Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft all have restrictive warranty policies that, for example, void your right to get your console fixed if you tamper with a seal affixed on the system. Now, the Federal Trade Commission in the United States, in an attempt to preserve the rights of the customer, has decreed that warranties like these are illegal- and it has given all three console manufacturers 30 days to change their warranty policies.
Basically, this means that if you want to tamper with your console a little- which it is your right to, since you bought the damn thing, and it is your right to attempt to fix it yourself first if you want to- console manufacturers will still have to honor their warranty to you should your console stop functioning. It’s a victory for consumer rights everywhere.
Hopefully, these changes will be reflected in other major territories across the world, too.