I think we can all agree that it is illegal to download iso images of games, burn them and play them on your video game system without paying the developer a cent for his efforts. The first “what if” comes into play when a game will never be released in a certain country.

We all know that Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft do not like game imports which leads to the question how someone would be able to play a game that is not released in his country and that he is not allowed to import ? This does not even take into consideration that most video game systems have a region code which makes it impossible to play games that have been produced for another region.

This still does not justify getting the game illegally but it does justify a reaction from the customer. All companies want a global market but as soon as the customer wants to take advantage of it they begin to regulate those markets.

Back to the modchips:

Modchips can be used to unlock the regional code making it universal. This would mean that I could import a game for the Xbox 360 from Japan, the United States or Europe and play it on my Xbox. Please read this again. I would buy the game in a different reason, pay more for it because it has to be shipped and play it on my system.

Does this sound better than downloading the game for free, burning it on a DVD or copying it to the hard drive and playing it this way ?

Modchips also add functionality. Some add DVD playback options, some may reduce the speed of a disc drive to reduce the noice and most offer the option to run homemade games and applications with them.

Let me tell you why I modded my Xbox with a modchip and a bigger hard drive. I knew that a software called XBMC existed which would turn the Xbox into a media station. This application which could only be installed if the XBOX had a modchip was giving me the opportunity to play DVDs without the expensive remote control, add movies in divx format to the hard drive and watch them on my television.

I purchased the games that I wanted to play and moved them to the hard drive which resulted in faster loading times and noise reduction because the DVD drive did not have to do anything. This resulted in a better gaming experience.