We already reported that Microsoft had banned quite a lot of users who modded their Xbox 360 consoles in order to play pirated games. But now it seems that, although these people can't access the Xbox Live service, it doesn't mean that they are out of business, as copies of Need for Speed Undercover and Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe have already appeared on torrent sites.

The two games, which haven't even been released yet, have now appeared on quite a lot of torrent sites in the form of hefty DVD images that can easily be played on modded Xbox 360 consoles. NFS Undercover, although it is slated for a November 18 release, has also seen the demo of the game go live on torrent sites a few days ago. Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, which is set to officially hit the store shelves a bit earlier than EA's racing game, on November 16, is now also up for grabs by any torrent user.

Although this situation is almost unavoidable, companies might want to keep a closer eye on the copies they are shipping as, because of this early possibility of playing a very anticipated title, a lot of players are considering modifying their consoles in order to play these pirated versions. Measures like the one adopted by Microsoft or the ESA recently in Mexico are considerable steps in preventing piracy, but can't really affect this worldwide phenomenon. 

Let's not forget that Xbox 360 pirates aren't on their first big release, as titles like Epic's very anticipated shooter Gears of War 2 found their way onto torrent sites with more than a couple of weeks in advance to the official release, which took place a week ago. Other titles such as Bethesda's very popular Fallout 3 RPG or Lionhead's Fable II have also received the same treatment from console pirates. 

Let's just hope that companies will be taking more severe measures against these pirates because they really hurt the gaming industry, which, although in good shape during the financial recession, needs all the help it can get.