U.S. Customs Conducts Mod Chip Raids

By Nick Mokey August 1, 2007

U.S. Customs Conducts Mod Chip Raids

U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE) agents stormed 32 separate locations in 16 states on Wednesday, but they weren’t searching for guns, drugs or even illegal immigrants. The officers were on a hunt for mod chips, the hardware that makes it possible to bypass copyright protection on consoles such as the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Wii.

All modern consoles have built-in hardware schemes to prevent users from playing games from outside their region or copying them. Since the instructions are written onto chips that can’t be altered, it’s impossible to circumvent them with mere software measures as they might be on a computer. Instead, hackers devise and market mod chips, which must be physically soldered onto a system board to defeat the console’s protection.

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According to the Entertainment Software Association, mod chips cause the industry to lose billions worldwide in lost sales. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce speculates that they cost the U.S. economy between $200 billion and $250 billion every year, at a loss of 750,000 jobs. ICE agents were seeking the manufacturers and distributors or such devices in Wednesday’s raid.

The agency did not reveal how many seizures were made as part of the most recent raids, but in 2006, all of their raids netted a total of 219 arrests, 134 indictments and 170 convictions.

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Gaming

The best Pokémon Scarlet and Violet mods

Three shiny Pokémon by a picnic.

It's no secret that Pokémon Scarlet and Violet launched in a technically messy state. Many are willing to look past the flaws in performance, graphics, and quality of life features, however, others took it upon themselves to fix or improve aspects of the game that the developers can't or won't. While modding is typically associated with PC games, it is possible to do it on your Nintendo Switch. There are limitations, and they may come with some risks, but these mods can certainly make your journey through Paldea more enjoyable. Don't expect a 4K, 60 fps enhancement here, but these are the best Pokémon Scarlet and Violet mods out there.
How to mod Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
Modding on your Nintendo Switch isn't as easy as it is on PC, but as long as you follow a few simple steps, anyone can do it. The basics of it simply ask you to download the Trinity Mod Loader tool, download the mod(s) you want and add them to the tool, and then apply the mod to your Switch.

Be aware that mods can result in you getting banned by Nintendo, so it is recommended that you play offline while using them. Even then, you do so at your own risk.

Gaming

10 best Elden Ring mods

Multiple players look out over a landscape with the Elden Ring co-op mod.

It was thanks to modders that the original PC port of Dark Souls reached a stable and respectable state. Once the technical wrinkles were ironed out, modders turned to expanding and improving the game in numerous ways to keep the game feeling fresh. Years later, those same talented modders have moved on to the latest and largest FromSoftware title, Elden Ring. With plenty of time to learn the game, there are tons of mods out there that can not only fix nagging issues in the game but add entirely new ways to play. Here are some of the best mods out there for Elden Ring.
How to mod Elden Ring
Since Elden Ring is available on PC, that's where modding scene is most popular. However, if this is your first time modding a game, it might sound a little confusing. Thankfully, the process is very simple, and even this tutorial video can show you the basics of modding your game in under three minutes.
Seamless Co-op

Elden Ring uses a more advanced form of the summoning systems from the Dark Souls series, but still has limitations, most notably being partners being forced out of your game after every boss or death. The Seamless Co-op mod aims to make the entire game playable with a partner without any interruptions when players die, bosses are beaten, and no fog walls. It is still being worked on, but already works very well.
Elden Ring Ultimate Cheat Engine Table
Once you've beaten Elden Ring for your second, third, or eighth time, you may just want to see what you can do to break the game. The Elden Ring Ultimate Cheat Engine Table gives you the keys to the castle and lets you basically mod the game yourself to do things like create your own spells, spawn bosses, edit stats, use freecam, and tons more.
Elden Ring Item and Enemy Randomizer

Gaming

You can try Google Play Games on PC today as beta expands to the U.S.

Google Play Games on PC beta

Google has launched the open beta for Google Play Games for PC in the U.S. The tech giant made the announcement in a blog post on Wednesday, saying that the beta is available for download in seven other countries as well, including Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore.

"We’re thrilled to expand our platform to more markets for players to enjoy their favorite games on Google Play," said Google Play Games director Arjun Dayal. "As we move towards a full release, we will continue to add new features and evaluate developer and player feedback."