Question:

I have an XBOX 360, and would only like to use it to play HD-DVD on my TV. I would like to diable the game controllers completely and not be able to play any games. Any ideas?

-submitted by Martyb

Answer:

To answer your question in one sentence, shy of hiding the XBOX 360 controllers entirely, there is no way to render the 360 incapable of playing games. That really is what the 360 was designed to do, afterall.

I thought about opening up the XBOX 360 and disconnecting the internal DVD drive from the main board. However, getting the 360 open is not an easy task, but it could be done. The problem though, is that this will void your warranty, and there's a chance the 360 will not boot if the drive is disconnected.

That doesn't mean there isn't hope though. You can severely cripple the XBOX 360's ability to play games by taking advantage of the family settings in the main menu.

First, you'll need to create a family passcode. Choose something that you'll remember, but nothing simple like 0000.

Next, cruise into the game settings, and select the very last option on the page, labled eC (see the logo to the left for what to look for. This stands for Early Childhood, which is the strictest game rating as determined by the ESRB. Basically, it means that games with this rating contain no content that a parent would find inappropriate.

By selecting the eC option in the family settings, the 360 will only be able to play games with a rating of eC or lower... and there is no rating lower than eC, so it will only play eC titles.

The best part is, according to the ESRB, there are no games for the XBOX 360 or original XBOX that have an eC rating. Therefore, as of this writing, there are no games that will play on the XBOX 360 if you select this option.

It is possible that an eC game may be released for the 360 some day (unlikely, but possible), but it would be a game intended for children that are 3 or under.

Next, we have to deal with downloadable content from XBOX Live!, since it's possible some downloaded games would be playable. Fortunately, this is pretty easy to overcome. Delete any downloaded games from the 360, and disconnect the unit from the Internet. If you can't download games, you can't play them.

About disabling the controllers... you can remove the batteries if they're wireless, but there's no way to disable wired controllers. They'll work if plugged in to the 360, and there's no way around that. Either way, if you've crippled the ability to play games as noted above, working controllers won't do any good.

And there you have it... an XBOX 360 without the ability to play games, but will still play movies through the internal DVD or external HD-DVD drive.

Matt Whitlock - Editor, TechLore.com

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