Microsoft cracks down on Xbox alterations

SEATTLE — In the days before Microsoft Corp. released the hotly anticipated Halo 2 video game for the Xbox game console, some gamers noticed a sudden spike in the number of people being kicked off the company’s online game service.

That was no coincidence. With Halo 2 expected to entice a new batch of users to the Xbox Live online gaming community, Microsoft says it increased its crackdown on those suspected of making unauthorized modifications to their Xboxes.

People usually modify Xboxes so they can either cheat on games or use pirated copies, although some also have made changes so they can use the Xbox for other functions, such as a music player.

Cameron Ferroni, general manager of the Xbox software platform, says Microsoft has no interest in actually taking legal action against individual users. But the company does want to banish scofflaws from its online service.

“We want to preserve the experience of Xbox Live,” he said.

It’s hard to know how many of Microsoft’s 15.5 million Xbox users have actually modified their game consoles, although analysts and those at Microsoft both believe it’s a small percentage.

Microsoft has a unique glimpse into the approximately 1 million Xbox Live users’ computers because those users agree Microsoft has the right to gather certain information. Ferroni declined to go into specifics of how the company can check Xbox Live users’ machines for suspected modifications. He said Microsoft has no way of checking whether players who don’t use Xbox Live have modified their machines.

Neil Smith, an intellectual property lawyer with Howard Rice in San Francisco, said there’s little legal risk in modifying a game system for relatively benign personal use, such as to give your character infinite lives or to more easily advance to another level.

But Microsoft says it wants to guard against such cheating on Xbox Live, where multiple players can take part in games. Ferroni said the goal is to make sure there’s a level playing field.

Smith, who has represented several video game companies, said users face more legal risk — and companies have more leverage — if a person is modifying the system to play pirated or other unauthorized games. That’s especially true if the person is altering their system’s security codes or settings.