Xbox community manager Major “Larry Hyrb” Nelson issued an official statement regarding the latest wave of Live bans today. In it, he notes that the bans were a result of Microsoft taking action against a “small percentage” of modified consoles:

In our our continued effort to keep gameplay safe and secure for our community of more than 14 million members, Microsoft has taken action against a small percentage of Xbox 360 consoles that have been illegally modified in order to play pirated games. You should know that modifying your Xbox 360 console is also a violation of the Xbox LIVE terms of use, will void your warranty and result in a ban from Xbox LIVE. The health of the video game business depends on customers paying for the genuine products and services they receive, both from manufacturers and the local companies that support them. We will continue to employ and bolster anti-piracy security measures to counter piracy in the gaming industry and improve security in the Xbox LIVE community.

Given that this isn’t the first time Microsoft has banned modified consoles from accessing Live, we doubt it will be the last. Some might argue this isn’t fair, but the act of modding is clearly against their terms of service. If you’ve modified yours, it’s best to stay on the safe side and not connect to Live.

Xbox 360 Console banning [Major Nelson]

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