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Just got my console (and I assume my account) banned from Live for playing Halo 4.

Tashi

343i Lead Esports Producer
You should have known that Halo 4 leaked a couple weeks ago and MS has been super tight about anything Halo 4 being posted let alone people actually playing the game. Not saying you were correctly banned, all I'm saying is that you should have seen it coming. I would have hit MS up first, there are a good amount of people on GAF who could have cleared things up for you before this happened.
 

Veezy

que?
So you bought it early and I am assuming you know that people have been banned before for playing early released games while signed in. So why'd you do it?

Your post just makes you seem like such a victim and Microsoft is so evil.

Assuming the truth, he is a victim here. Now, he of course is a bit on the wrong side of the situation because he has a product that's not supposed to be for sale with no receipt to prove he didn't steal it, but still a victim.
 

Choc

Banned
Banning people for that kind of stuff is completely stupid... Since the issue resides on people playing the game while being connected to the xbox live, why doesn't Microsoft just put some kind of timelock like steam does? If the current date on MS' severs is anterior to the release date, you can't play the game. Bam.

That way, no one gets banned for no reason.

Because then the media can't play. Yes they could put the review system on partnernet but hte problem with that is a lot of media outside the US do not have debug units so it restricts the amount of outlets that can review the game timely, something MS wouldn't want.

If you boot up H4 right now it has a message to media. It's pretty freaking obvious its in a media restricted stage.

I'm not saying that this is legit and good, but MS have made an assumption that stupid people wouldn't sell THAT early (i imagine after Thursday they may not ban insta). Perhaps you could argue one of the problems was caused by the fact MS shipped it to stores this early......
 

Vilam

Maxis Redwood
I didn't ask him to rat anyone out

Sorry, I should have phrased that better. I was addressing the second part of that to those in this thread asking about the store and receipts, not you.

I just find it a little concerning that anyone would look at his copy as illegitimate when that should be something entirely between the distributor/publisher and the retailer. The consumer should be left out of any conflict there entirely imho.
 

hitmon

Member
Banning people for that kind of stuff is completely stupid... Since the issue resides on people playing the game while being connected to the xbox live, why doesn't Microsoft just put some kind of timelock like steam does? If the current date on MS' severs is anterior to the release date, you can't play the game. Bam.

That way, no one gets banned for no reason.

Yup, as a result customer gets banned for MS's incompetence. Its nice MS is able to fix the problem for the OP, but it should not have gotten to that point in the first place.
 

Choc

Banned
Even though my GT is registered with MS, i did think twice about jumping online with it.

:|

such has been the coverage of bans (and the big bold warning in the email from MS...)
 

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
Anyone in this situation with a modicum of proof will be unbanned. Bees for everyone. May take a day or two. Call Live support number or contact online.
 

Radec

Member
receipts.gif

lol. should have been the first post.
 
It might be anti-consumer, but I'm with MS on this. They have to ring it up on the day? Maybe you bought it legitimately, but they didn't sell it legitimately, and you were aware of that. If you chose to be party to a company circumventing the system, you're as to blame as they are.

I imagine MS will undo it though.

EDIT: Oh, they are, cool.

Have to agree with this.

C'mon man, you knew better. I agree it's bullshit that they went as far as banning you but still, you knowingly bought a game that shouldn't have been for sale. You brought this on yourself.
 

Risette

A Good Citizen
So you bought it early and I am assuming you know that people have been banned before for playing early released games while signed in. So why'd you do it?

Your post just makes you seem like such a victim and Microsoft is so evil.
They've gotten banned for playing pirated copies early.

Being banned for early legit copies is something new, afaik.
 

Pachinko

Member
Stories like this really make me wonder why MS doesn't just add something in a firmware update that gives players a warning message should they attempt to play unreleased software. Something like "this software has a release date of xx/xx/xx as such proceeding with playing it will result in a ban on your account until that date , you may continue playing it offline until that date after which your account will be restored" And then proceed to warn the player 2 or 3 times that your account will be banned until official release day , giving anyone more then a fair chance at trying to back out if they want.


I imagine the TOS for xbox live has something about this sort of thing somewhere in it's 4000000 page contract but as south park said about apple last year- no one ever reads those things outside of lawyers.

I'm also not saying I approve of this kind of thing but if such a warning appeared when a game was attempting to be played early there'd be fewer incidents.
 

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
Doesn't matter, Microsoft plainly said anyone playing Halo 4 early will be banned.

He didn't listen.

That's assuming the OP even knew Microsoft said that. It's not like Microsoft sent everyone an email saying they'll ban everyone for playing Halo 4.
 
My GT is jacksk3llington, I've had it since Unreal Championship days. I for a brief moment that that was my GT when I saw it written. Sucks that happened to you. But if you have proof of purchase I'm sure you could probably get it worked out eventually. Might be a hassle, but I think you could work it out.

I'm a fan too.
 

Choc

Banned
They've gotten banned for playing pirated copies early.

Being banned for early legit copies is something new, afaik.

No i am pretty sure it happened with halo 3 as well and maybe reach

don't think MS has gone this hard with anything but halo
 

TheContact

Member
Have to agree with this.

C'mon man, you knew better. I agree it's bullshit that they went as far as banning you but still, you knowingly bought a game that shouldn't have been for sale. You brought this on yourself.

Any consumer can say they had no idea about a street date. They went into a store, saw a game they wanted, had it sold them, and wanted to go home and play it. Sometimes there are warnings after you boot up the game if you play it online before the street date. That wasn't the case here? Then it's MS fault.
 

gatti-man

Member
Why is it the consumer's responsibility to know when a game was released? They did nothing wrong purchasing a product that said it would work in their Xbox 360 and would have online multiplayer.

Lets not be obtuse. The op knew what he was doing when he broke street date.
 

alr1ght

bish gets all the credit :)
Doesn't matter, Microsoft plainly said anyone playing Halo 4 early will be banned.

He didn't listen.

Where does it say that? I'm on gaf all the time and haven't seen anything. Why should that be the consumer's responsibility to hunt down some information on if they're "allowed" to play the game they just bought.
 

Speevy

Banned
I'm certainly not arguing against someone getting to play a game that they legally purchased. Also, I have never played Halo or any other FPS on the Xbox 360.

However, if you came to me and said "I just bought this game early. It's the new Halo!", I would tell you right away that Microsoft might ban you. This is with knowing nothing about the game, its development, or even its release date.
 

Insaniac

Member
Man I wish I had the money to blow to get banned on a console and just say fuckit, i'll buy a new one.

But on topic, I don't think you can get banned for playing a legitimately bought copy of Halo 4
 

Risette

A Good Citizen
I can't believe there are people seriously trying to put this on the OP. It doesn't matter if he knew that he was getting it early. You should be ashamed of yourself if you think otherwise.

It's the store that deserves the blame.
 
B

bomb

Unconfirmed Member
Assuming the truth, he is a victim here. Now, he of course is a bit on the wrong side of the situation because he has a product that's not supposed to be for sale with no receipt to prove he didn't steal it, but still a victim.

He willingly and knowingly bought it before release.

The big question I have is why did he sign in?

The thread just reeks of taking an opportunity a step too far and then complaining that you got caught.
 
It was on every major blog, and news site.
He must have been living under a rock.

Seriously? You think everybody lives and breathes gaming news? Every gamer, even?

Newsflash, pal. I'm not entirely sure when Halo 4 releases. November 6, I think? I think that's right. I'm barely one to stay up to speed on actual important matters, let alone gaming news. (Heck, I just had to go search and see what this whole "hurricane sandy" hoopla was all about just a few minutes ago.) I had never heard this Halo proclamation you speak of. And here I am, a gamer on a gaming forum, one that even intends to buy Halo 4. So again I ask, the average consumer is to be expected to know what Microsoft has shouted from on high?

But again, I assume we can all see the nuance here. Generally, the consumer is innocent. Specifically, this consumer? Not so much. Microsoft? The history of Halo suggests bans are appropriate, particularly since the consumer has recourse.
 

Wildesy

Member
In the general sense, I would not hold the average consumer responsible for knowing when the street date of a game is. If a consumer walks into a store and the store sells the game, the consumer should instead assume it is OK to purchase and play the game. (That being said, I would also do just as Microsoft did. Ban first, ask questions later. There is a certain history with Halo that cannot be ignored.)

In this specific sense, that is not what happened at all. But I would not assume this scenario is the "normal" scenario.

I agree and my first reaction to the thread was completely along these lines. As you say though, it pretty obviously isn't a case of innocent unknowing consumer. I don't think he should get permabanned or anything, but the 'fuck you Microsoft' is a bit rich.

Bit strange that the time stamp is from the 26th as well..?
 

Hypron

Member
It was on every major blog, and news site.
He must have been living under a rock.

I read news all the time and I've never heard of it either (I'm not interested in Halo though)? Furthermore, you can't expect a customer to follow online press. If it's not in a pop-up screen when you boot the game, most people are not going to know anything about it.
 

BearPawB

Banned
I call bs on this.
Reviewers have had the game for weeks. MS can differentiate retail from hacked, otherwise havent the journos been banned?
 

def sim

Member
He willingly and knowingly bought it before release.

The big question I have is why did he sign in?

Because he did not know it would get him banned. To be clear: this is unusual. MS did not tend to ban accounts playing legitimate early releases.
 

Einbroch

Banned
It was on every major blog, and news site.
He must have been living under a rock.

I have a few friends who only play Madden, CoD, and Halo. They sure as hell wouldn't know about any of these warnings.

In fact, this is the first time I'm even hearing about these warnings, and I like to think I'm on the up-and-up with gaming news.
 

Risette

A Good Citizen
Cant believe people are defending MS on this.
MS has the right to enforce their street dates. It's the store that deserves the blame in this case, not MS or the consumer, since they broke their contract.

Banning people in order to achieve that is a bit iffy but as this thread and Stinkles' posts show that they'll unban you once you present a bit of proof that your copy is legit. Inconvenient and I'd say there's probably better ways to achieve that, but it works out in the end.
 
Honestly, don't even really give a fuck if I have to buy another console. I'll deal.

Well, there you go.

Chew the shit out of this bs policy. If you're going to bend over like that, of course they will walk all over you
 
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