taken from gameswank.com:
The week of May 7th 2007 might not be know for any great historical references, but for XBOX 360 gamers it might just be the beginning of a bitter battle between XBOX 360 modders and Microsoft.
It has been know for some time that there is firmware modification that would allow gamers to simply flash their existing XBOX360’s with some modified code and allow them to play backups of both XBOX and XBOX360 games off and online without being banned or even detected, that is until this Monday.
You see…. along with all the other little tweaks and features of the spring update it seems Microsoft is planning on slipping in a little bit of code that can allow Microsoft to detect any users who use backed up games to be identified and then possibly banned from XBOX Live, but not so fast Bill. It seems some key players in the mod scene have also been preparing for this day and have decided to preempt Microsoft update with a new version of their own version of the firmware called Xtreme firmware 5.3 which will prevent Microsoft’s newest update from being able to detect burned backups. If this sounds confusing that’s because it is.
I spoke with Commodore4Eva who is coding the updates for the Xtreme firmwares and he did a quick Q&A with me
Gameswank: With a current working firmware, why is there a need for a new version of the Xtreme Fw?
Commodore4Eva: It was let known to me that MS received a report on how to detect backup games sometime ago and were working on it for the dash update, so I thought it timely to release this firmware this weekend
Gameswank: You say that you had some inside info that the spring update would have the ability to detect and possibly ban 360 modded users from their console and or XBOX Live?
Commodore4Eva: The method won’t detect modded drives but can detect a backup disk and make it not boot, banning someone for a copied disk would be harsh and damaging to MS themselves both in revenue and popularity
Gameswank: So you say version 5.3 will fix that? How can you verify that your patch will keep users from being banned if the update from Microsoft is not out yet?
Commodore4Eva: That doesn’t matter, the theory behind the detection is valid, so overcoming it is good for the future, makes it harder for MS to detect. The current Xtreme firmware already has many FEATURES that prevent detection, 5.3 just adds another.
Gameswank: So what if you release this patch and it does not work out the way you planned? Do you have a plan for that?
Commodore4Eva: Yes, The plan is to do an emergency patch if required after the update if the detection is put in by MS, otherwise a full update for Hitachi to bring it up to V5.3 from V2 will come in the next several weeks, and Since I don’t own an Hitachi it has been difficult, but friendly people have donated drives and are enroute to me including the new Benq drive which is in the Elite
Gameswank: Thanks for your time; I better let you go so you can make some gamers happy! Oh by the way when can expect the new Xtreme V5.3 Patch to be released?
Commodore4Eva: Saturday night at midnight before Microsoft gets a chance to release theirs.
Currently Version 5.3 of the Xtreme Firmware will only support the Samsung series of Xbox360 DVD drives. Though I am told
Other versions are currently underway, also beta testers have been testing this new version for a week now, and Im told they have a system where they test it and report any bugs before general distribution. So come release everything should be fine.
We also managed to get a little info on A few of the new features of the Xtreme firmware V5.3:
Support added for DVD drive to Report as Hitachi 79
Disc-Jitter added for Challenge Types 5/7 to avoid possible replay detection.
I would like to thank Commodre4Eva for taking a few moments to speak with Gameswank on their new release, and if what I am told pans out like the modders think, Team Microsoft might have once again been beaten even before they started….
And while we at Gameswank.com do not endorse, use, or recommend you flash your precious 360, it’s always good to have options…
Wow, I must say when I sat and wrote this interview I never expected to recieve so many emails on both sides of the fence. Some users are calling thieves and threatheing or poor dogs over writting what they consider a PRO modder piece, while others are over the top happy that Microsoft takes it again up the backside! Let me clearly state something here.
Addendium:
Gameswank is a VERY young and upcoming news-site. We are not PRO anything or anyone. We accept news in any manner, we do not push any agenda and we do not even have modded consoles. I spend to much time on this damn site and work to play endless games like many of the misguided youth of today. So before you start labeling this site as anything but a news site please check yourself again. News comes in many forums.
I was contacted via email submittal the name of a contact on IRC to contact about a breaking news story, and I did. I or the staff of this site are affiliated or involved in the modding scene. If Microsoft would grant us an interview as well I would gladly listen to there side of the story, but we are not big enough for them to spend a moments thoughts on.
If Microsoft or Sony or Nintendo for that matter are installing hidden code into your console you should have the right to know what is being installed on your system, how it can affect you, and allow you the gamer to make up your own mind on what steps if any you are needed. If you disagree with this statement let me know Ill send you some links to some spyware programs Ive found over the years on my PC…
The week of May 7th 2007 might not be know for any great historical references, but for XBOX 360 gamers it might just be the beginning of a bitter battle between XBOX 360 modders and Microsoft.
It has been know for some time that there is firmware modification that would allow gamers to simply flash their existing XBOX360’s with some modified code and allow them to play backups of both XBOX and XBOX360 games off and online without being banned or even detected, that is until this Monday.
You see…. along with all the other little tweaks and features of the spring update it seems Microsoft is planning on slipping in a little bit of code that can allow Microsoft to detect any users who use backed up games to be identified and then possibly banned from XBOX Live, but not so fast Bill. It seems some key players in the mod scene have also been preparing for this day and have decided to preempt Microsoft update with a new version of their own version of the firmware called Xtreme firmware 5.3 which will prevent Microsoft’s newest update from being able to detect burned backups. If this sounds confusing that’s because it is.
I spoke with Commodore4Eva who is coding the updates for the Xtreme firmwares and he did a quick Q&A with me
Gameswank: With a current working firmware, why is there a need for a new version of the Xtreme Fw?
Commodore4Eva: It was let known to me that MS received a report on how to detect backup games sometime ago and were working on it for the dash update, so I thought it timely to release this firmware this weekend
Gameswank: You say that you had some inside info that the spring update would have the ability to detect and possibly ban 360 modded users from their console and or XBOX Live?
Commodore4Eva: The method won’t detect modded drives but can detect a backup disk and make it not boot, banning someone for a copied disk would be harsh and damaging to MS themselves both in revenue and popularity
Gameswank: So you say version 5.3 will fix that? How can you verify that your patch will keep users from being banned if the update from Microsoft is not out yet?
Commodore4Eva: That doesn’t matter, the theory behind the detection is valid, so overcoming it is good for the future, makes it harder for MS to detect. The current Xtreme firmware already has many FEATURES that prevent detection, 5.3 just adds another.
Gameswank: So what if you release this patch and it does not work out the way you planned? Do you have a plan for that?
Commodore4Eva: Yes, The plan is to do an emergency patch if required after the update if the detection is put in by MS, otherwise a full update for Hitachi to bring it up to V5.3 from V2 will come in the next several weeks, and Since I don’t own an Hitachi it has been difficult, but friendly people have donated drives and are enroute to me including the new Benq drive which is in the Elite
Gameswank: Thanks for your time; I better let you go so you can make some gamers happy! Oh by the way when can expect the new Xtreme V5.3 Patch to be released?
Commodore4Eva: Saturday night at midnight before Microsoft gets a chance to release theirs.
Currently Version 5.3 of the Xtreme Firmware will only support the Samsung series of Xbox360 DVD drives. Though I am told
Other versions are currently underway, also beta testers have been testing this new version for a week now, and Im told they have a system where they test it and report any bugs before general distribution. So come release everything should be fine.
We also managed to get a little info on A few of the new features of the Xtreme firmware V5.3:
Support added for DVD drive to Report as Hitachi 79
Disc-Jitter added for Challenge Types 5/7 to avoid possible replay detection.
I would like to thank Commodre4Eva for taking a few moments to speak with Gameswank on their new release, and if what I am told pans out like the modders think, Team Microsoft might have once again been beaten even before they started….
And while we at Gameswank.com do not endorse, use, or recommend you flash your precious 360, it’s always good to have options…
Wow, I must say when I sat and wrote this interview I never expected to recieve so many emails on both sides of the fence. Some users are calling thieves and threatheing or poor dogs over writting what they consider a PRO modder piece, while others are over the top happy that Microsoft takes it again up the backside! Let me clearly state something here.
Addendium:
Gameswank is a VERY young and upcoming news-site. We are not PRO anything or anyone. We accept news in any manner, we do not push any agenda and we do not even have modded consoles. I spend to much time on this damn site and work to play endless games like many of the misguided youth of today. So before you start labeling this site as anything but a news site please check yourself again. News comes in many forums.
I was contacted via email submittal the name of a contact on IRC to contact about a breaking news story, and I did. I or the staff of this site are affiliated or involved in the modding scene. If Microsoft would grant us an interview as well I would gladly listen to there side of the story, but we are not big enough for them to spend a moments thoughts on.
If Microsoft or Sony or Nintendo for that matter are installing hidden code into your console you should have the right to know what is being installed on your system, how it can affect you, and allow you the gamer to make up your own mind on what steps if any you are needed. If you disagree with this statement let me know Ill send you some links to some spyware programs Ive found over the years on my PC…
