightful)
Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft couldn't give a damn about the issues you stated. They want region encoding so they can charge outrageous prices and those people not have any other way to import games cheaply. By what you said thier logic, in one sentance is "well, you know someone somewhere might have a PAL tv and buy an NTSC disk: therefore we will create regions based on language/hardware and then further divide them arbitrarily (which look suspiciously based on what the price they can charge), try and force govt to enforce them all for the consumers safety!" yea right.
Region encoding is not bad in and of it self: the problem is legislation that FORCES you to abide by them. Give me one good technical reason why I should not be allowed to play, under any circumstance, a game from japan on my US console (all the technical reasons you stated have no effect on this: both ntsc, maybe I speak japanese, and I can mail order it). Techinical reason: none Thier reason: profit. They found they could not techinically force it so they have legislated it (and while they have every right to try and maximise profits govt should not pass laws only deseigned to maximise thier profit).
NTSC games run in PAL/M on modded Euro consoles (Score:5, Insightful)
The games do have to be programmed differently if they are going to be run on NTSC or PAL.
Oh really? PAL has two variations: the 625-line, 50-Hz PAL used for European TV, and the 525-line, 60-Hz PAL/M used for Brazilian TV and for European video games. PAL/M gives exactly the same pixel count (about 720x480) as the NTSC signal used in Japan and the USA. Thus, NTSC-style games on modern PAL consoles will run in PAL/M mode. (Older PAL consoles often halted the CPU during the extra scanlines of PAL, resulting in a slower game.) Not only do almost all PAL TVs multisync to both PAL and PAL/M signals, many can also display NTSC signals.
Another reason Nintendo releases at different times in different regions is they have a policy of only releasing a game after translating it to the local language
Then why not simultaneously release in the United States and the United Kingdom?
The real reason for region coding is the fact that different companies may own the copyrights or the exclusive licenses under copyright on a given work in different countries. For instance, Peter Pan fell out of copyright a long time ago in the United States, but the United Kingdom has passed a statutory perpetual copyright [wikipedia.org] on the work and on all derivative works. The region lockout is intended partly to enforce parallel-import restrictions on works in markets where they don't have copyright clearance.
Re:NTSC games run in PAL/M on modded Euro consoles (Score:3, Informative)
they have a policy of only releasing a game after translating it to the local language
Then why not simultaneously release in the United States and the United Kingdom?
They have to add all those U's.
The resolution of TV (Score:4, Informative)
NTSC, PAL and SECAM don't have resolutions at all.
NTSC, PAL, and SECAM specify a number of scanlines for a signal, the timing used for each scanline, the bandwidth of the main carrier, and the bandwidth of a color subcarrier. The Nyquist theorem [wikipedia.org] guarantees a sample frequency given bandwidth or vice versa, and multiplying that by the length of a scanline gives a pixel count per line. Thus, you have a HxV pixel count, which is what computer users typically call "resolution".
Re:yet another example (Score:4, Insightful)
Another reason Nintendo releases at different times in different regions is they have a policy of only releasing a game after translating it to the local language, which takes time (some companies release English language games all over Europe).
Nani? And this prevents... uh... what? A misinformed gamer from buying an out of region game and going, "Ah crap! This one's in french! How am I suppose to play it?!" Cuz now when he pops that french disc in his console it just won't boot? "Ah crap! This one is busted! And trying to return broken software sucks cuz the store treats me like some kind of pirate!"
What it prevents is a gamer who knows Japanese from directly buying Japanese games, especially those games that are never released in his region. And preventing sales is good... uh... why? I need to mod my console to play legally purchased games... uh... why?
Back in the day we used to buy Super Famicom games for our SNES. We were told we needed to buy a $20 'converter' which plugged into the SNES and would allow you to play the Famicom games by plugging them into the 'converter'. I was shocked and outraged when it was explained to me that a SNES had the same hardware as a Super Famicom and that the 'converter' didn't actually do anything. The reason you 'needed' the converter was because you couldn't directly plug a Famicom cartridge into a SNES because Nintendo had added a pair of little plastic tabs which prevented you from inserting it completely into the console. After using some pliers to snap off the plastic tabs the cartridge inserted and played just fine.
Re:yet another example (Score:5, Insightful)
It really is sad that some great games don't make it to other regions. Americans at large _still_ think that the Sega Saturn was a fruitless platform, when some of the best games of that generation are Saturn exclusives.
Ever since I was young, reading about all the games released in Japan for the Famicom and PC Engine that would never make it to the NES & TurboGrafx-16, I've always wished that the American arms of Japanese game companies wouldn't pick and choose on behalf of the American market which games to release, particularly regarding sequels. The infamous example: Secret of Evermore is _not_ as good a game as the game that should have been released here in its stead, Seiken Densetsu 3 -- sequel to Secret of Mana.
As an American, my heart has to go out to the PAL region gamers. Not just is availability of most Japanese titles more limited than in the U.S. (with the odd notable exception), but the quality of the gameplay often suffers because games weren't programmed with the PAL video standard in mind, or the translations from the European publishers can be very bad (from what I'm told).
< tofuhead >
that is why in australia... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:that is why in australia... (Score:3, Informative)
About time! (Score:4, Funny)
I just never thought it would start voluntarilly!
Its a good threat, and Australia is better off not having Xbox, what country would be next?
Re:Misleading Summary (Score:4, Insightful)
The world's sweetheart. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:The world's sweetheart. (Score:5, Funny)
Memo
From: Government of Australia
To: Microsoft, Manager of X-Box products
Dear sir;
Get stuffed.
Re:The world's sweetheart. (Score:3, Insightful)
Microsoft doesn't sell the XBox there then they don't make any money in Australia from the XBox. Australians are not going to be scarred for life or even hurt in any way by missing out on the XBox.
The business model is flawed. Microsoft takes a tax on any game sold for the XBox. I am not in favor of that kind of business model. I think it is a danger to free expression and creativity. (I think a similar business model applies to who is allowed to make DVD players.)
curious.... (Score:5, Insightful)
What bug is up MS's butt?
Re:curious.... (Score:5, Funny)
Their "Chieft Software Architect" is a meglomaniacal control freak.
Re:curious.... (Score:4, Funny)
I wish that they'd "loose" some of that cash in my neighborhood. We've cleaned up most of the "loose" stuff we had around here.
Buying Laws.... (Score:5, Funny)
Sheesh (Score:5, Informative)
Now not even the story submitters are reading the stories!
following the acquittal in July of a Sydney man alleged to have sold chips that modify a Sony PlayStation 2 to play imported games
The article is fairly clear what the chip does.
It's unlikely, but... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:It's unlikely, but... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:It's unlikely, but... (Score:5, Funny)
Or maybe a panicked ignoring of Xboxes.
conserning Asutralia (Score:4, Insightful)
I don't think they'd change their law for a GAME console
Maybe in 20 years from now we'll all need to move to Australia to have some rights
Re:conserning Asutralia (Score:5, Insightful)
Doesn't exactly sound like nice ethics to me... The continuing suppression of Aboriginals [bbc.co.uk] is also far from nice...
Why? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Why? (Score:3, Insightful)
I wonder... (Score:4, Funny)
ARTICLE IS WRONG (Score:4, Interesting)
So what Ballmer- go pack up your Xbox and leave- and take all that lost revenue with you. The Xbox has had an unspectacular launch in Australia with retailers even refusing to carry the stock because Microsoft was screwing them on the margins (e.g. Harvey Norman).
Seven Sold (Score:5, Funny)
I believe six of then are called Bruce [graphicszone.net]
Re:Seven Sold (Score:3, Informative)
They are only called Bruce by eachother, and only to keep things clear. Their real names are Eric [tuxedo.org].
Re:Seven Sold (Score:4, Funny)
i sell these as well... (Score:5, Funny)
here is now it work, plug in your xbox, now plug in this 'mod chip' to the same power strip, and they will communicate using WiFi... put your PS2 games, in the 'mod chip' after plugging it in, and plug the 'mod controllers' into the 'mod chip' everything should work fine out of the box.
ENJOY,
i take orders at my website below -|
Changing the law... (Score:5, Funny)
The criminal law related to murder is bad for my business model as a hit man, which relies on accepting payment for people I have killed.
So what?! (Score:5, Insightful)
This is good for Microsoft (Score:5, Funny)
Uhm Hello?..McFLY (ie: Steve Ballmer) (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Uhm Hello?..McFLY (ie: Steve Ballmer) (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Uhm Hello?..McFLY (ie: Steve Ballmer) (Score:4, Insightful)
The RIGHT of the seller, in a "sale of goods" transaction is to receive payment for the goods he is selling. His RIGHTS end at that point because he no longer OWNS the goods. Ballmer's attempt to wrap a sale of goods in the language of a licensing transaction and extend the rules that apply to software into the world of hardware is so much quasi-legalistic BS. This especially applies to the mod chips that make it possible to run non-Microsoft-endorsed software on the system.
Ballmer, Gates & Co. put the XBox on the market using a flawed business model based on extort^H^H^Hracting a royalty payment on EVERY game sold to subsidize selling the hardware below cost. Bad plan
The poster continues:
I have done so and will continue to do so. Thank you for your approval of MY business decision.
They should change the law. (Score:5, Funny)
Yeah Right (Score:5, Interesting)
I just don't buy it.
This is a prime example of when someone should call Microsoft's bluff.
Re:Yeah Right (Score:3, Insightful)
Australia Should Think Ahead (Score:5, Funny)
is it legal? (Score:5, Insightful)
PS/2 + modchip = CanPlayThirdPartyGames
Canon + adapter = CanUseThirdPartyLenses
Re:is it legal? (Score:3, Funny)
The best one-sentence description of everything wrong with the modern notion of capitalism I've ever heard.
Though it scares me a little -- I shudder to think of the chance that, a hundred years from now, Ayn Rand and Karl Marx will be mentioned together.
Or is there something else going on... (Score:3, Insightful)
Screw 'em (Score:4, Insightful)
Do the words "significant non-infringing use" mean anything to these people? It's their own fault really. If companies would drop this price-fix^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hregion-coding nonsense so that the only real use of modchips was to play copied games, I might have a tiny bit of sympathy for them, but not as long as they keep sneaking in these extra restrictions that have nothing to do with copyright. Don't let the door hit yer ass on the way out, MS.
Decision in the case (Score:5, Informative)
This was the first attempted prosecution in Australia under the changes introduced in the Copyright Amendment (Digital Agenda) Act 2000 [law.gov.au], and Sony has vowed to appeal the above adverse decision to the full bench of the Federal Court.
Sound of Import Companies' stock prices going up (Score:3, Insightful)
Someone at Microsoft didn't think this one through. Austrailia appears to be well on the ball regarding the rights of its citizens to access content they've purchased. The ACCC (http://www.accc.gov.au/) routinely stands against region restrictions in various forms, whether its games or dvds.
Will they budge? Who knows. This is all saber rattling on Microsoft's part, since whether or not they cut XBox sales in Australia, they'll still get the (well, negative amounts of) money when consumers start importing.
Re:Sound of Import Companies' stock prices going u (Score:3, Funny)
Everyone who makes this argument right now is a flaming idiot. Unless you plan on buying every single game for a particular console, and judge each console totally on quantity, then there is no longer any cause to complain - ALL THREE CONSOLES HAVE GOOD GAMES ON THEM...THEY EVEN HAVE MORE THAN A FEW.
Here are some highlights from my current collection.
PS2: Final Fantasy X, GTA3, Gran Turismo 3 and several more that *I* like but may not be big-time favorites.
Gamecube: Rogue Leader, Pikmin, Animal Crossing, Beach Spikers, Godzilla Destroy All Monsters Melee, Super Smash Bros. Melee and more.
XBox: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dead to Rights, Morrowind (yes, it's PC too, so the hell what?), Jet Set Radio Future, Sega Soccer Slam, Project Gotham Racing and more -- not to mention that cross-platform games are generally nicer on the X than the others (in addition to being generally nicer on the GC than the PS2).
In short, all of you schmucks who keep yakking about how there are no good games for console need to help yourselves to a hot cup of shut the fuck up. While YOUR favorite game (GTA3 fans, Mario fans, Halo fans) might not be on a particular console that doesn't mean that there isn't anything else on it.
This isn't funny anymore (Score:5, Funny)
Why not just let the trolls post stories about free RAM with links to goatse.cx?
Slashdot Reader: Oh wow, free ram OH MY GOD THAT IS SO SICK MY EYES MY EYES THEY BURN ARrrrrr....
Damn it.
Call their bluff--do it! (Score:3, Insightful)
MS is probably willing to go to great lengths to keep the XBox market alive. They just reported huge earnings and have something like $30B cash so they can comfortably lose money on the XBox for years until they gain market share. For them to give up just because something didn't make economic sense right now wouldn't be like Microsoft. Look at their history, for crying out loud.
And if they do pull out just to spite you, well, no big loss. PS3 will probably be out before you could change your laws anyway.
The Cart Before The Horse... (Score:5, Insightful)
"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."
If the legal frame work of a given locality doesn't support your business model, don't use it. In the past few years we've all seen a bunch of crazy business models crash at full speed into the solid wall of reality. What Balmer is proposing here makes even the worst dot-bomb plan look sterling. Even groups like the RIAA and the MPAA can claim that "times and technology have changed" when they go to try to change laws. In this case MS is the newcomer to an existing markeplace that has had to deal with the problem of mod chips for quite some time. I suppose that this just shows that you don't have to smart to help run a multi-gajillion dollar company.
Hopefully the "change the law" business model doesn't become as popular as the "put it online and they will buy it" model was. If this takes off one can just imagine the headlines: "Company fails to buy law, declares bankruptcy." If that wouldn't be grounds for a mismanagement suit on the part of investors, I don't know what would be.
And Australia, as everyone knows... (Score:4, Insightful)
Mandatory Princess Bride quote...
... And Australia, as everyone knows, is peopled with criminals and criminals are used to having people not trust them...."
BTW: There really is a print version of "The Princess Bride", in an abridged version by William Goldman, (Because the original by the esteemed S. Morgenstern is much too long and horrible to read.)
Song and Dance (Score:3, Funny)
Great PR move! Multi-billion dollar American company issuing threats against a soverign nation. I'm sure that having their legislature kow-tow to arrogant foreigners will go over really well with Australian voters. Ballmer needs a clue. Threats are GWB's job. Steve is just a song and dance guy.
A couple of things to keep in mind (Score:5, Insightful)
It's interesting to note that Visa and Mastercard are thretening similar action if the Reserve bank doesn't back down on some reforms.
One day, when we get rid of all the evil corporates, Australia will be the perfect place to live.
Regional encoding in Oz.. (Score:5, Insightful)
The reason that regional encoding in general is viewed so dimly in Australia is simply because as a small market, Australia frequently gets hammered on prices relative to the rest of the world.
So, regional encoding looks like it's really set up to be price gouging to Australians.
There's been several investigations into, eg why CDs cost so much more in Australia than in other countries, or at least used to, before the exchange rate bombed.
Of course, this is the great thing about the internet. You can find the price of anything in nearly any market.
Frequently governments find this troubling, because it means they are missing out on sales tax, duties etc.
For corporations, I've heard of situations where they simply go and set up a subsidiary in the country which offers the cheapest relative price and do a corporate wide deal.
Consumers don't have that luxury, but Oz seems to have some resistance built up re this nonsensical price fixing by global corporations.
Microsoft is bluffing. (Score:4, Insightful)
On the other hand, maybe some of these 'Microsoft sanctions' we've heard about would result in a laughable embargo against Australia. Gooooo Balmer!
Microsoft is becoming very aggressive here (Score:3, Insightful)
The legal precedent in question took the nature: "If I buy a car, am I allowed to re-fit the engine?" The law granted that unless Sony gave a lifetime guarantee they had no further right to any single PS2 once it was legitimately sold to a consumer. The consumer had full rights to do whatever they wanted to that one instance of hardware because it is their property.
Personally, I back the argument in question and say that Microsoft should get a new business model (or make good on their threat and stop selling their shite here).
Luckily for M$.... (Score:3, Funny)
Mod chips aren't exactly illegal in Oz (Score:3, Informative)
Also, there are a number of other laws that contribute to this - reverse engineering is a legal right, so someone can build mod chips in Oz (where do you think the majority of Samba core developers are?). In addition, our local consumer & competition board are investigating the whole region locking thing. From the various news reports going around, it seems like they are about to make region locking illegal because it is classed as anti-competitive. If that does happen (probably >80% chance given previous actions of Prof Fels) then mod chips will most definitely be legal in Oz.
PS2 on XBox (Score:3, Interesting)
Maybe msft should rent xboxes if they really don't want people dicking with them. Or they could just pour each one full of epoxy, so it's just one solid brick
Australia (Score:5, Informative)
1) Now is a really, really bad time to be telling us what to do about our own laws. We are in a state of mourning over the Bali Terrorist attack. A foreign company telling us to change our laws will go down like a lead ballon. The desires of a company to sell products is right at the bottom of important things list.
2) The regional encoding is likely to illegal under the Trade Practices Act (similar to the US Anti-Trust law by wider ranging). Currrently the ACCC (the statutory authority assigned to oversea compliance with the TPA) is taking DVD producers to court over this very issue. If the ACCC wins then regional encoding of games will also be illegal.
Let's get this straight. (Score:5, Insightful)
freed up opensource programmers? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:freed up opensource programmers? (Score:5, Interesting)
Remember that Aussie laws allowed the realese of ssleay and Samba. Writing ssleay as open source in the US was illegal at the time it was written. Its wide distribution was one of the key factors in getting the US crypto export laws fixed since congress was concerned about the US not keeping its crypto edge over the rest of the world.
However I think the goverment woudl cave in if MS started pushing them around.
Wow (Score:3, Insightful)
Microsoft is just full of itself, and trying to spread FUD like usual.
Looking for an excuse (Score:4, Funny)
DMCA as a business model (Score:5, Insightful)
Razor companies sell the handle as a loss-leader, making up huge profits on the blades. Sure, some third-party blades that fit the handle come out that are cheaper, and the original company complains somewhat, but the vast majority continue to buy the "genuine article", and life goes on.
Ink jet printer manufacturers probably don't make a dime on the printers themselves: the profit is in the ink carts. Yes, some people buy refill kits, but still the vast majority buy the real replacement cartridges. Token complaining aside, the printer maker is happy.
The same is true, I'm certain, with the X-Box. There aren't that many modded systems out there to make more than the tiniest dent in actual sales of X-Box games. In a sane political environment, Microsoft would whine a bit but really, there would be nothing they could do, as the console belongs to the citizen and it should be none of Microsoft's business what anyone does with it.
Microsoft, however, has the advantage of being on the "right" side of the WIPO treaties which forbid all this "digital theft", and effectively remove a person's right to do what he/she wants with their own property. The USA was a "leader" in this: by passing the DMCA in 1998, they were easily the first Western nation to ratify this crap into what is now international law.
Most countries that signed onto the agreement haven't yet ratified it, but most are getting close to doing so.
Seems the Australian court system wasn't told how to rule properly on this issue. Ballmer thinks that a nudge may be required to make sure Australia is in line. Must be nice to have that kind of influence.
Re:DMCA as a business model (Score:4, Insightful)
What you fail to understand is that the central principle of Microsoft's overall business model is "ALL your dollar(yen, franc, mark, yuan, drachma) are belong to us. (And you will give them to us whether you want to or not)"
The poster continueth:
Please explain to me just where considerations of "digital theft" come into a transaction where a company has set a price for a tangible good and I have paid that price and taken delivery of the good. The good (which, legally, is chattel property) is now MY property. The seller no longer OWNS any rights in the property, and therefore, has no right to prohibit me from doing ANYTHING I want to do to it.
To make that point even MORE strongly, as long as my use of the good does not violate other laws (e.g., copyright infringement, in the case of bootleg games) NOBODY ANYWHERE has ANY right to prohibit any modification I choose to make to the good. It is MY property and I have an absolute right of dominion over it. If I want to mod-chip and X-Box and install Linux on it NONE of my use of the hardware that I have PAID for infringes anybody's rights. The only thing infringed is Microsoft's EXPECTATION of making a profit on follow-on game sales.
Too bad.
If Microsoft wants to impose this degree of control over what their customers make of the XBox , they need to try LEASING XBoxen instead of selling them (Want to guess what THAT decision would do to their market share?). Either that or they can raise the price so that game sales no longer subsidized their losses on the hardware (Want to guess what THAT decision would do to their market share?).
Microsoft has (so far) done a damned good job of designing high-end hardware components (their mice, keyboards and (the older models of their) joysticks are some of the finest products I have used (although, IMHO, the "Natural Keyboard" is an atrocity).
Personally, I think the XBox was the tiger that Microsoft tried to ride and couldn't get off of. They poured a couple of billion into developing a product that they couldn't sell at a profit in a market where they were faced with 2 dominant competitiors. They are now scrambling to come up with SOME way to make money on this turkey and not doing too damned well at finding one. They are too accustomed to making a roaring success of everything they try by virtue of their dominant position in MOST markets where they compete.
Too bad. Bill & Steve, maybe it's time to cut your losses and tell the shareholders "We made a mistake."
I can smell the spin from here! (Score:5, Interesting)
From the article:
Microsoft would be forced to reconsider selling the Xbox video game system in Australia
Now the spin:
Take the word 'forced', for example. Why exactly is that word in there? Who is forcing them? Is the force economic or social or some other force? Have they been given some sort of order that they must follow? How exactly does one force a large company like microsoft to do anything?
What they are saying is that they are forced to decide. Forced really adds little here because it is the deciding that actually matters and that is why decide is clearly the right word choice here, not forced. Indeed.
More from the article:
, or seek changes to the law, following the acquittal in July of a Sydney man
And the spin
Now they take that little bit of momentum gained from the poor use of 'forced' above and add to it. Here they polarize the issue. When one polarizes an issue, they generally have one good choice, which is the one they want you to identify with, and that other bad choice. Simple isn't it. Just change the law and things will be good because things can either be good or bad, and none of us wants bad so lets work together for good huh? Sounds reasonable doesn't it?
It's not. They limit all the avaliable choices to exactly two. The one they want, and the one that nobody wants. Realistically there are many other options avaliable to them, but that complicates things just a little. Can't have that when you are trying to sway public opinion about complicated things. Keep it simple, that way it's easier for everyone to see your point.
More from the article:
alleged to have sold chips that modify a Sony PlayStation 2 to play imported games
And the spin:
Alleged? Where do we normally hear that word? We hear that word when we refer to someone who we think committed a crime. This is a negative word, not a positive one... ever. Can you remember the last time you heard the word 'alleged' in connection with something good? I can't.
Now that's a pretty decent piece of spin because of what comes next. What is that you ask? The actual crime! In this case it happens to be selling chips that allow people to play imported games. There is so much wrong with this I almost don't know where to start.
Playing import games is legal for one. implying that this is a crime is clearly a deception no doubt about it. None. A simple thought exercise cuts right through that one. Here is mine:
You are in Japan playing a game you find interesting. You buy it, legally mind you, and bring it home. It does not work. You are frustrated to learn that the company who was happy to sell you the game is also responsible for the fact that you cannot use it at home. What to do? Return it? Wrong answer, you see you opened it when you tried to play your legally purchased game so thats out. IMport an entire console? Too expensive, besides you have one already and are trying to be a loyal customer, but too much is too much. What's left? Several things, but the most obvious is a mod chip. Simple easy and legal.
So this linking of crime and mod chips and import games sounds a lot like drugs. Shady people sell you some thing that is in poor taste. Playing import games is in poor taste, who does that? It all adds up to making the whole thing look bad. Which it clearly is not.
From the Article:
, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said yesterday.
And the spin:
None of this would be worth discussing if it came from a nobody, but it came from a chief executive. Now that's somebody. Not only a chief executive, but one that runs one of the largest companies in the world. Maybe we all better think this one over because a guy like this would not just bring this up over nothing would he?
The very title conveys a certain level of creedence to this whole thing, but for a minor point. The company he runs is in the middle of the largest anti-trust litigation known. Doesn't this put just a little different light on things?
From the article:
Mr Ballmer said the decision affected Xbox's business model, which relies on subsidising the hardware console in return for a royalty on every game sold.
Now the spin:
This actually is a true statement with regard to the business model. They need to sell games, or take a loss on each console. Saying the legal decision affected that business model though is clearly false. Someone who buys an xbox who also imports a game paid for both. How does this break the model? Games are sold as are consoles. Clearly this is worded to imply that the alleged selling of chips will affect Microsofts ability to make money.
Now the truth here is, mod chips can do this, if they allow users to run other things, but in this case, the users are running the things they are supposed to be able to run anyway; namely, import games. So, Microsoft does not like mod chips because there is a possibility that they could be used in ways that could harm their business model, but they can't say that so they imply it.
From the article:
Microsoft has slashed the retail price of an Xbox from $649 to $399, which resulted in increased hardware sales and more game software sold.
And the spin:
This is a fact. They have lowered their price to compete with SONY. According to them it is working, and it likely is, but this is something they choose to do. Having it mentioned here just adds to the negative connotation alrealy implied with the 'alleged' crime discussed earlier. Another point worth mention here is that SONY has been dealing with this the entire time and seems to make lots of money. Why can't Microsoft?
They have no real basis for a statement against another nations legal system just because they have to keep their price low in order to boost sales of their product. This is a pretty arrogant stand to take --if you look though the spin.
From the article:
But Sony, which saw sales of PlayStation 2 titles decline 19 per cent in the same period, still dominates, selling 28 per cent of all titles, against Xbox's 7 per cent.
And the spin:
This paints the picture of the perfect underdog. Everyone wants an xbox don't they? If these criminals are allowed to sell mod chips then some people just might not get one. They might have to settle for a SONY instead. You can carry that little piece farther if you want, it's easy.
From the article:
"Given the way the economic model works
And spin:
Note the use of the word 'the'. This is clever because it implies that there is only one economic model. What they should say here is, "Given the way our economic model works". Again subtle word use to shift blame from them to another entity; namely, the Australian legal system.
From the article:
, and that is a subsidy followed, essentially, by fees for every piece of software sold, our licence framework has to do that
And spin:
This is a complex way of saying we need some money for every game sold. Fair enough, but the alleged crime mentioned above does nothing to hinder that, so why bother with this whole affair in the first place. Is there something we are not seeing? If so, why hide it. Everyone would be a lot better off knowing what is is.
From the article:
"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."
And spin:
Basically they are saying here, if they cannot do what they want, then they don't want to do it at all. Sounds like the reasoning of a three year old plain and simple.
Essentially what is happening here is this.
Microsoft is saying that they want income from every xbox both from the sale of the actual box, and the games following that.
They say that a chip intended for users to play imported games hinders that in some fashion, but decline to discuss exactly what that is exactly.
So they basically throw down their gauntlet and say, either play the way we want, or we won't play at all.
What exactly is anyone supposed to realistically think about this? Should we support a change to another nations legal system because they tell us that the law there might hinder them from making the amount of money they want to make, or that the think they should be making with nothing but implications to that end?
Spin Indeed.
Hollow threat. (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Well, (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't think anybody is claiming that Microsoft doesn't have the right to sell or not sell XBox's wherever they please. However, this does not translate into the right to buy a law to suit their needs.
Re:Well, (Score:5, Funny)
Welcome, traveler, to our dimension! I hope you enjoy your stay here. What other strange customs do companies practice in your homeland?
Re:Well, (Score:4, Interesting)
If the disk was damaged or faulty, you'd return it under warranty.
I don't chip my consoles, but I can cite a personal experience where I did something similar on my PC.
Around the time Diablo II came out, I snagged a copy relatively cheaply at a blowout store in my area. Because I was pretty busy with work, I put it on a bookshelf and forgot about it for about a year and a half.
When I finally got around to playing it, I found out that someone had opened the box and keyed one of the discs. I was able to play the original game just fine, but when I bought and installed the expansion, it couldn't verify that the disc was valid.
Under Blizzard's support policy [blizzard.com], I would have to mail them the disc and $10 for a replacement, because of the length of time since I actually bought it, not having the receipt anymore, etc.
I'm not willing to pay again for a product I own, so I used CloneCD to dupe a friend's disc.
Granted, the vast majority of the people who chip their consoles do so to pirate games. However, there are a lot of legitimate reasons to do so also - playing imports, situations like mine, running unlicenses/homebrew software, and so forth.
Re:Well, (Score:4, Insightful)
Lets not forget the ability to now play VCD's, DivX's and making the DVD player region free and also accept larger Hard Drives, none of which is illegal in Australia.
If and when I buy an XBox, I'll probably have about two games for it. It's primary function will be to act as a media station for my loungeroom, and for that it needs a modchip. I could care less about most XBox games, that is what my PC is for.
And those are the reasons the modchip was not declared illegal, and why MS's posturing will fall on deaf ears.
Re:Well, (Score:5, Insightful)
Really? I think that the VAST majority of Australian posters here have made the point that parallel importation is LEGAL in Oz and that region-locking is ILLEGAL. If I have an early DVD player or an XBox or PS/2 that is region-locked, I have to chip it before I can play the games/DVDs I have legally imported from outside Australia. This is hardly piracy.
I am not Australian and I do not own a game console or a stand-alone DVD player. I DO own a combo CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive in my PC. I DO have libdvdcss installed so I can (sometimes unsuccessfully) try to play legally-purchased, original DVDs on my PC because I am Microsoft-free by choice. If a DVD refuses to play on my system, I return it to the store as a defective product, because they NEVER show "system requirements" on the outside of the packaging, thereby breaching, at minimum, the implied warranty of merchantability under the Uniform Commercial Code.
NO vendor is entitled to tell me that I MUST use Windows or any other particular software product AFTER the purchase. In fact, they have a duty to inform me, the purchaser, of any special requirements BEFORE the purchase so I can make an informed decision whether I want to make the purchase or not.
For Rosen, Valenti or YOU to accuse me of piracy in writing is libel and I demand a retraction.
There's stupid, and then there's Microsoft. (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Well, (Score:5, Interesting)
Oh no! Please don't deny me your library of inferior games, Microsoft! Whatever would I do?
Re:Well, (Score:3, Troll)
Wrong!
Lets see. Here's a list of upcoming Xbox exclusives. Exactly the same count as PS2. Which also has 38. Again, these are EXCLUSIVES.
Lets not forget DOA3 and Halo. Halo alone is worth the price of the console right there. If I had to choose between Halo and 50 PS2 games, the choice would be clear.
Again, I'm not defending piracy or Microsoft. I just tried to point out that Xbox is not a bad console as some of the users make it out to be.
Re:Well, (Score:3, Interesting)
Given that precedent, I don't think the Ozzies would take well a threat from Microsoft not to sell the X-Box there, and a similar law could be passed. And if the Ozzies got really pissed, they could probably just make Linux the preferred gov't software. And tax MS software. And be very unpleasant to MS otherwise. Lord knows, someone should be.
Re:So, (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Good News (Score:4, Interesting)
Only common sense. Selling Windows is a profitable business, so there is no reason NOT to sell Windows. Existance of alternatives does not change anything. Selling XBOX is not profitable (money are made on games), so refusing to sell XBOX if money can't be made on games is reasonable.
What I don't understand is what is the big difference between Australian and imported games? It is probably the same games, the same royalties are being paid, and so on. Australians, can you explain this to us?
Re:Good News (Score:3, Insightful)
put a pretty severe short-term kink in your economy if every company had
to transition for Linux (or whatever) overnight. Refusing to sell a third
rate video console has minimal negative impact...it might even be a positive
benefit to society.
Re:Xbox playing PS2 games??? (Score:3, Interesting)
Am I really the only one who finds this hard to believe?
OK, I know, the games are the main source of revenue to the console makers. No doubt about that. But I tend to think MS (and Sony, and Nintendo, and Colecovision [not sure for that one]) have a slight margin on their consoles, even if (I repeat) it is not their main revenue).
Can anyone with a clue confirm or invalidate that this whole thing is just another urban legend?
Re:Xbox playing PS2 games??? (Score:3, Interesting)
As far as all the constant "pithy" remarks by some Slashdotters about the "flawed business model," they only seem to apply it to Microsoft because, of course, they're anti-MS zealots - this despite the fact that Sony was the originator of the console pricing jihad with their price drops on the original Playstation.
As an aside, it can be argued that Sony not only killed the Saturn with their aggressive pricing strategy, but that they killed the Dreamcast in the same way because consumers wouldn't at the time spend a "reasonable" (read profit-making) amount of money on a DC when they could get a cheap PS and wait for the PS2. It can also be inferred that Microsoft loves the idea of being in the console business at least partly because cutthroat tactics have been the norm for quite a while now, so they feel right at home.
Re:Xbox playing PS2 games??? (Score:4, Insightful)
I can think of 6 reasons why this idea is ridiculous. Namely: the EE, VU0, VU1, GS, IOP, SPU, which are all the CPU's on the PS2. And don't forget the GIF & SIF, along with the x-box having to emulate the 128-bit EE registers. So basically you're going to assert that they are putting the PS2 on ONE chip?! Sure it COULD be done, but I find it highly unlikely. Mostly because the cost of doing so would be awefully expensive.