I hope you realize that mod chips for game consoles are extremely wrong... and honestly running on a thin line of being "illegal". They would run under the same laws as P2P programs such as KaZaA, Morpheus, Napster, etc. They allow you to play PIRATED games. More and more console companies are going after the mod companies/services to get them to stop distributing these chips. Since it is the basis of using "cracked" programs on a PC. It is warez, and warez takes away from a companies funds, since you are technically stealing for the console companies.
I will admit that as I read an article on the TechTV website, they do bring up some good points. In some countries modchips are fine.
Australian gamers rely on the mod chips to play games encoded for Japan and the United States. Without the chips, the court decided, their choices would be greatly limited.
But in counties such as the United States, modchips are in no way needed. Sure they allow you to play games that are Japanese release. But many of those games will in the future be available for USA release.
In the United States, the best argument for keeping mod chips legal is that they let gamers play backup copies of their own games. This is the same argument that's used in the fight against strict copy protection of CDs. Many gamers and music fans believe they should be allowed to make copies of their own property according to common "fair use" guidelines.
This runs along the same lines as P2P programs. Their original intent was to allow
bands to share their music with others. Unfortunately, a company has to look at the larger picture than just -- in the sake of modchips -- "our users will use it for backups, so it's okay". I can bet you right now that 99% of the users that currently run modded gaming consoles do
not use them for legitimate purposes.
References:
- TechTV - The Mess Over Mod Chips
