Microsoft Temp Bans Gears Leaker's Xbox Ones

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If you are going to leak footage of a game after signing a NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement), don't be surprised when this happens.

This being said, as per that agreement with the testers in fault, Microsoft also permanently disabled their Xbox LIVE accounts (as well as other suspected accounts present on their Xbox One kits) and temporarily blocked all of their Xbox One privileges – meaning that for a period of time which Microsoft decides on depending on the severity of the offense, their Xbox One is entirely unusable.
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The people whining about Microsoft going too far in bricking offending leakers' consoles really amuse me. This if perfectly within Microsoft's reach and it is a recourse in the contractual clauses in the first place.
 
And yet another reason NOT to buy into Microsoft! This is just a lesson of things to come as Microsoft snares desktops and laptops in its Windows 10 net...believe it!

I can see giving them lifetime bans on being testers. I can see them putting a ban on higher level Live functionality for a period of time.

They do not have the right to effectively brick a system and make the games you purchased unplayable unless they provided it to you for the purposes of testing!

MS comes off as both childish and petty!
 
Sounds like they where given Xbox kits to do said testing and if so they should ban them for a very long time. I guess kids don't realize what an NDA is and if you don't like NDAs then don't sign them.

But as always MS is the big bad corporation in all this. No, not the testers who broke a legal agreement.
 
Microsoft has just come out to say that it is an online ban. The console isn't bricked.
 
Reimu said:
Microsoft has just come out to say that it is an online ban. The console isn't bricked.
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Ofc game companies love/hate leaks it's all apart of creating hype a little leak here or there helps fuel hype a mild punishment suits is. Funny thing is if they were hired tester breaking such a NDA would result in firing and likely a civil suit against them. People think Microsoft is going to far it's a super light punishment.
 
Semantics said:
Ofc game companies love/hate leaks it's all apart of creating hype a little leak here or there helps fuel hype a mild punishment suits is. Funny thing is if they were hired tester breaking such a NDA would result in firing and likely a civil suit against them. People think Microsoft is going to far it's a super light punishment.
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Things get serious if it's a leak of the source code.
 
Chupachup said:
And yet another reason NOT to buy into Microsoft! This is just a lesson of things to come as Microsoft snares desktops and laptops in its Windows 10 net...believe it!

I can see giving them lifetime bans on being testers. I can see them putting a ban on higher level Live functionality for a period of time.

They do not have the right to effectively brick a system and make the games you purchased unplayable unless they provided it to you for the purposes of testing!

MS comes off as both childish and petty!
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I'm genuinely wondering if you have even a basic understanding of the subject at hand? An NDA is a legal agreement. If you don't plan on honoring the agreement then don't be surprised when consequences arise as a result of your action. This is how the real world works.

Some does come off as childish and petty indeed. It isn't Microsoft though....
 
I like how Microsoft can just turn your Xbox One into a brick still. We're not even talking about Xbox Live ban which isn't bad but they disabled their machines. Their Xbox One is entirely unusable. They can brick a machine at any time?

Scouse me while I install Linux on my Windows machine. Just in case Microsoft has a kill switch for that too.
 
Chupachup said:
And yet another reason NOT to buy into Microsoft! This is just a lesson of things to come as Microsoft snares desktops and laptops in its Windows 10 net...believe it!

I can see giving them lifetime bans on being testers. I can see them putting a ban on higher level Live functionality for a period of time.

They do not have the right to effectively brick a system and make the games you purchased unplayable unless they provided it to you for the purposes of testing!

MS comes off as both childish and petty!
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Welcome to the real world. Big whoop though. Having a $400(?) piece of electronics bricked.
If you leak anything from a games studio job you can render yourself unemployable for life.
 
Ashbringer said:
I like how Microsoft can just turn your Xbox One into a brick still. We're not even talking about Xbox Live ban which isn't bad but they disabled their machines. Their Xbox One is entirely unusable. They can brick a machine at any time?

Scouse me while I install Linux on my Windows machine. Just in case Microsoft has a kill switch for that too.
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They blocked their accounts which means it blocks online functions. The system is perfectly usable assuming you're playing games without the need of online functions. I guess you didn't read the update.
 
Chupachup said:
And yet another reason NOT to buy into Microsoft! This is just a lesson of things to come as Microsoft snares desktops and laptops in its Windows 10 net...believe it!

I can see giving them lifetime bans on being testers. I can see them putting a ban on higher level Live functionality for a period of time.

They do not have the right to effectively brick a system and make the games you purchased unplayable unless they provided it to you for the purposes of testing!

MS comes off as both childish and petty!
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Some posts come off as both childish and petty. They signed an NDA and should be happy a $400 brick is what they got for violating it (which isnt even verified). If I violate an NDA in my line of work it's closer to a $1MM lawsuit at minimum.

You aren't grasping the subject at all.
 
haste. said:
Some posts come off as both childish and petty. They signed an NDA and should be happy a $400 brick is what they got for violating it (which isnt even verified). If I violate an NDA in my line of work it's closer to a $1MM lawsuit at minimum.

You aren't grasping the subject at all.
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THIS!

Breaking NDA's is about as bad as spilling innocent blood in the corporate world. You just don't do it. I wouldn't be surprised if these testers get blackballed also, which... is kind of illegal but they deserve it.
 
In my line of work breaking an NDA would result in a massive lawsuit and likely prison time. These morons get off light.
 
Microsoft should have threw the self-destruct switch, so the consoles caught fire and burned down their homes... literally fire them. That'll teach 'em.
 
Reimu said:
The people whining about Microsoft going too far in bricking offending leakers' consoles really amuse me. This if perfectly within Microsoft's reach and it is a recourse in the contractual clauses in the first place.
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Even without the NDA, people shouldn't be too surprised when this sort of thing happens on the Xbox. I mean hell, look at what they wanted to have when it launched, you can't really have any expectation of control over it.
 
Grahamkracka said:
In my line of work breaking an NDA would result in a massive lawsuit and likely prison time. These morons get off light.
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Info continuously leaks out about AMD's 390 and AMD doesn't bat an eye. Yet Gears of War remake videos should allow Microsoft to castrate them so they couldn't have children that could break NDA as well.

http://www.overclock3d.net/articles/gpu_displays/amd_r9_390x_vs_gtx_980_ti_performance_leak/1

Meanwhile the leak wasn't actually bad for Microsoft so long as Gears of War doesn't turn out to suck as a game. So hype is building and Microsoft is probably going to benefit big from this.

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This is not the usual beta or even alpha test that you're used to with games, it's a paid gig with hand-written contracts that these idiots broke terms and NDA on, with at least two companies, the timed bricking of their machines (which both Sony and Nintendo have in their fine print that they will do if you fuck up) is just the start.

This was meant to be a big surprise at Microsoft's E3 show so there will be fines to pay. From my time in the TV industry the largest fine I saw was €30k, can imagine it's larger in the states, and then some when it's one of the largest companies in the world getting a surprise ruined real hard.
 
haste. said:
Some posts come off as both childish and petty. They signed an NDA and should be happy a $400 brick is what they got for violating it (which isnt even verified). If I violate an NDA in my line of work it's closer to a $1MM lawsuit at minimum.

You aren't grasping the subject at all.
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You guys are the ones not grasping the subject at all. Note your own comments on the subject. You will be *sued* for breach of contract where an impartial judge and jury will decide if you are, indeed, guilty and decide an appropriate enforcement of the breach.

In this case, Microsoft is arbitrarily deciding on their own that these people are guilty and rendering the equipment unusable. No private entity has the right to damage your property, regardless of what any agreements say. That's what the courts are for. For all we know, the NDAs could contain language that is not legally binding and Microsoft is now enforcing an illegal action.

Now, if the boxes belong to Microsoft, as has been suggested by others here, then Microsoft has the right to do whatever they want to their own equipment, but once I pay for a product, I have a right to its use, and only the court system can order me otherwise, regardless of any legal agreement I have.
 
Seems the bricked thing is the online functionality of the Xbox One that gets banned, not that the entire console goes to hell. Which is a good "YOU F'D UP SON" signal along with the legal papers that will be served shortly.
 
Godlyfrog said:
You guys are the ones not grasping the subject at all. Note your own comments on the subject. You will be *sued* for breach of contract where an impartial judge and jury will decide if you are, indeed, guilty and decide an appropriate enforcement of the breach.

In this case, Microsoft is arbitrarily deciding on their own that these people are guilty and rendering the equipment unusable. No private entity has the right to damage your property, regardless of what any agreements say. That's what the courts are for. For all we know, the NDAs could contain language that is not legally binding and Microsoft is now enforcing an illegal action.

Now, if the boxes belong to Microsoft, as has been suggested by others here, then Microsoft has the right to do whatever they want to their own equipment, but once I pay for a product, I have a right to its use, and only the court system can order me otherwise, regardless of any legal agreement I have.
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That isn't entirely true anymore. The agreement in the NDA could state that you agree to such consequences. Heck my phone gets wiped of all content if I leave my company as I agreed to. Yes innocent until proven guilty, but you still get arrested first.
 
also the console wasnt bricked, their access to LIVE was revoked. You don't own LIVE at all.
 
Godlyfrog said:
You guys are the ones not grasping the subject at all. Note your own comments on the subject. You will be *sued* for breach of contract where an impartial judge and jury will decide if you are, indeed, guilty and decide an appropriate enforcement of the breach.

In this case, Microsoft is arbitrarily deciding on their own that these people are guilty and rendering the equipment unusable. No private entity has the right to damage your property, regardless of what any agreements say. That's what the courts are for. For all we know, the NDAs could contain language that is not legally binding and Microsoft is now enforcing an illegal action.

Now, if the boxes belong to Microsoft, as has been suggested by others here, then Microsoft has the right to do whatever they want to their own equipment, but once I pay for a product, I have a right to its use, and only the court system can order me otherwise, regardless of any legal agreement I have.
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What? Microsoft can ban anyone for any reason they want from Live, it's their service not yours. Nobodies Xbox was bricked, they just got banned from Live.
 
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