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Xbox 'mod chip' delivers stolen goods
Wed May 29, 5:10 PM ET
David Becker, Staff Writer, News.com

The first Xbox (news - web sites) add-ons that purportedly allow the console to 
play illegally copied game software have gone on sale, but analysts say they're 
unlikely to inspire a Napster (news - web sites)-like wave of copy infringement.

The Xtender, a "mod chip" intended to be added to the main circuit board of the 
Xbox, went on sale last weekend through retailers such as Hong Kong-based Lik 
Sang. Three other Xbox mod chips are also in development.

Most of the mod chips promise similar functions based on disabling 
copy-protection features built into the Xbox. Customers are promised the 
ability to play games copied on recordable CD and DVD discs (and perhaps 
swapped as files on the Internet), play otherwise inaccessible foreign titles, 
and copy DVD movie discs otherwise protected by software from Macrovision.

The makers of the Xtender, the Enigma and the Messiah mod chips did not respond 
to e-mail requests for comment.

Analysts said the chips are unlikely to promote a wave of illegal file swapping 
similar to the MP3 phenomenon that has polarized the music industry or to the 
emerging movie piracy threat.

For starters, using the mod chips requires disassembling the Xbox case and 
affixing the chip to the circuit board, a task that can require more than 20 
soldering connections.

Cracking Xbox game software may be even more difficult. Copy-protection 
software built into all Xbox games makes the game disc unreadable on PCs. So 
far, only a few hacker groups claim to have been successful in breaking the 
protection scheme, leading to a handful of game files being traded over the 
Internet, mostly in private ICQ chat rooms.

P.J. McNealy, research director for Gartner, said Microsoft has little to worry 
about as far as illegal swapping of game software. "I don't see it as a huge 
concern moving forward," he said. "This is pretty sophisticated stuff, 
something the average consumer can't handle."

Mod chips have been available for Sony's market-leading PlayStation 2 (news - 
web sites) game console since shortly after the console went on sale, with no 
apparent detriment to game sales. Sony has fought back against mod chipmakers, 
however, with the company's European arm successfully suing several 
manufacturers for copyright infringement.

A Microsoft representative said the company was aware of the mod chips and was 
looking at legal avenues to block distribution of the chips. "The Xbox team 
takes the intellectual and copyright property of Microsoft and its partners 
very seriously," the representative said.

While the main purpose for the mod chips appears to be illegal software 
copying, they may also be a boon to more high-minded hackers looking to add new 
software functions such as MP3 playback and emulators to play games written for 
older systems.

"The mod chips are going to be about the only way to run homebrew software," 
said Dan Johnson, a high school senior from Sugarland, Texas, and creator of 
the XboxHacker Web site.

Antony "Sin-Tex" Jarrett, creator of the British Xbox hacking site Xbox 
Emulation, said Xbox enthusiasts such as himself will mainly use the mod chips 
to play imported games and run homemade software, although the chips will also 
be a boon to software pirates.

"The Xbox mod chips can be used by homebrew (software) enthusiasts to do great 
things with the awesome power of the Xbox," said Jarrett. "But the mods also 
have a downside by allowing piraters to make money from the illegal selling of 
copied retail games.

"The problem is, both scenes require the same thing: to be able to run 
(recordable CDs or DVDs) using unsigned code. At present, this is not possible 
without the use of Xbox mods."




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