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It turns out that Microsoft not only has the power to ban you from Xbox Live permanently, but it can also turn your Xbox One console in to a useless brick, as the beta testers behind the Gears of War Remastered leak have found out.
This week, videos showing off the latest internal build of Microsoft's unannounced Gears of War remake were leaked on to the web. These videos originated from testers working for VMC, a third-party agency hired by Microsoft. Obviously neither company was particularly happy when the leaks hit the web.
The leakers were quickly found and have been banned from VMC's beta testing program. Additionally, Microsoft has taken matters in to its own hands, removing access to their consoles entirely, a power that I'm sure nobody knew Microsoft had.
Microsoft has yet to determine the length of the ban according to an internal VMC email, obtained by Kotaku. The email details exactly how the leak got out:
“In one case, a member who was participating in that test shared a screenshot on Snapchat with their friend, who wasn’t part of the project, but tricked his friend by saying he didn’t believe him when he said they were working on the same project. Upon reception of the screenshot, the friend who received the Snapchat leaked it online, betraying his friend as well as his NDA with VMC Games. While the tester who first took the screenshot didn’t think he was doing anything bad, he was still going against the NDA, and was part of the cause why the information got leaked.”
The email then goes on to explain what action Microsoft will take: “Microsoft also permanently disabled their Xbox LIVE accounts (as well as other suspected accounts present on their Xbox One kits) and temporarily blocked all of their Xbox One privileges – meaning that for a period of time which Microsoft decides on depending on the severity of the offense, their Xbox One is entirely unusable.”
You can read the email in full, HERE.
Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.
KitGuru Says: While Microsoft having the power to permanently disable a user's Xbox One is extreme, it sure beats the lawsuit that could have followed these leaks.
These guys deserved it, but the true colors of microsoft are showing. This means that if MS wants at anytime it can disable my xbox one at once. I think that news of this should spread and personally I will never buy another digital game from XBox live.
So the reason why i dont buy MSXBO and in future dont buy US.
Not true, read your agreement. It’s your console and they can ban you from services but not from using it. However these guys had separate agreements, one of which is called a non-disclosure agreement which means usually entails that they are not allowed to ‘leak’ any information in essence or they accept x punishment. Don’t worry, you’re safe… Unless you’re planning on getting a similar opportunity and squandering it also. I hope nobody hires these guys again after they’ve proved their worth doing this.
Careful the Illuminati will take you out in their alien spaceships of 9/11.
yeees nobody listen 2 you not even ms or nsa. you can save you time, we dont have the year 2003, we all know about US made chips, and programms. Thanks to snowden. Really thats annoing, i dont talk to sheeps.
How is working your US technology powered laptop/dektop?
Doesn’t matter if they signed a non-disclosure agreement. It should only cover the game they’re playing and possibly online services connected to that console. Not the console itself. This is rather extreme and something that they shouldn’t have the power to do for a console you purchased. Thank god I hate XBOX, lol.
good, but in future i wont use this.
its a shitty console anyway….did those boys a favor
Hope that the chinese engineered Loongson or the russian powered Elbrus 4 suits your needs and your paranoia.
Yes i hope so too. and I hope AMD will be open enogh that i can use their graphics. I think AMD is more secure “last” generation, than intel with their SecureSpyChips. I wait on Elbrus 8SM and an AMD graphics.
Deff I agree with you, AMD is a nice alternative that I am willing to try to dump Bribtel.
Just RMA the damn thing, probably get a free replacement.
Yes, because you know everything about consoles Mr. Playstation Fanboy. Did you know 15 years ago people didn’t give a fuck about which Game System was better? They just cared that they got to play Mario and whatnot. Accept all Consoles, or don’t accept a single one at all. You’re basically racist against other consoles because other people don’t like them. Yay for racism!!
One more reason to PC game
both consoles are shit. they could have put more effort into making a really beefy console so we could have better running games. instead they both went cheap and disposable.
ok Whilst I agree with this in principle (if you break an NDA there should be repercussions) I am pretty disgusted that M$ are capable of “bricking” a console like that, makes you wonder what else they could do to them, like maybe cause hardware failures just after warranty expiration ???? If I was the owner of one of those boxes I would now be in court down to owner/license issues.
This is one of the reasons why I dislike M$, you never own anything you buy from them it is basically a glorified borrowing agreement, be it software or hardware.
The reason that the actions MS took seem extreme, excessive, or what ever else similar is because they’re probably trying to make an example out of those two. It’s a well-know and used…scare-tactic, if you will. They simply don’t want any alpha or beta testers…employees, basically, to reveal any information relating to games in the development phases before the company is ready to show their game or games off to the general public.
So, these two guys “leaking” said screenshot (and maybe other things) had a small chance of sabotaging the game itself, causing potential buyers of said game to choose not to buy the game…based on what ever comments or opinions that the writers think is an actual review when in reality it’s just idiot excrement, or because the screenshot appears unappealing (even though the game is in early stages, and the screenshot (more than likely) doesn’t actually reflect the quality and whatnot of the finished product.
careful what you say there.. On the PC MS at any moment can pull the WGA server and in theory cripple ever one pc since WinXP..
also they have the right to do this if they choose to. Since you only paid for the license to use the software.. You actually don’t own it.. Same true with Steam and other Digital stores.. at any moment you can lose it all.
thank you, that does make more sense to me now. (coffee N°3 is brewing 🙂 )
Lesson learned here is simple.. don’t beta test for microsoft products. Having beta tested plenty of games over the years.. you really aren’t missing out on much. Very rarely does a beta offer a worth-while experience and even then, just wait for the release.. not worth getting mixed up in this NDA shit
And with that one comment, the word “racist” lost what little credibility it still had.
Wow… who needs enemies with friends like that, huh? 😛
Potentially. Though if they did they’d lose their entire market share in under a second, sending their stocks crashing through the floor and killing the company.
And the hardware itself would still be fine, as such you wouldn’t be under any obligation to keep using windows.
I wasn’t aware that consoles each had their own race……seriously though…how the fuck is this even REMOTELY racist?
So you would take Microsoft to court?Over one measly $500 XBONE?after you had just been caught red handed disclosing highly confidential material?Good luck finding a Solicitor that thinks that’s a good idea they would all charge you $500 just to tell you it’s downright fucking stupid.
Be careful the voices told me AMD is run by Reptillians
Race? Seriously? Well, I guess we really are in a post-racial world after all.
There is always someone discriminating others because of their choice of console. You can look at consoles as their own race as well, not that they have a race. But this is all just a figure of speech. Or do you believe that I am actually saying that console wars are Racist?
I’m looking at it from a Humorous point of view. Compare how Whites and Blacks have been fighting over racism to Consoles. They do the same things, they look different, and do separate things better than the other and they BOTH fight about retarded shit that ought not be argued about.
If our ancestors saw this they would have cut each others testicles off and let the human race go extinct.
The one thing Humans can’t help to do. We’re arrogant Monkeys using technology we don’t understand to bitch at people that don’t understand anything either. It’s the Alpha complex. Gotta get to the top branch.
I understand the tech that I’m using. I also know enough to come to the conclusion that the XBox One is not better than a PS4.
PS4 is fine. By the way, if the consoles were more expensive nobody would buy them like what happened with the PS3.
I’m not stupid
NSA dosent exist, and us companys dont have to follow us goverment. Neil if u an us citizen, we in germany wont be controlled by nsa. I say nothing good to your shitty goverment. Echolon and prism go to hell. Intel never say no that there is no spywere/killswitch in their processors.
“I see you spell MS with a $ sign ! Welcome to the 1990s.” I’m sorry old habits die hard, after all after you have been dealing with the gaming world as I have since the 70’s sometimes you forget that there are people who are twelve that use the internet these days.
AS you obviously didn’t bother to read my post lower down I shall repeat a part of it just for you.
“…….EULA are not recognised here at all and therefore have no legal stance”
it doesn’t matter how many times you ask me, obviously I have not yet had time to read any related material that has developed in the last 12hrs or so.
source please.
Actually they are made in China as is the PS4 so you are neither buying USA or Japanese.
Okay, you dont understand the problem, the chipdesign is made in USA and US companies must follow US laws. But how intel says on a question on safty we follow the law. 😉
Actually, they did.
Look up Sega vs Nintendo console wars.