On Thursday the ESA, which represents the interests of US video game publishers, sent out a press release trumpeting a federal government take-down of mod chip purveyors in 16 states.

Game-oriented websites, including this one, covered the story using fairly straightforward reporting: searches were executed, evidence was seized, blah-blah-blah...

Over at Dvorak Uncensored, however, maverick tech guru John Dvorak questioned the entire operation, writing:
 

Are you kidding me? With drug dealers everywhere, murder, porous borders, terrorism the Feds are concerned about game mods?? Holy crap.

Next I supposed they will be cracking heads over unlocked phones. Great.

Judging from coments to the article, Dvorak's readers were of a similar mind. One griped about the unfairness of regional restrictions built into games: Read More

If the photo is any indication, the game piracy business has not been especially lucrative for this Twin Falls, Idaho resident. The suspect, raided along with 31 others earlier this week, possessed but a single mod chip when the feds came calling.

A message posted on the Console Tech forums includes scans of what appear to be a federal agent's search warrant application as well as an inventory of items seized in Wednesday's sweep, which targeted game piracy suspects in 16 U.S. states. The inventory list includes:
 

6 Xboxes, an Xbox 360, an (unspecified) Nintendo console, 38 Nintendo games, a computer, a mod chip, various circuit boards, hard rives, discs, manuals, etc.

It would seem that the unnamed resident of the Idaho Falls home must have provided the scanned documents after receiving a copy from the agents who conducted the search. Not shown is the probable cause affidavit, which would have explained the government's basis for the search. That document apparently remains sealed by a federal court. Read More

An Ohio man was reduced to sleeping in his car following this week's mod chip raid by agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

As reported by Xbox Scene, the suspect, who goes by the screen name FallsInc, penned a first-person account of what happened when the feds came calling:
 

When ICE hit me, they had a warrant for my grandma's house where I had all my packages sent... They took anything that was related to gaming... They showed me the list of modchips that they collected, and asked me if I ever imported modchips from Canada...

They took my laptop, and desktop, and the soldering iron (which was one of their main things to find for some reason)... Now I can't mod, and I can't even sell anything off to pay for bills either since it has all been confiscated due to a ludicrous interpretation of the DMCA...

Because of what happened I'm not allowed to see my girlfriend and our 4 month old daughter, and last night, I slept in my car... They took my life away. I would like to formally thank Microsoft and Nintendo for cracking down on the little guy with a soldering iron in his garage, rather than going after the people that are responsible for the bootlegs being available.