There’s just no keeping media under wraps in the modern age. Microsoft and 343 Industries’ Halo 4 is the latest video game to leak onto the Internet well ahead of its November release date. Images of retail discs of the Xbox 360 exclusive appeared online on the web forum NeoGAF on Thursday, as well as images of the game running on an Xbox 360 dashboard. Full video playthroughs of the game began appearing online later on. “There are people putting the whole thing on YouTube,” Halo franchise director Frank O’Connor told Polygon, “Microsoft is addressing that a single case at a time, it just takes a little while to handle.” The leak is thought to have originated at a manufacturing facility.
While O’Connor said that the team at 343 Industries is unsurprised by the leak, and undeterred from its in-progress development of downloadable content for the game, like new Spartan Ops episodes, Microsoft is getting more aggressive in its pursuit of Halo 4 pirates.
Anyone playing the game on an Xbox 360 connected to the Internet, for example, is receiving a lifetime ban from Xbox Live. These users, according to MCV, are receiving emails to tell them they have been suspended from the service.
“This email is to notify you that your Xbox Live privileges have been permanently suspended due to illegitimate prerelease title play. Because your conduct is in violation, the Xbox Live Enforcement Team has issued a permanent suspension. Your Xbox Live privileges will not be reinstated.”
These users have little recourse as, according to Microsoft’s Xbox Live Code of Conduct, the company reserves the right to suspend new accounts opened by users trying to get around suspensions, provided Microsoft identifies them.
This isn’t the first time that Microsoft has sought and permanently banned Xbox Live users. In 2011, Microsoft discovered a number of users that had illegitimately accessed Xbox Live Marketplace items and began issuing bans from the service that would last until the date 12/31/9999. It has also regularly banned cheaters from using the service. It actually isn’t even the first time it’s banned players for playing pirated Halo games. A number of players received permanent Xbox Live bans in 2010 for playing Halo: Reach a month before it was released.
With Halo 4 appearing on Torrent sharing websites, will the release of Microsoft’s big holiday game be hampered by lost sales? We’ll know in November.
A ban on live won’t stop these people. Its pretty easy to unban a console.
$1000 in games, gone. $100 in points, gone. $20 in xbox live gold, gone. All because Microsoft bans you for playing a game early you already pre-ordered. Keep in mind, i played offline and was banned when i came back online. I Cancelled my preorder and am done buying any MS software/Xbox games. If they can steal, i can do. I will go through great lengths to make sure every single game i play on Xbox or windows software i use is free or downloaded.
If they want to ban you for 30 days, that’s fine. It’s reasonable. We take our chances. But to take all your games and points because you played a game already that you already had schedule to pay for is absolute nonsense.
It’s the 2012 version of the 1980s zero tolerance drug policy. Some of you will remember when you could lose your house or car permanently because you were caught with weed or cocaine. Let’s be real. This didn’t work and Microsoft should not be allowed this. Where is the online bill of rights? Where is a consumers union? This is pure and simple corporate tyranny that is pure Stalinism. No trial. No judge. No jury. One cabal in a tower determines you deserve punishment and you receive it.
Go watch the movie “Brazil”(extended cut of course) This is almost identical to the situation as in Brazil.
While I understand your anger, you are in the minority of those individuals who are currently playing Halo 4 and have been subsequently banned. Most of those individuals did not pre-order the game.
Microsoft has not, nor will they ever, see any money from those illegal copies of Halo 4 currently in circulation. Even if some of them had intended to buy the game, why would they then pay for a product they already have?
That isn’t to say that some of those copies were not paid for. They may have been bought from a 3rd party middle man, part of the black or grey market.
“Is it wrong to steal a loaf of bread to feed your starving family? Well, suppose you got a large starving family. Is it wrong to steal a truckload of bread to feed them? And, what if your family don’t like bread? They like… video games? Now, what if instead of giving them away, you sold them at a price that was practically giving them away. Would that be a crime?”
I agree that it’s overkill to ban you guys for life (Microsoft can be asinine and ruthless at times – I’m riding out a two week no messaging ban for flaming a cyber bully), but at the same time you should have known better, and should have seen this coming given the results of previous well documented and publicized instances of the same thing happening. Sorry, bro.
You might want to think about deleting this post assuming this is your real name. You’ve posted on a public forum that you stole, got caught, and now intend to steal more because you don’t like the consequences. And to add a cherry on top you’re comparing an Xbox Live ban to someone losing their house. If I was your employer and I saw this, I would fire you.
Randy… You muppet. Seriously, are you playing the, “it’s someone else’s fault” card? YOU are what’s wrong with today’s society. “Sorry officer, I didn’t know it was stolen, waa waa” is not a defence, and certainly not specifically whe you damn well knew you were acquiring stolen property. Screw your self justification pal. If you really gave a damn about the series, you would pony up your hard earned for a product that you believed justified erning it. I have pre-oreder and pre-paid for, well… Everything Halo. The anticipation makes the experience even better, so if you want to dilute it by circumnavigating time, and the law, you get your just rewards. Comparing your childish tantrum about being given a severe wrap over the knuckles, to losing your house and car, and a movie about a partly third world country, is a first world problem you should be ashamed of. Grab yourself a glass water, a tablespoon of cement, mix, drink, and harden the f%*# up princess. You did the wrong thing, everyone else seems to be able to see that except for you. I would be pissed if I lost everthing like you, but I would only have myself to blame. JUST LIKE YOU CHAMP. JAKEP_82 has also got a point, tell the world you just stole something and intend to steal more. Goose. I’m not trolling either just in case anyone had any idea’s about that little suggestion, I’m just an honest citizen of this world appalled by this kind of self indulgent drivel, and felt strongly enough to put it out there in hope that one day people will rise up and put pressure on the toothless tiger, which is the “judicial system” to grow a pair and put it’s foot down, and say enough is enough. If you do the wrong thing, expect to pay for it. It’s not always someone else’s fault guy. Try reading the “Obituary of Common Sense”… It’s so true, it’ll make you cry into your cereal. IMHO>
P.S. I know the movie Brazil is not at all about the country Brazil. I’m not stupid, it was just a segue to the “first world problem” part of the comment, of which, I just felt like using. Others might have not known, and just assumed I was making a valid point, which I was. We do not live in a dystopian future. You are not Jonathan Pryce.
Don’t like it go play Ps3 of PC, quit your complaining about how they acted, they acted as they wanted to and since they “stole” a game before it was out they could do what they wished to those people. I Play Ps3 because its don’t ban you for everything you do, but other then that Microsoft cares for the people who don’t “steal” if you got banned for something that you did you had it coming…
Randy you hit the nail on the head my friend, and as for PWUZ your loaf of bread comment was LOL hilarious, do you guys know that it only cost them about $1.50 to manufacture 1 copy of a dvd based game, now lets give them the benefit of a doubt that they pay $3 to manufacture 1 copy of a game and $5 million went into research and development and that 3 million copies made for worldwide distribution now that totals $14 million but 3 million copies would rake in $180 million at $60 a pop now that’s more than a 1000 percent profit, can any-other industry boast the same other than the hi fashion industry(Gucci, D & G and LV) and the film industry(I mean movies).. Oh yeah notice they are the very industries complaining and lobbing your congressmen for tougher laws for piracy but won’t even keep manufacturing of their products in America,and if you are wandering about my math I and other family members work in these industries,keep in mind that services like gamefly and blockbuster buy anywhere from half a million to 1 million copies to rent out, and then every wal-mart, target, sears, gamestop, kmart, toyrus are getting at least10-20 copies or more to each store and, trust me these retail chains do not hand microsoft an IOU until they sell a game…..
Well randy in all honesty, you agreed to the terms and conditions of use when you 1st joined live….you voided those conditions WILLINGLY when you played the game that was downloaded AND played well before it’s release, you say you already pre-ordered it…but did you pay for it in full? not likely…also you have since canceled that and probably used the $$ for something else. So realistically you did not pay for anything and Microsoft will see $0 from you and others like you, remember over 300 people put over 3 years of their lives and blood sweat and tears into this game…sorry but you willingly committed this act fully aware that what you were doing was a direct violation of countless terms and conditions. Sorry but your “losses” are well deserved and I doubt anyone feels bad for you. If anything you should be thankful that that is all you got, next time how about you play by the rules like everyone else and wait for the game to come out and ACTUALLY pay for something! Plus Halo is well worth the funds any true fan can contest to that, you reap what you sow.
Surely there are at least some people who got a hold of this game without realizing it hadn’t been released yet… and people who played it without realizing they were doing something wrong (were they?) or something that could get them banned. MS should have taken these people into account and only banned for 30 days instead of a ridiculous LIFETIME ban… What a crock… Not everyone pays attention to online game news or release dates, and there certainly must be people who thought they were getting the game in a legitimate fashion.
Honestly if you do look at the numbers of piraters and the downloads on each torrent, the numbers go from typically 50-500. That’s at most $30,000 they lost. and that’s not even that much. compared to the millions they bring in. And the charge of downloadable content that they force you to buy in-order makes up for that cost, because we know d*** well that 4 extra maps does not cost as much as they bring in with them
Hi, Randy you hit the nail on the head my friend, and as for PWUZ your loaf of bread comment was LOL hilarious, do you guys know that it only cost them about $1.50 to manufacture 1 copy of a dvd based game, now lets give them the benefit of a doubt that they pay $3 to manufacture 1 copy of a game and $5 million went into research and development and that 3 million copies made for worldwide distribution now that totals $14 million but 3 million copies would rake in $180 million at $60 a pop now that’s more than a 1000 percent profit, can any-other industry boast the same other than the hi fashion industry(Gucci, D & G and LV) and the film industry(I mean movies).. Oh yeah notice they are the very industries complaining and lobbing your congressmen for tougher laws for piracy but won’t even keep manufacturing of their products in America,and if you are wandering about my math I and other family members work in these industries,keep in mind that services like gamefly and blockbuster buy anywhere from half a million to 1 million copies to rent out, and then every wal-mart, target, sears, gamestop, kmart, toyrus are getting at least10-20 copies or more to each store and, trust me these retail chains do not hand microsoft an IOU until they sell a game…..