"Commodore4eva," the alias of the individual that previously released modified firmware for the Toshiba-Samsung DVD-ROM drive used in the console, has released one for the Hitachi DVD-ROM, which is another vendor for the Microsoft Xbox 360 DVD-ROM drive.

At this time, the firmware targets only a certain revision of the Hitachi drive (version 47D), which can be found on the drive's label. In comparison to the previous firmware hack, this hack doesn't require a complete firmware replacement, and will only patch the required information. A number of individuals attempting the hack with the Toshiba-Samsung drives were unsuccessful, resulting in a non-working drive. With this new firmware, total chance of total drive failure is minimized as the firmware patcher can attempt to re-patch the same area if it fails.

Also, the Hitachi drives, unlike the Toshiba-Samsung model, are readily accessible in a PC, without the need to replace the firmware. This would allow someone to make a backup of an original game in less time, although Microsoft and many of its publishers may doubt that it's a good thing.

The firmware, like it's counterpart for the Toshiba-Samsung drive, allows copied games to be played as if they were originals. For some, this may help prevent damaged original discs, which can be costly to replace, and which may result from the console itself.

Over the past week, there have been announcements of mod-chips for the Xbox 360 platform, all of which specifically target the DVD-ROM firmware container. However, one chip, which was supposed to have released on June 6th, claims to be a full-fledged mod-chip for the console, but nothing was made public.