Wednesday Evening Links > MS boots 1 million Xbox Live users for piracy

Microsoft this week booted as many as 1 million players from its Xbox Live gaming service due to the company's belief that they modified their consoles to play games illegally downloaded from file sharing sites.

"All consumers should know that piracy is illegal and that modifying their Xbox 360 console to play pirated discs violates the Xbox Live terms of use, will void their warranty, and result in a ban from Xbox Live," Microsoft said in a statement.

Consoles banned from Xbox Live will still function if games are played offline, but players booted from the Xbox Live service will not be able to sign into their accounts or engage other players over the Internet.

A player banned from Xbox Live told the U.K.'s Radio 1 that he was "gutted" and "distraught" by the decision. The player admitted paying an electronics shop more than $100 to modify his Xbox so it could play pirated games.