Piracy is one part of it but it looks like there is more to this. Does Microsoft ban consoles for inappropriate use other than modded ones? I know PS3 consoles have actually been banned by mac address just for inappropriate behavior online and while it's supposed to be temporary some are indefinitely. This makes buying one used a sketchy proposition. The 360 is already a sketchy proposition due to the RROD fiasco. But the fact they could be banned as well makes it that much worse. They are effectively making their consoles disposable much like anything you buy at Walmart effectively killing the resale market.
This is one reason I'd love to see the console cracked completely. I don't have an issue buying games (or borrowing if I'm feeling cheap) but being free of the stranglehold they have on storage, accessories, & the internet would be an amazing thing. PC media centers have become much cheaper but still lack the finesse that the Xbox with Xbox Media Center had. The quick boot, quick configuration, having all the apps/emulators designed for the TV/Controller just made it an extremely tight package. Oh well perhaps it's not meant to be.
This post has been edited by jdsony: Nov 4 2009, 10:34 PM