Possible Xbox 360 Ban

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not a fan of the Xbox 360.  Initially it started with me having no personal interest in the console specific franchises like Halo or Gears of War, Mass Effect being an exception (although  Mass Effect 2 and 3 were also happily released on the PS3).  Then the PS3 was released, and although it did have a huge asking price at the time, it went down by the time the really strong console specific titles like Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.  So, my choice was set pretty firmly back then, and to this day I have to be honest, I am bias for the PS3 and its first party titles.  But the main reason I still haven't gotten an Xbox 360, other than continued disinterest in its franchises, are the frequent and varied hardware malfunctions.  I could go on for days about all of the stories I've heard of involving hardware failure of the Xbox 360, but we all know the release of the slim model has at least changed the kind and percentage of failures.  It's not that the PS3 doesn't have hardware failures; even my own old 40 gb blu ray lens died, the most common hardware failure, but that was after 4 years of consistent playtime.  Also, those several months last year when the PlayStation Network was down doesn't really help win people to the PS3's side either.


So, to the point.  It's funny, at least to me, that this new model of the Xbox 360 is under fire for a patent dispute with Motorola.  Judge David Shaw of the International Trade Commission has recommended the ban, and that Microsoft pay 7% the value of any unsold system to Motorola.  Essentially Motorola designed and maintains the patent on several features the Xbox 360 uses, including WiFi, video decoders, and the means by how accessories connect to the system itself.  Germany has already instituted a ban on sales of the Xbox 360 because of these patent violations, though it has not yet come into effect.

I remember back in the day when the 360 was released that all the techie buzz was around how Microsoft couldn't keep the patent for the build of the original Xbox so they had to go with a different company and a different structural design.  At the time techies were worried of hardware failures because the system hadn't been fully redesigned, among other things, and they were right.  And it's a shame, really.  I still have my old Xbox, and the thing is a massive brick, but it still works like a charm.  Now to hear that their redesign, meant to fix several of the hardware issues from the original model, is under scrutiny for unfair use of another company's patent isn't all that shocking really.

Whether the ban goes into effect or not remains to be seen, but I really do hope Microsoft is found accountable for using technology they do not have the rights to.  Don't get me wrong, I don't want the Xbox 360 to be banned; a monopoly isn't good for anyone.  But Microsoft is a big enough company, in tech no less, that it should be able to either develop its own tech or pay what's due for the stuff they're going to use.  This is just sloppy business practice.

Original report by Bloomberg.com