Forget Ninjas, Microsoft is Better Than Pirates! (Atleast they think they are.)

In the great debate of “who is better, ninjas or pirates,” we have a new contender. Bill gates and the Microsoft crew have decided to take a crack at those dastardly swashbucklers. And no, I’m not talking about Johnny Depp and his crew of drunken plunderers. I’m talking about the good old fashioned, twenty first century, software pirates.

Microsoft is taking a stab at those tricky Xbox 360 pirates looking to get their hands on stolen software and downloaded games to use on their “modded” Xbox 360 systems. There are statements that this sudden crack down is due to the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Regardless of why the Microsoft war machine did it, over a million Xbox 360 systems have been BANNED from playing on Xbox 360 live. That’s right, the systems still work and the games can still be stolen, you just can’t play them online or download game updates via the Xbox live system.

Talk about stopping piracy in a half-assed way. I will admit, taking away Xbox live is quite a rough hit to some gamers, especially if you are the social kind who love slaughtering your friends on the latest shooting game or trying to pick up the opposite sex for a date in the latest adventure on Borderlands (Personally I like a woman who can shoot a big gun). But seriously, taking away the Xbox live function? Basically what Microsoft is telling you guys is to go ahead and steal all the games you want, just don’t expect to play them online! Wow, brutal, what an amazing way to stop video game piracy.

If I was Microsoft and I wanted to stop pirates from stealing game software, I would add something a little more severe. Blow up the system, give it a virus, steal the gamers car, whatever it takes to make sure they don’t steal a game again. But taking away their internet privileges? Are we assuming that all Xbox 360 gamers are in the second grade? Give me a break.

And it gets even better! According to MSNBC, some gamers are speculating that their systems are being banned on accident due to them purchasing the console through a third party or through another “unexplainable manner” and if we are talking about the same Microsoft here there are BOUND to be bugs. If you’re lucky enough to be innocently banned, tough luck, some gamers speculate a call to Microsoft is a waste of time and will get you a “follow the rules” attitude and a “I can’t help you” customer service. So remember what you learned here today kids; its okay to steal, as long as you don’t connect to the web.