Datel, maker of console peripherals, has filed a lawsuit against Microsoft over its move to block third-party memory units from working on Xbox 360s.
The company said Microsoft's decision to block all unauthorized memory units through a system update - allegedly to prevent cheating - "unfairly favours its own Xbox 360 accessories".
"Microsoft's purpose in disabling Datel's memory cards is to prevent consumers from choosing a Datel product that offers far better value for the price," reads the Datel complaint (via Tech Flash. "There is no benefit to consumers from Microsoft's decision to target and disable Datel's memory cards.
"To the contrary, Microsoft's actions will leave approximately 50,000 consumers with useless memory cards and (without the ability to access their data on the cards), forestall innovation, and deprive future consumers of the benefits of competition."
The suit seeks an injunction to prevent Microsoft from "disabling or erecting technological barriers to Datel accessories," in current and future game consoles.
Speaking to CVG last month, the firm said that it was "disappointed" with MS' move, and that it believes "Max Memory offers a good value, high capacity, alternative to the official Memory Unit."
At the moment a 512MB memory unit from Microsoft goes for £24.99, while a 2GB model from Datel can be bought for just a few pounds more, so we make them right.
They may be cheaper but they were also easily combined with dodgy pc software to enable cheating, hacking and piracy. I don't like their prices, but I'm with Microsoft on this one.
I say more power to them. Not because I want any Datel equipment but because MS needs somebody to point out to them how much of a rip-off their hardware prices are. I need a new HDD for my 360 - the 20Gb one is nearly full. But am I hell paying the mental prices they want for one. Which in turn screws MS out of potential DLC sales from me. I can't be alone here.
I wish they'd sue Nintendo as well for disabling the Wii freeloader. I still haven't updated my console since that update came out so I can use what I paid for!
So let me get this straight, Datel are suing MS for not allowing their 3rd party memory sticks or HD's to work with 360's?
Now if I were in this kind of business I think I would like some sort of contract drawn up between MS and myself allowing me to supply 3rd party memory to the 360.
Seems a bit of a no goer to me although I hope it makes MS re consider their pricing on HD's, my 20 gig original is in short supply of memory space right now.
So let me get this straight, Datel are suing MS for not allowing their 3rd party memory sticks or HD's to work with 360's?
Now if I were in this kind of business I think I would like some sort of contract drawn up between MS and myself allowing me to supply 3rd party memory to the 360.
Seems a bit of a no goer to me although I hope it makes MS re consider their pricing on HD's, my 20 gig original is in short supply of memory space right now.
I don't see any other company trying to ban 3rd party products.
So let me get this straight, Datel are suing MS for not allowing their 3rd party memory sticks or HD's to work with 360's?
Now if I were in this kind of business I think I would like some sort of contract drawn up between MS and myself allowing me to supply 3rd party memory to the 360.
Seems a bit of a no goer to me although I hope it makes MS re consider their pricing on HD's, my 20 gig original is in short supply of memory space right now.
I don't see any other company trying to ban 3rd party products.
How you can defend MS's greed is beyond me.
They're not trying to ban 3rd party products. 3rd party products can still be licenced - but they need to be certified.
Legitimate users or not, making sure a product isn't going to break the 360 it's plugged into, or make it potentially disrupting to XBL is in more people's interests than the few people who have bought these unlicenced devices.
The prices of MS' peripherals needs to come down, yes. But you can't blame them for wanting to stop XBL becoming "teh internetz".
So let me get this straight, Datel are suing MS for not allowing their 3rd party memory sticks or HD's to work with 360's?
Now if I were in this kind of business I think I would like some sort of contract drawn up between MS and myself allowing me to supply 3rd party memory to the 360.
Seems a bit of a no goer to me although I hope it makes MS re consider their pricing on HD's, my 20 gig original is in short supply of memory space right now.
I don't see any other company trying to ban 3rd party products.
How you can defend MS's greed is beyond me.
They're not trying to ban 3rd party products. 3rd party products can still be licenced - but they need to be certified.
Legitimate users or not, making sure a product isn't going to break the 360 it's plugged into, or make it potentially disrupting to XBL is in more people's interests than the few people who have bought these unlicenced devices.
The prices of MS' peripherals needs to come down, yes. But you can't blame them for wanting to stop XBL becoming "teh internetz".
Mmmm. I see what you're saying, but I'm not convinced they are banning these memory units for that particular reason. Especially considering that MS are perfectly capable of breaking the 360 themselves.
So let me get this straight, Datel are suing MS for not allowing their 3rd party memory sticks or HD's to work with 360's?
Now if I were in this kind of business I think I would like some sort of contract drawn up between MS and myself allowing me to supply 3rd party memory to the 360.
Seems a bit of a no goer to me although I hope it makes MS re consider their pricing on HD's, my 20 gig original is in short supply of memory space right now.
I don't see any other company trying to ban 3rd party products.
How you can defend MS's greed is beyond me.
Im not defending MS or thier greed, it just seems common business sense that if you are going to be a supplier of anything then you make sure its ok with the company you are supplying.
I dont agree with MS's pricing policy on their peripherals, but I must admit to thinking their in the right here.
Datel also supply, or used to supply cheat discs aswell right?
Microsoft have every right, like every other company, to stop something working on their own machine.
If Datel don't want to go through a certification process, then keep the ban on their products. Hope Datel lose, and we never see their s**tty products again.
I wish they'd sue Nintendo as well for disabling the Wii freeloader. I still haven't updated my console since that update came out so I can use what I paid for!
I suggest you install the Homebrew channel and get a programme for it called NeoGamma R8. It does the same job the boot disc did, and a lot more besides.
There's guides on updating your wii so that its still functional. just google homebrew channel.
One to stop cheaters....other to stop unfair competition.
I'd side with Datel and then Microsoft should work with Datal to provide updated firmware that works to use Data's products for what the are meant for.
microsoft are just using the piracy as a blanket over their real intention of monopolising peripheral products. However legitimate the piracy argument is, forcing a monopoly is never good for the consumer (well not never, but at least not in this circumstance). Where is this lawsuit happening? Does it have to be in microsoft's home town? because Datel will have an easier case in European courts.
also the thing about how would we get third party web browsers without IE. You shouldn't need to go through IE, microsoft should work with other browsers and allow a wide array of options on initial start up.
datel they sell memory units that use flash memory cards to carry data. SO you can whack em in a PC and dump your excess files to a PC if you want. The side effect of this is that you can also shove other hacked files and so on back onto the card and onto the 360.
However the thing to mention about the update is that it doesn't just block datels cards it blocks any third party card that has more storage capacity than MSs. Like every other money grabbing company on the planet they are just using piracy as an excuse.
The real thing MS disapprove of is another comapany selling bigger storage devices, cheaper than trying to out do them on price.
As said before they are not stopping any company that get its products licensed and using it on the 360. It's just that MSoft will most probably not grant licenses to comapnies that offer better value than their overpriced peripherals (hence why I dont buy them). Also is it only storage devices that are hit by this or do pads etc get the same treatment?
An interesting situation. On the surface of things it may seem to some people that MS is fully within their right to prevent third party hardware from working with their Xbox 360 platform. Yet this is not necessarily so. In this instance the bone of contention has to do with memory storing units which, if I'm not mistaken, is not a technology MS has exclusive rights to and which is in common usage - an industry standard if you will. That being the case I think it is possible to launch a valid legal argument that barring other parties from providing similar memory storing units while of little benefit to the customers runs afoul of anti-monopoly laws.
Furthermore, while some of the tech may be used for nefarious purposes that is not their sole function, nor even its main officially intended function, and thus claims of piracy will have to be balanced with the notion that people whom are deemed of sound mind can make their own decisions which they have responsibility for while also being innocent until proven guilty. If MS created and patented a completely new memory storing technology that no one else had then perhaps they could move to bar third parties from developing the same products without permission. That doesn't appear to be the case here and thus this is likely a move by MS to try and chase off a competitor that can light up a bonfire under MS in regards to price vs. value. From the consumer's perspective I hope MS loses this case.
next they are trying to shut google out of some news websites... who the f**k wants to use bing.
that peice of s**t will never come near google.
Without IE, exactly how would you get hold of Firefox?
That depends on how far back we go. On this new Windows 7 OS I made sure to install the download file for Firefox on an external storage device. Also, since I got the European "upgrade" (read complete) version of Windows 7 it wasn't supposed to come with IE after an EU Court of Justice ruling against MS on grounds of unfair trade practices (i.e. monopoly).
I suppose one could also go to the people whom initially created Firefox and get them to send the data in a physical format thus bypassing the need for IE. However, I do acknowledge your intended point which is that for a good many people the means by which they got a hold of Firefox was by using IE.
Didn't Datel make he region free discs for the wii a while back.
Managed to get one and a US copy of No more Heroes and Smash Bros Brawl, months before they came out over here.
Datel make useful quality products that allow people to make the most out of their hardware. I hope they win.
I second that, especially as those are the exact same two games I got as well, being the reasons I got the Wii freeloader in the first place. Datel are a good company, their products haven't let me down so far.
An interesting situation. On the surface of things it may seem to some people that MS is fully within their right to prevent third party hardware from working with their Xbox 360 platform. Yet this is not necessarily so. In this instance the bone of contention has to do with memory storing units which, if I'm not mistaken, is not a technology MS has exclusive rights to and which is in common usage - an industry standard if you will. That being the case I think it is possible to launch a valid legal argument that barring other parties from providing similar memory storing units while of little benefit to the customers runs afoul of anti-monopoly laws.
Furthermore, while some of the tech may be used for nefarious purposes that is not their sole function, nor even its main officially intended function, and thus claims of piracy will have to be balanced with the notion that people whom are deemed of sound mind can make their own decisions which they have responsibility for while also being innocent until proven guilty. If MS created and patented a completely new memory storing technology that no one else had then perhaps they could move to bar third parties from developing the same products without permission. That doesn't appear to be the case here and thus this is likely a move by MS to try and chase off a competitor that can light up a bonfire under MS in regards to price vs. value. From the consumer's perspective I hope MS loses this case.
Absolutely agree KFD!
This is all about Microsoft "bullying" the competition out of business...The fact is that Datel have sold a VAST amount of memory cards to genuine and legal gamers, so why should they be "shafted" as a result?
If Microsoft do prevail from this legal challenge, then I will definitely vote with my feet, and move away to alternative platforms!..."UC2 and The Last Guardian" are a good starting point, perhaps!
If Datel don't have a license to produce products that are compatible with the 360 then they can't complain when MS change things, thus making their products non-compatible any more.
One of the ways MS keeps the 360 free of piracy is to keep a very tight control over memory usage on their console, that's why the 360 started life with only a 20gig hard drive, and limiting the size of memory card is probably a measure to avoid them being used to run operating systems that get around MS's copy protection.
lol, £25 for 512Mb? No thanks. I'm with Datel on this one. I think M$ will lose the case, there was no need to stop all the other products apart from pure greed.
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On this new Windows 7 OS I made sure to install the download file for Firefox on an external storage device. Also, since I got the European "upgrade" (read complete) version of Windows 7 it wasn't supposed to come with IE after an EU Court of Justice ruling against MS on grounds of unfair trade practices (i.e. monopoly).
