A hacker's nine-year journey to exploit the Xbox 360 has culminated in a newly released permanent softmod and non-proprietary SDK, marking a major milestone for the console's modding community. Accompanying discussions reflect on the broader evolution of hardware security, contrasting the nostalgic, open tinkering of early consoles with the hardened defenses of modern microcontrollers. Additionally, veteran modders note that while the Xbox 360 is now effectively fully compromised, the current scene has shifted away from genuine homebrew development toward cheating and stealth servers.