The trigger for Ballmer's bulletin (reported in the Sydney Morning Herald, which unfortunately seems to want money for archive stories) was an Australian court decision in July where a man who had been selling Playstation 2 mod chips was acquitted. The chips were intended to allow imported games to be played on locally-sold machines. In reaction to this Ballmer said that Microsoft might have to reconsider selling Xbox in Australia, or seek changes in the law.

Depending on the attitude the European Commission takes, this could be ominous for other console makers. You'll recall that last week Steve Ballmer was complaining about how Australian legislation was obstructing Microsoft's ability to make a fast - er, honest) buck with Xbox.

Specifically, he was talking about the court ruling which effectively allowed the chipping of consoles in order to get around regionalisation, and regionalisation is the manufacturer's practice which allows them to stop their machines playing out of region software. Which helps them restrict cross-border sales, and keep prices high.