Xbox 360s Maybe Banned In The US



The first piece of news to catch my eye this morning was an update to the Microsoft v Motorola court case. This court case, which has been going on for some time now, seems to be getting at a point where things don't look so good for Microsoft and the Xbox 360. Here's the abridged version of the case. In 2010 Microsoft filed an International Trade Commission complaint against Motorola over Android-Related patent infringement. As a result Motorola countered with a claim of its own, siting that Microsoft infringed on several of their patents. It has been a battle which has boiled down to this.


A judge for the ITC, David Shaw, has recommended that importing of the 4GB and 250GB Xbox 360 consoles should be suspended immediately and that Microsoft pays Motorola 7% of the value for all unsold units already in the US. Not satisfied with that 7%, Motorola suggested that Microsoft should have to pay 100% for those unsold units. This would put Microsoft in a bind as they don't currently have any other version of the Xbox 360 on the market. Thus making Sony and Nintendo the only console providers.


What's left now is for the ITC Commissioners to back Shaw's decision which would ultimately move the final decision over to the President. The future of Microsoft's gaming console may soon rest in the hands our country's leader (currently campaigning for a second term, no pressure).


I don't see this ending well if Microsoft has to suspend sales of the Xbox 360, sure there are other consoles but there are those who are fans and prefer the Xbox 360 over the PS3 and Wii. If Microsoft was hit with this suspension, would it push them to remodeling the console or would they focus on the next generation of Xbox? In any case this is a story worth following.


Brought to you by Kotaku, Gamesradar


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