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Even if it says they aren't banned, I'd be wary. If you're buying an xbox on craigslist right now, you have to assume it's been banned.
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@hotdogsunrise: At the very least if you must buy it on craigslist I would power it up and get on live before paying.
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I don't play online, at least not on my 360. I do have Live for streaming Netflix, game patches, demos and arcade downloads.
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I wonder how that one MODDED NOT BANNED XBox got through the banhammer?
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-844897-100x100.png\")
@DoubleEcho: By not playing on live?
A lot of people use 2 xboxes as well, one for modded, single-player only, and one for online play.
@Herbz: Well that makes me wonder - if an XBOX was modded but never touched Live, would it be automatically banned now if it connected to Live?
Those prices don't look that good, might as well get a new one if your going to spend $300 on an Xbox from Craigslist. With the holiday deals going on it was possible to get an arcade model with a $100 gift card. Many other retailers are offering promotions and bundles too if you missed that one. Most 360 games seem to be pretty cheap on the secondhand market.
Now if it was $30-50 and you just wanted to play a few games I can see buying one.
I wouldn't buy a used Xbox 360 anyways due to RROD especially from gamestop or another used store. You don't know what the person did to the system before they traded it in. I am not sure if GS checks for consoles that are banned because they could have some banned systems sitting on their shelves right now and most holiday shoppers won't know about the banning. Same with other stores that sell used consoles, though I bet not too many independent stores are accepting used 360's for trade in right now unless they can check on the spot.
The good thing is they do have a return policy however that won't do people much good if their kid opens up the Xbox on Christmas only to find out it is unable to go online.
@Outrun1986: Actually,at Gamestop, we are to check for modded consoles. There's actually a procedure in place that mandates that all 360 be checked for mods.
Not saying all associates check for these things, but there is procedure that was emailed to all stores from the home office...
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-329134-100x100.png\")
@Outrun1986: The pictured prices seem high - local CL for me (Rochester, NY area) has them for $75, unless someone is including a huge pile of burned games that they think is worth $25-50.
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@Jakuub: They seemed way high to me too.
People are trying to sell used banned consoles for the same as a new, never been banned 360 Arcade. Clearly they are just trying to make some money back to cover another new console, but...used for $200? Meh.
@Outrun1986: \"Might as well get a new one if your going to spend $300 on an Xbox from Craigslist\"
The difference is that the modded xboxes on craigslist typically come with anywhere between 20-40 burned games. You're basically trading access to XBL for an unlimited number of free games. If you have no friends and are ethically challenged, it's a great option. Note: my xbox is unmodded so I don't endorse this practice, but I understand why someone would go for it.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-508152-100x100.png\")
@mizike: In my opinion, you shouldn't be charging anything more than what the blank media itself cost you to burn those games. For a collection of 40 games, that should come out to about $8.
If you're trying to make a profit from selling those pirated games, shame on you.
The banned xb0x itself isn't worth more than $50 or so, seeing as it's lost 80% of its functionality.
Game of cat and mouse - there is talks that there MAY be a work around coming soon to unban a 360.
@Lost_Intelligence: well, it is just a chip that sets a unique ID... change the chip/id, unban the xbox
@Lost_Intelligence: I think the talks have more to do with undoing the negative affects on the console with OFFLINE play, as banned consoles can't download things to the harddrive and all profile information/saved games can't be transferred to other consoles (they become corrupted now, if the console is banned).
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How can microsoft say these consoles are still banned? Technically change of ownership voids any license agreements. Unless of course they try to claim Xboxes are intangible and you really only buy a license when you purchase one.
If that's the case I would like an upgraded HDMI version to replace my old one. Since obviously if I signed a licensed that I have to follow they should provide me with the lasted versions of all their \"licensed\" hardware.
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@Coyote: Hm, interesting point - however, aren't the banned consoles banned for illegal firmware and/or mods, in which case they are still illegal and still in violation?
@Coyote:
You could probably bring it up in the courts and have something done... though don't know if they would side with you.
@Coyote: Very easily. I'm sure that there are terms of condition for what hardware can be used to access Live, and a modded box no longer meets those requirements.
It's a tangible failure to meet the requirements of the LIVE system/software.
It's a closed box system, and I don't blame the maker for not wanting to warrant the features and game play issues on a box that has been altered in an unknown way.
@Coyote: Microsoft can do it because Xbox warranties are non-transferable. Also because Xbox Live is a service with Terms of Service that are clearly laid out.
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As though buying an Xbox wasn't already like playing roulette, trying to avoid the 50-60% RROD lifetime failure rate, for the next year or so, you'll have to pray that your \"deal\" isn't one of the 1,000,000 (or 5%) gimped Xboxes.
Yeesh!
I'm giving my nephew a flashlight and a book on how to make shadow-animals against the wall with his fingers for Christmas.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-80521-100x100.png\")
I got banned, but it's important to note that attempting to access Xbox Live WILL corrupt your gamertag and save games as well as disable installing games to the hard drive. But, yes, this just made the secondhand market even more difficult to search through (if RROD and chipset revisions weren't enough).
@FierceDeityLink1: it doesn't actually corrupt the GamerTag, as you can purchase a new Xbox and recover your GamerTag. However, once an xbox has been banned it can no longer sign saves. Other legit xboxes will not read a save that has not been signed.
@steveliv: Yes, thanks for that clarification, but I'm sure most people in the market buying their first 360 will want a keyvault and probably won't solder a NAND write-protect switch.
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craigslist has one advantage over ebay right now when shopping for a non-banned xbox - you can have the seller prove it isn't banned before you hand over the cash.
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Did anyone see the CL NYC ad offering to unban your 360 for $100?
[newyork.craigslist.org]
I wonder what, if anything the person does?
Was thinking of getting PS3. I might pick one of the Banned 360 up for the sake of FFXIII. On the other hand, it would suck if the said 360 got RROD.
Hmmm........ Hard decision.
Higher priced PS3 for White Knight Chronicle and FFXIII or banned dirt CHEAP 360 for FFXIII but no tech support.
@eaglearcher:
Don't forget that with a banned xbox, assuming it was banned for drive modding, you get all the free games you can play, (assuming you are a dirty, dirty torrenter...)
@eaglearcher: just be aware that you will never be able to update your xbox or your game should any bugfixes become available.
free games > xboxlive
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-391270-100x100.png\")
Personally, you shouldn't really buy an Xbox 360 used period. If it's been registered under another name, I've heard it's hell to get that changed. So if you get the RRoD then you're screwed for the most part.
Also, the banhammer is another reason against buying a used xbox. You can't be 100 percent certain if it's modded unless you either know the person you're buying it from personally, or you buy it new.
Unless, of course, you want an extra Xbox and don't care about going online with it.
i have both an xbox and a ps3 and play more on xbox live (xbl) than playstation network (psn).
for me, it's not really fun to play games offline anymore. the only time i can recall doing so is playing a sports game with friends who actually physically come over to my house.
@lotussix: I'm not trying to spam here, but if you like gaming online, consider joining a clan. Tactical Gaming (TGHQ.org) is a community based on maturity, integrity, and respect, and has a lot of awesome gamers who just like to have a good time. No trash talking, no cheating, no nonsense. Just teamwork and good times.
Plus, we support XBox, PS3, and PC gaming.
Finding like-minded gamers really makes all the difference.
P.S. Tell 'em KillHappy sent you. ;-)
@lotussix: I have an XBox, and I pretty much only play online. From what my PS3 friends tell me, the Xbox network is much better than the PS3 network. Which makes since, as the PS3 network is free (YGWYPF).
I want a second Xbox, but I guess I won't be looking into getting a used one anytime soon...
@lotussix: I actually never play online. I'm sort of an old school gamer though. Never really enjoyed being called a \"fag\" by some 12 year old kid across the country.