Network now...NEWS
Xbox Live Being Discontinued For Original Xbox
Microsoft will discontinue the Xbox Live service for original Xbox consoles this April.
“On April 15 we will discontinue the Xbox Live service for original Xbox consoles and games, including Xbox v1 games playable on Xbox 360 and Xbox Originals,” wrote Marc Whitten, general manager of the online service.
“I want to start by saying this isn’t a decision we made lightly, but after careful consideration, it is clear this will provide the greatest benefit to the Xbox Live community.”
Whitten acknowledged that some original Xbox games, including Halo 2, still command a significant Xbox Live user base.
Halo 2 has had an amazing run on Live, with a dedicated community more than five years after launch and well into the next generation of consoles. It has fundamentally changed the way we play video games. And while it’s difficult to see that run come to an end, the Halo franchise continues to act as the benchmark for multiplayer gaming in this generation, with Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST and soon Halo: Reach on Xbox 360.”
Whitten also noted that new features would continue to be made available to the service’s 23 million strong community.
“And as we look down the road, we’ll continue to evolve the service with features and experiences that harness the full power of Xbox 360. To reach our aspiration, we need to make changes to the service that are incompatible with our original Xbox v1 games. 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.”
One new feature widely tipped to be introduced is the introduction of larger Xbox Live friend lists. Currently capped at 100, the discontinuation of support for original Xbox titles could facilitate this.
Xbox group product manager Aaron Greenberg said of raising the cap back in 2007: "There's some interdependencies. Some things like original Xbox games have friends lists hard coded in, so there's things we gotta work through, but we'll get it figured out, it's something we want to do." He reiterated Microsoft’s commitment to raising the cap just last month.
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so i have to be quick, and get me some OutRun 2 online trough xbl before this happens :-( to bad they desided to end it all.
Am sad to hear this news. Fired up Halo 2 recently and was pleased to see there was still an active community. Sure, I don't use Xbox1 Live very much, but it's always nice to have the option, and experience what the service used to be like.
There are still a few Xbox1 games I was hoping to sample online, like the original Outrun 2 games, Capcom Vs SNK 2, SFIII Third Strike. Their communities may not even be blips on the radar, but I'm sure forums could have been used to arrange matches with like-minded people. Wonder if I can download fastest ghost times etc before the servers go down?
I've read about something called xbconnect - software that runs on your PC and allows you to play LAN Xbox1 games over the Internet, by connecting your PC, Xbox1 and router together. It makes the game think you are playing people over LAN / system link, when in fact you're using the Internet. This could be an option for continuing some games online, and even for enabling net play in games that didn't support Live in the first place, but supported system link, like Halo1.
Should they be called incompetent for hard coding stupid things into Xbox games or truly awful for doing this to people who still want to play their games they bought legally?
Personally I do believe it's probably more of a case they want people to move on and buy new games and that making money off these people's live subscriptions alone isn't enough for MS.
The thing is if it were a free service I could understand but people were paying for it. But I think MS views it like used games in that if you're enjoying old games then you're not buying enough new games and their profit is taking a hit.
If only people would take notice to this and not buy digital only games for their consoles and start demanding the ability to host their own games for when services shut down.
So is Microsoft technically inept or just lazy?
I can't help but think of the recent news that retro arcade titles purchased on XBLA will need to be repurchased for Game Room. They sure don't seem too concerned in either case about shafting their paying customers.
it is clear this will provide the greatest benefit to the Xbox Live community
Translation: it is clear this will provide the greatest benefit to Microsoft.
I wonder what percentage of paying Live members care about raising the 100-friend cap vs. the percentage that would prefer to keep online play for XboxFat games.
Perhaps your irrational MS loathing is just intellectual laziness, DubsTF.
"E" (Eric - director of Live architecture) has been a regular co-host on the Major Nelson podcast for some time now, and he has dropped some hints in the past as to how some of the things they'd like to do (not just increasing the friend cap) are hampered because of the need to support the limitations imposed by the old architecture.
Unless, you're a network architect with experience creating systems for 23 million users, I'll assume that there are probably sound technical reasons it makes sense to do this - for both users and MS.
It is very unfortunate for the Halo 2 online fanbase which, funny enough, has more active daily users than all but a handful of PS3 online communities - couldn't resist!
Oh Grogsy, still with the personal attacks? I thought my comment was pretty tame!
If there are reasons other than this friends list issue then they're certainly not articulating them, and one would think that if there were some actual, tangible benefit to members they'd say so in this announcement just to appease the disgruntled winners still running around in Halo 2. (Also, if Edge is pushing the friends list issue as the justification for cutting off XboxFat games then it's a pretty safe bet that's the official party line from Microsoft HQ.)
And I'm genuinely curious about that last point I raised. Since you've memorized all the Minor Nelson podcasts and whatnot maybe you could give us some sense of how much genuine clamor there is over this '100 friends cap' issue: is it really a widespread concern or just that of a vocal minority?
This is my main fear concerning modern gaming. After a few years they turn it all off and you're left with nothing. Why should i invest so heavily in the new generation of consoles with the knowledge that by 2015, i'll probably not be able to play them anymore...?
:(
The 360 has been out for 5 years, and really the only game effected is Halo 2, which has had a 6 year run. You also have to take into account XBL on the original Xbox was the first iteration, and the first version is a lot about figuring out the limitations of the architecture. The current version of Live seems to have many "hooks", allowing for any number of things to be updated with a patch.
All I got to say, is you probably won't want to play any EA games if you value the online component. Because EA insists on running their own matchmaking servers, they routinely shut down servers per game (mostly sports games that are 1-2 years old), making the online impossible to play on consoles.
According to Bungie.net almost 4,000 people played H2 over Live during the last 24 hours. My Gaming group still runs H2 custom evenings (H3 doesn't allow you to specify grenade load outs! No good for a game of sticky king!) and i'd understand if there were expensive servers involved (RIP Chrome Hounds) which could be better used elsewhere. But why must it affect games that run on a P2P setup? I don't understand how this change makes Live better for me as a paying Gold member?
Sure you'll be able to play them - you'll just have to pay them again for the "updated" version of the game for the new system. ;)
Remember, you can stil play these games single-player modes and there really aren't that many games that have a vibrant online community more than a year out anway. Halo 2 is the exception in this particular case and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see MS offer a Halo 1&2 remastered edition with online eventually.
It's like the battery in your favourite RPG cart spluttering its last and giving up on your save game...