The Difference Between Sales and Preorders:

Canadian based modding website InfinityMods.com has posted that a modchip for the Xbox 360 is expected to be available for purchase within two weeks. Or at least that\'s what it sounds like.

Their homepage reads, \"XboX 360 Chip Received, and in testing, expect sales within 2 weeks!\"

This statement is somewhat easy to misinterpret. Many people reading this statement have mistakenly taken it to imply that an Xbox 360 modchip would be shipping within the next 2 weeks.

On their product information page for the modchip, a bit less obvious on the website, it actually states that InfinityMods expects to be accepting preorders within the next two weeks.

This is a bit of a damper for people excited about having a modified Xbox 360 any time soon. Preorder does not imply a time frame for actually shipping a product.

So the question is not whether a 360 chip will be available in two weeks (it won\'t be), but would you be wise to hand over your money for a preorder of a chip this early in the game?

According to InfinityMods, they have received an Xbox 360 chip called the I.C.E. ModChip, and are currently in the process of testing it. The site claims the chip will be sold for $69.99, have 20 to 30 wires to solder, and take roughly 25 minutes to install. The chip is supposedly able to \"direct boot backups, dumped isos, or full rips.\"

The legitimacy of these claims have yet to be verified.

The I.C.E. ModChip\'s website is still under construction, and was purchased on January 5th, 2006, only 3 days after InfinityMods.com first posted that they were testing the chip. It provides no useful information.

A quick Whois search of both domains reveals some interesting, but generally inconclusive information.

InfinityMods.com was purchased in April of 2005, and while there is some mention of them on the Internet, there is very little known about the company. This is important, since both icemodchip.com (the modchip\'s website) and infinitymods.com are most likely owned by the same people.

We know very little of any use. Whether or not there is really a Xbox360 modchip that\'s currently being tested and might be available for the 360 soon is not a question we can answer.


But here\'s what we know:

• 1.) Contrary to popular belief, even if true, the discussed Xbox 360 modchip will not be available within 2 weeks. According to the product listing for their Xbox 360 modchip - not just their front page - InfinityMods.com will be accepting preorders within two weeks. How far that is in advance of an actual ship-date is yet to be seen.
  
  
  
• 2.) InfinityMods.com and IceModChip.com are most likely owned by the same people:
  
  According to a quick Whois search, the contact e-mail for both domain names are sales[AT]infinitymods.com and orders@infinitymods.com. Additionally, the contact phone number for icemodchip.com is the 1-800 number given on InfinityMods.com as their order number. Evan OKeefe (we assume O\'Keefe) is listed as the admin, billing, and technical contact for icemodchip.com. According to the Contact Us information on InfinityMods.com, evan[AT]infinitymods.com will also put you in contact with the InfinityMods sales department. The first assumption is that Evan@infinitymods is Evan OKeefe, but that could be wrong.
  
  Alternatively, Evan OKeefe may actually have nothing to do with InfinityMods, and might be an employee of RareCodes.com, a hosting company based out of Canada. RareCodes might have handled the registration of icemodchip.com, and inserted their own contact information as the company responsible for technical issues involving the site. At the time of this writing, it\'s too late to politely call and ask for verification.
  
  
  
• 3.) Evan OKeefe Recently Lost His Cell Phone:
  
  A quick search for Evan OKeefe on the internet reveals a BB listing which offers \"Xbox and PS2 Modchips\" for sale on a Canadian bulletin board. The accompanying cell phone number reaches a family that claims to have accidentally switched cell phones with someone they don\'t know, and claim no knowledge of mod chips. A generally useless lead, but hope we were able to help someone get their cell phone back.
  
  
  
• 4.) According to XboXStation.com, an Xbox 360 load disk circulating on the Internet with the name of LiThIuM, spelled in the same style as the LiThIuM I.C.E. modchip, was found to be a fake. Whether there is a connection between the two is unknown.
  
  
  
• 5.) The LiThIuM I.C.E. modchip is not the first to carry the I.C.E. name. It was predated by the Xenium ICE modchip for the Xbox, from Team OzXodus. In the Whois information for the owners of icemodchip.com, there are multiple references to Team ICE, but not Team OzXodus. It is unlikely that they are connected.
  
  
  
• 6.) There is a team that\'s sometimes referred to as Team ICE, often connected with the Magic Ice modchip for the PS2.
  
  
  
• 7.) Xbox-scene.com, the primary source for information about the Xbox modding scene, has no official information on this modchip. Their forums are alive with speculation based on the recent news posted on InfinityMods, but no one seems familiar with the project.

Inconclusive:

While there isn\'t enough information to be conclusive, we here at GamesFirst are very suspicious. Will there be a Xbox360 modchip in the next two weeks? Very, very doubtful. In fact, we\'re going to say no. Will a company start taking preorders in the next two weeks? Possibly. Would it be a good idea to give them your money? Hmmmm...

While we\'re willing to be proved wrong if this chip actually appears, we\'d be very surprised to see it any time soon. Since InfinityMods.com isn\'t known to be a developer of modchips, but primarily a supplier, it seems unlikely that they would be involved on the ground level of modchip development. Specifically, why would InfinityMods be responsible for purchasing and developing the ICE website? If an established team has really developed an Xbox 360 mod-chip, it would be considered unusual to have a single online retail site handle its distribution; most modchips can be purchased from a variety of sources.

Perhaps some phone-calls tomorrow will shed more light on the situation.