Lawyers pursue banned Xbox Live gamers

Are you an Xbox 360 owner recently banned from Xbox Live? Has the ban left you feeling short changed? Perhaps you’ve experienced other console problems as a result of the ban? If you can answer 'yes' to any of these questions, then US law firm Abington IP wants to hear from you.

The “intellectual property law and consumer class actions” specialist has taken an interest in Microsoft’s well-publicised ban of at least 600,000 gamers from Xbox Live for alleged console modification, with a view to launching a class action lawsuit against the software giant.

To get the ball rolling, Abington has posted a page on its website calling for anyone remotely connected to the Xbox Live ban to come forward.

“Modification of Xbox consoles is arguably against the terms of use for Xbox/Xbox Live”, Abington states (our emphasis). The firm describes it as “convenient” that Microsoft timed the ban to coincide with the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 “less than two months” after the Halo 3: ODST launch.

The implication seems to be that Microsoft wouldn’t have dreamed of cutting Xbox Live gamers off prior to the launch of such high-profile titles.

To be fair, Microsoft has never said over what period the circa 600,000 Xbox Live gamers were disconnected. Xbox Live has been available since 2002, let’s not forget.

Abington also wants to hear from gamers who have, for example, experienced problems with their Xbox 360 that are unrelated to Xbox Live or piracy. “Obtaining information from Xbox consoles with permission of the owner,” also features on Abington’s list of things to do.

Further information about the potential lawsuit is available online now. ®