Gamesylvania

It’s been said that all good things must come to an end. As such, Microsoft has announced that come April 15, 2010 they will be pulling the plug on the Xbox Live service for original Xbox games. That means no more Halo or Halo 2 multiplayer online. Note that the games will still work, you just won’t be able to play them online.

As for why this is happening, Xbox Live general manager, Marc Whitten, provides an answer. ”To reach our aspiration, we need to make changes to the service that are incompatible with our original Xbox v1 games,” Whitten said. “We will contact the Xbox LIVE members directly impacted by this change and if this includes you, I encourage you to check your LIVE messages and associated e-mail account over the coming weeks for more details and opportunities. We view you as a partner in this process.”

Bungie’s response to the announcement was this post on Bungie.net declaring April 14 the day everyone should log in for “one last hoorah. One final farewell and one final opportunity for all of you to kick our asses at Halo 2.”

Of course, Halo 2 isn’t the only game that will be affected by this as it effectively cuts off Live support for all original Xbox consoles and original Xbox games, including those games that are compatible with the Xbox 360. No more support for Crimson Skies, MechAssault, etc., etc. It’s sad, and a little stupid, that they can’t find some way to enable legacy support within the modern Live architecture, especially when charging $50 a year for a Gold subscription and selling these legacy games in their “On Demand” section of Xbox Live.

So, what say you? Is it a dumb move on Microsoft’s part or is this really the only course to make way for the future? Are you sad to see it go or happy that it’s finally coming to an end? Also, tell me about your favorite classic Xbox game to play on Live… while you still can.
Be sure to read my followup post: 5 Good Reasons Shutting Down Xbox Live Classic is a Bad Idea.

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• “Microsoft discontinue Xbox Live for Xbox games April 15th” and related posts (geek.com)
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