Microsoft is ending live service for original XBox games

[Famidrive-16]

http://gamerscoreblog.com/press/archive/2010/02/05/gh789.aspx

Dear Xbox LIVE Members,



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. 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.



Seven years ago we laid out our vision for the connected console when we launched Xbox LIVE. We believed then that the power of the Internet to connect people would revolutionize living room entertainment. It started with amazing multiplayer games, and we’ve since seen that bet pay off again and again with the launches of Xbox 360, Marketplace, Netflix and powerful social features like Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm. None of this would have been possible without the success of LIVE as a multiplayer gaming network.



There’s no greater example of the power of the Xbox LIVE community than the “Halo” franchise. “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.



Your Xbox LIVE community has grown to 23 million strong. 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.



We’ll share more details soon, but in the meantime I want to assure you that the best is yet to come for Xbox LIVE. I believe we’ll look back on 2010 as a landmark year in gaming and home entertainment, and I couldn’t be more excited about what we have in store with “Project Natal” and LIVE. The LIVE community is the driving force behind everything we do, and it’s because of the community that ground-breaking experiences on Xbox continue to be possible.



See you on LIVE,



Marc Whitten

Gamertag - Notwen

www.twitter.com/notwen

[Oobgarm]

I'm surprised it lasted this long, honestly.

[bunnybum]

Wow, talk about bad timing. I just started collecting for the Xbox a couple of months ago ^^; But hey, maybe the prices will drop even lower now :p

[megasdkirby]

I just hope everything that was tu "buy" is now "free", like Halo 2 Maps.

[YoshiM]

I could see shutting down access to actual hardware, but including Xbox Originals? I hope for the sake of those that still get their OG X on that Microsoft rewords the Originals games so that it states that they are no longer online capable.

[Zoltor]

Well that just made my decision easy(to get a 360 or not). There are a ton of things wrong with this: First XBOX Live is a single network, so It's pointless to drop support for older game's internet connection, if anything, microsoft will lose money by doing that, as paying a monthly sum for a service that Isn't complete, Isn't worth paying on a regular basis. On top of that, seeing how XBOX/360 games alike are pretty much primarily focused on online play, peaple should be "very" reluctant to buiy 360 games now(what's gonna happen when Microsoft comes out with the XBOX 740 or something, are they gonna drop 360 support), and also what the hell was the point of making the 360 backwards compatible, if they were gonna pull this crap, talk about a bad move.

PS. Also all DLC for XBOX game need to be free as well, if they're gonna basically dump the XBOX library in the trash.

[megasdkirby]

Well, it seems games like Phantasy Star Online will never play unless the person has a copy of the Xbox gamer tag...

[sfchakan]

Someone call the waaahmbulance. It's been 7 years for most games, 5 years for Halo 2. That's a good run.

[PentiumMMX]

I agree that they should make all DLC for original Xbox games free before they pull the plug. If they do, than this will be the time for me to finally buy another copy of PGR2 and get both it's expansion packs before it's too late.

[Hep038]

Although it is disappointing (crimson skies), it really is not that much of a shock. I see this announcement spawning a lot of micro$oft bitch threads even though I do not see any other system offering the same type of service.

I am guessing they have seen a large decline on xbox1 games being played on live and made a business decision to divert the resorption elsewhere.

Be real. If you had not bough a 360 yet, you more than likely were not going to get one. And the fact they do not support Xbox 1 games online online has even less with you not getting a 360.

[Breetai]

...it is clear this will provide the greatest benefit to the Xbox LIVE community.
Man, I reading BS like this just makes me want to barf. Why do companies outright lie like this and not expect the people reading it to read between the lines?

[Icarus Moonsight]

Many of us are familiar with Open the Zoo, but this is so Close the Zoo. Bummer, "Moose outside should have told you" I guess, but obvious and inevitable... Speaking of which;
http://i493.photobucket.com/albums/rr298/rbee90/omg-it-spins.jpg

[Flippy8490]

You would think with today's technology and the size of the Microsoft corporation that they could implement technology that differentiated between a virtual "Live" service for Xbox 1 games, and the fully-featured 360 Live. Dropping support for something that is still being used by millions is FUCKING STUPID. No matter what angle you look at it from. Look at the PS2. PS3 has been out for quite a while now and PS2 STILL is selling (though less now)

[norkusa]

Man, I reading BS like this just makes me want to barf. Why do companies outright lie like this and not expect the people reading it to read between the lines?

I agree but I remember reading something a few months ago about how the current 50 friend limit on XBL couldn't be changed because of Halo 2. Now that they're taking it offline, they can finally increase the friends list limit. I guess that's what they were trying to say by that.

Are any EA games still playable on Live? They use dedicated servers, so you should still be able to play those if XBL is down, right?

[FayeC86]

I agree but I remember reading something a few months ago about how the current 50 friend limit on XBL couldn't be changed because of Halo 2. Now that they're taking it offline, they can finally increase the friends list limit. I guess that's what they were trying to say by that.


Exactly what I was thinking of. Im hoping that will only be the first of many limitations removed by this change.

As for me personally, the only original xbox game I still play online is Halo2, and XBConnect and other services work fine for stuff like that.

[sfchakan]

Dropping support for something that is still being used by millions is FUCKING STUPID.

I keep seeing this everywhere, but without citations. Are millions of people still playing original Xbox games over Live? My bet is it's closer to 1,000-10,000 gamers holding back features that many of the same gamers will be able to take advantage of on their 360s.

[Oobgarm]

PS3 has been out for quite a while now and PS2 STILL is selling (though less now)

The original Xbox has been off the market for some time, while PS2 is still available. That might have something to do with it.

[Robocop2]

I'm surprised it lasted this long, honestly.

I have to agree with this. While not exciting news it was eventual given that XBL is essentially a captive network. The same thing will happen with any similar online service over time.

[Trumpman]

This happens on PC all the time - it's a fact of online gaming. As many have said, 5-7 years is a good run.

[Breetai]

I agree but I remember reading something a few months ago about how the current 50 friend limit on XBL couldn't be changed because of Halo 2. Now that they're taking it offline, they can finally increase the friends list limit. I guess that's what they were trying to say by that.
Well... shows what I know. This is where I'm supposed to say something about red rings and death to all unbelievers, but I feel too defeated to go on with that.

[Xian042]

Thats fine,

Just please now make a new Crimson Skies

[Shadow Kisuragi]

To add another wrench in the deal...

Whenever they develop live features for Xbox 360, they have to ensure that it doesn't break the Xbox environment in the process. This adds a lot of overhead in the code and also in testing. Removal of this dependency will allow for quicker turnarounds for updates, cleaner code (ease of maintenance) and also bring the people supporting Xbox on board for Xbox 360.

There is already support to keep Xbox Live alive with XBConnect, so it's not a big deal.

[retroman]

its been a good run. not surprised.

[Dobie]

Goodbye Halo 2. Its been a good run. *pours a 40 on the curb*

The only concern here is if (when) my next Xbox 360 kicks the bucket, I will not be able to download the Halo 2 map pack that did not come on the Map Pack disc. The maps have to be re-downloaded/re-installed every time I get a new console. One can't simply download the licenses over, the maps have to be downloaded through the Halo 2 menu. Which means once Live support is gone, so are those download exclusive maps.

Yes, I still have Halo 2 LAN parties at my house, so this does put a slight damper on things. But its only 2 maps, so its not a HUGE deal. Everything else is still easily obtainable with the Map Pack disc, which thankfully I hung on to.

[Buyatari]

Bah who plays games without achievements anymore anyway !

[Buyatari]

Goodbye Halo 2. Its been a good run. *pours a 40 on the curb*

The only concern here is if (when) my next Xbox 360 kicks the bucket, I will not be able to download the Halo 2 map pack that did not come on the Map Pack disc. The maps have to be re-downloaded/re-installed every time I get a new console. One can't simply download the licenses over, the maps have to be downloaded through the Halo 2 menu. Which means once Live support is gone, so are those download exclusive maps.

Yes, I still have Halo 2 LAN parties at my house, so this does put a slight damper on things. But its only 2 maps, so its not a HUGE deal. Everything else is still easily obtainable with the Map Pack disc, which thankfully I hung on to.

I wouldn't be suprized to see a Halo collection on the 360 or a download "arcade version" of Halo 2. Sure that means you would have to buy it again.

[jcalder8]

I keep seeing this everywhere, but without citations. Are millions of people still playing original Xbox games over Live? My bet is it's closer to 1,000-10,000 gamers holding back features that many of the same gamers will be able to take advantage of on their 360s.
I was thinking the same thing. How many people play original xbox games online?

I'm not surprised that it's being cancelled, I'm just impressed that MS left it up this long.

[Snapple]

Games from NES, Atari, Genesis, PS1, whatever, you'll still be able to enjoy them to their fullest extent 20 years after their release. One of the things I think, as a collector, when I buy a game is that I am buying something that could be mine forever, or that I could keep it for many years and then still sell it and it be viable for the next owner.

Now, I guess you can still do LAN parties with Halo and whatnot, but still, it's only a certain number of years that you're getting the full Halo experience before it becomes a relic. Same thing with any games or systems you buy that rely heavily on the online service, which you have no control over. There's something that those older, offline games have that makes them eternal that many newer games will never touch.

That's another reason why I hate that some newer games will require an online connection even for single-player games. What happens when those servers go offline in the future? The game becomes a paperweight.

[monkeychemist]

nows the time to mod and play xbox games free :)

[killersquirel]

Bastards! I will never buy another microsoft product.

[norkusa]

Don't forget we still have this:

http://www.vpd.fi/kuvat/pc_halo_2.jpg

I'm not really a fan of PC gaming but this + my 360 PC controller is almost enough for me to not care about XBL anymore. It's $9.90 on GoGamer.com right now BTW.

[Shadow Kisuragi]

...it's too bad that Halo 2 won't really run on laptops though. It doesn't recognize half of my laptop drivers, and my laptop blows it out of the water in terms of requirements.

[Famidrive-16]

Are any EA games still playable on Live? They use dedicated servers, so you should still be able to play those if XBL is down, right?

EA recently killed off a whole bunch of servers for some games. Only Xbox1 title I saw being cut though was Madden 09. Maybe they already killed off some of the other ones earlier.

[Leo_A]

I keep seeing this everywhere, but without citations. Are millions of people still playing original Xbox games over Live? My bet is it's closer to 1,000-10,000 gamers holding back features that many of the same gamers will be able to take advantage of on their 360s.

Exactly

Most games have been ghost towns for a long time, including major titles like Rallisport Challenge 2 and PGR2. Besides a handful of exceptions (Halo 2, Counterstrike, a couple of the more popular Tom Clancy releaes, etc.), there's virtually no activity.

I'm sad it's ending and things like online PGR2 will no longer happen.

[The 1 2 P]

I agree but I remember reading something a few months ago about how the current 50 friend limit on XBL couldn't be changed because of Halo 2. Now that they're taking it offline, they can finally increase the friends list limit. I guess that's what they were trying to say by that.

The stupid thing about that is that not many people even play with the total number cap(100) now. Most people I know have 80-100 friends on their list and only play with 10-20 of them on a consistent basis. But I suppose this will have other implications than just elevating the friends list cap.


Are any EA games still playable on Live?

Burnout 3 is still playable. EA shut the servers down for it once already but me and the rest of the Burnout 3 community picketed their gates and stormed their doors(which basically means we sent them lots of nasty emails) until they opened them back up again. That was nearly two years ago and they are still going strong today.....atleast for another two months:(


I keep seeing this everywhere, but without citations. Are millions of people still playing original Xbox games over Live? My bet is it's closer to 1,000-10,000 gamers holding back features that many of the same gamers will be able to take advantage of on their 360s.

You are correct. Theres definitely not more than 20,000 or so players still on Halo 2. Back in the day you could find games in any matchmaking gametype but today it's mostly just Team Slayer and Swat where you can find matches.


The only concern here is if (when) my next Xbox 360 kicks the bucket, I will not be able to download the Halo 2 map pack that did not come on the Map Pack disc. The maps have to be re-downloaded/re-installed every time I get a new console. One can't simply download the licenses over, the maps have to be downloaded through the Halo 2 menu. Which means once Live support is gone, so are those download exclusive maps.

Yes, I still have Halo 2 LAN parties at my house, so this does put a slight damper on things. But its only 2 maps, so its not a HUGE deal. Everything else is still easily obtainable with the Map Pack disc, which thankfully I hung on to.

If I'm not mistaking you can store all your map packs on memory cards and play them thru that. There may be some that won't download to them but I haven't heard of anyone having that problem yet.

And to add to that point, now is pretty much the last time to take your original Xbox games on XBL to try and download any of the extra content before it gets removed forever. I just tried downloading the extra Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic mission to my 360 but it wouldn't let me. Luckily I already have it saved to my original Xbox. I hope this doesn't mean that they've already started taking content off, although that wouldn't surprise me one bit.

[Leo_A]

Xbox 1 DLC appears to have already been delisted.

Popped on with a spare Xbox to grab the PGR2 booster packs and Halo 2 maps (Both already on my original console), and was planning to buy the Links 2004 add-ons to my original Xbox (Just got the game a year or so ago and hadn't gotten around to buying the DLC).

But it was too late. So much for this warning.

I was hoping they'd do the decent thing and make DLC free like companies like Bizarre Creations had tried to make them do in the past (Most every PGR2 booster pack purchase in recent years was due to past owners wanting them on their 360 or a different Xbox that had already purchased the content in the past on a different console).

[SegaAges]

The only game I ever played online with my xbox was battlefront, and I rarely ever play that

[kedawa]

I like how most of that press release is just unrelated spin.
How in the fuck does removing online support for XBOX Originals 'provide the greatest benefit to the Xbox LIVE community'?

[Leo_A]

Because legacy support for the original Xbox has led to several limitations on the current system for most of the Xbox Live membership that has moved on to the Xbox 360, including the often referanced friends list limitation.

[BHvrd]

Fuck Xbox Live. Peer 2 Peer gaming ftw.

Peer 2 Peer gaming never ends, thats suits me just fine.

[The Clonus Horror]

I still play Halo 2 and Battlefront 2 quite often. I'll lose Halo 2 and-ironically-I'll have to use my PS2 to go online to play Battlefront.

[The Clonus Horror]

Don't forget we still have this:

http://www.vpd.fi/kuvat/pc_halo_2.jpg

I'm not really a fan of PC gaming but this + my 360 PC controller is almost enough for me to not care about XBL anymore. It's $9.90 on GoGamer.com right now BTW.

Are the servers for the PC version different than the 360 servers? If so, then I would purchase this--and I never have used my PC for gaming other than the occasional game of Crossbow on a build of MAME from 2001.

[youruglyclone]

huzzah maybe we can have more than 100 friends on xbl now!

http://www.vg247.com/2009/08/10/hate-xbox-lives-100-friend-limit-blame-halo-2/

[Dobie]

The only benefit of booting OG Xbox titles off of Live people seem to mention is the friends-list cap. But is an increase really that necessary? Is it worth killing off all games older than 5 years?

rant/

I admit I play mostly what is the hottest, latest, game-of-the-moment. So the only loss here personally is online Halo 2. But since moving to a small town last year, with a relatively high rate of poverty, I've become a little more aware of the fact that there are a lot of people who simply cannot buy the newest and sexiest. There's a rather large Halo 2 following around here... despite Halo 3 being over 2 years old now.

I understand that Microsoft doesn't make money off of game sales to these gamers, but it does make me concerned that the game industry is focusing more and more on the high dollar niche-gamer market, which underserves a large segment of the population. How do you grow a business focusing only on the early adopters, and killing off used game sales by nuking online and DLC?

Maybe Nintendo, despite the "anti-hardcore" image and relatively useless online console functionality has had it right all along?

/end rant

[kedawa]

The friend's list thing is just an excuse. They could have worked around it if they made it a priority. They're dropping support because it isn't bringing in money and they don't want to bother with it.

[Parodius]

Bah. Haven't played an original Xbox game on Live since November 2005. I think they have supported it long enough.

Notice the disclaimer when you load up COD MW2 about Activision's right to discontinue the online service at any time for any reason. This is a fact of online gaming life.

[mezrabad]

Notice the disclaimer when you load up COD MW2 about Activision's right to discontinue the online service at any time for any reason. This is a fact of online gaming life.

It absolutely is a fact! Retrogamers of the future are going to have a rough time trying to relive the gameplay of the online games of today. It's easy for those of us who grew up in the 70s, 80, and 90s to find a system and a few games and enjoy them again. For the kids growing up in the "Uh-Ohs" ( 00s) with warm fuzzy online gaming feelings it will be a challenge to reclaim that nostalgia when they reach their late 20s-early 30s.

[Leo_A]

The only benefit of booting OG Xbox titles off of Live people seem to mention is the friends-list cap. But is an increase really that necessary? Is it worth killing off all games older than 5 years?


Of course not, no one even knows who most of the people on their friends list are anyways. I quickly forget who the heck most of the people are on my list. Random names that don't correspond to a person's real name (If I know that individual in real life) or to their forum name in the case of someone I add from somewhere like DP or AA is quickly forgotten.

So it better have benefits beyond allowing people to bring their Facebook addiction to XBL by competiting for the most friends...

I wish they had at least found a way to make XBL a closed system for the original Xbox with no matchmaking capability, but with the download servers still going so we could log in and still get game patches and DLC. That's the real shame with this, not the disappearance of online multiplayer in games that have largely been abandoned anyways.

[Zoltor]

Of course not, no one even knows who most of the people on their friends list are anyways. I quickly forget who the heck most of the people are on my list. Random names that don't correspond to a person's real name (If I know that individual in real life) or to their forum name in the case of someone I add from somewhere like DP or AA is quickly forgotten.

So it better have benefits beyond allowing people to bring their Facebook addition to XBL by competiting for the most friends...

I wish they had at least found a way to make XBL a closed system for the original Xbox with no matchmaking capability, but with the download servers still going so we could log in and still get game patches and DLC. That's the real shame with this, not the disappearance of online multiplayer in games that have largely been abandoned anyways.

Yea It's pretty dumb, as if 100 people weren't enough already, and removing DLC is frankly a blunder of a move(which such moves like this are bound to be the death of Microsoft in the consol/gaming industry).

Hosting DLC takes up almost no space on a server(you can put all the DLC of every game on a single server, and the space, as well as the bandwidth used per month, would still be a joke.

Taking DLC down, basically says all these XBOX games are unplayable now (atleast to It's fullest, and people tend to not bother with games that aren't complete/that you can't get the full exp from).

Afterall, people buy games/consols for the long term, if a game is only good for a few years(lol especially at the insane prices they retail in this age), what's the point of buying it(you might as well just borrow it from some sucker or rent it).

[Julio III]

I'm really annoyed that they suddenly got rid of the DLC. If there was warning I would have rushed to the shops, bought a copy of PGR2 and nabbed the DLC. Never had an original Xbox but loved PGR2 to bits and would have loved the extra tracks.

[PapaStu]

Of course not, no one even knows who most of the people on their friends list are anyways. I quickly forget who the heck most of the people are on my list. Random names that don't correspond to a person's real name (If I know that individual in real life) or to their forum name in the case of someone I add from somewhere like DP or AA is quickly forgotten.

So it better have benefits beyond allowing people to bring their Facebook addition to XBL by competiting for the most friends...



If the dropping of the older games indeed allows for an expansion of the XBL friends list, that would be nice. Personally i've only got 60ish people on mine, and personally know (IRL or online people) know almost all of them. I'd really like to be able to add tags to someones handle so I can say, oh thats Bill or the dude I play CoD:MW2 with or whatever. I thought i'd care about the original XB stuff when I got my 360 and I had to put it away to make spare for the 360 and i've never even played a single game from the XB since I got my 360 3+ years ago.

[Leo_A]

I'd really like to be able to add tags to someones handle so I can say, oh thats Bill or the dude I play CoD:MW2 with or whatever.

If Microsoft is listening (Yeah right), I love that idea. It's slightly off topc, but I always wished AIM had that feature as well (I don't believe it does).

ICQ used to allow you to rename people on your friends list. So your best friend that is going by the name SFG95985775AA or some other apparantly random combination of characters could be renamed to match the name you know them by.

That way, you don't assemble a list with a good number of names that are basically pulled out of a hat and not assembled in any apparant order, which I always tend to start forgetting who the name matches up with after a while if we're not in frequent contact.

Instead, I have 30 people on my XBL friends list and I'm clueless who 20 of them are now.

[Gentlegamer]

Who wants to play Star Wars Battlefront or Crimson Skies with me before D-day?

[GuyinGA]

Microsoft can make this right by rereleasing some of the Xbox 1 best sellers in 360 format (i.e. Halo 1 & 2 Collection, Ninja Gaiden 1 & Black Collection, PGR 1 & 2 + DLC, etc.). That way, people can play it on the 360, use XBL, but have it look awesome in HD.

It's what Sony did with God of War Collection, it can work here.

[Greg2600]

I'll ask the obligatory question, but I come from a PC online gaming fandom. Whenever a company shut down their game servers, fans always found a way around it. New matching server programs were created almost immediately. Is it possible to do so on the old XBox? Has that happened already? I'd figure the 360 would be tougher, and both would probably require modding.

[Lerxstnj]

There are so many great xbox games not bw compatible!
I will miss playing Driver3 online, and watching all the funny videos uploaded with that game. And all the Midway Arcade Treasures collections... no way I'm repurchasing all that on the 360!!

[Leo_A]

Microsoft can make this right by rereleasing some of the Xbox 1 best sellers in 360 format (i.e. Halo 1 & 2 Collection, Ninja Gaiden 1 & Black Collection, PGR 1 & 2 + DLC, etc.). That way, people can play it on the 360, use XBL, but have it look awesome in HD.

It's what Sony did with God of War Collection, it can work here.

If they had any intentions of that, it would've happened years ago. The Xbox back library becomes less relevant and important everyday as increasing amounts of gamers upgrade to this generation and leave the past behind. Plus, don't we basically already have an improved HD release of Ninja Gaiden? I thought that was what Ninja Gaiden Sigma was.

I could see a Halo collection, but I think time has passed things like PGR2/Rallisport Challenge 2 and many other great Xbox classics by. It's not a trivial task to port this stuff to a new console. And in the case of many games like those two racing classics I just mentioned, there's licenses that would need to be reacquired from auto manufacturers, and both companies that would need to be involved have since gone multiplatform since Microsoft only owns the PGR and RalliSport Challenge brand names, not the game code itself. And EA (DICE) and Activision (Bizarre Creations) don't have much interest in anything that isn't multiplatform, especially HD remakes of past titles that aren't necessarily going to be guaranteed sellers.

Sadly, not every game is a guaranteed million seller like anything slapped with a God of War or Halo logo is.

[The 1 2 P]

I really wish they would have given us an earlier warning about all the delisted Xbox dlc. Now the only way to get it will be the old official Xbox magazine disc and even those didn't have everything because there was just too much content. Not giving us a heads up when that stuff was going to disappear is what really pisses me off.

I understand the ending of support for original Xbox games. Although it's not a popular decision, those games no longer make Microsoft money. Plus, the 360 came out in November 2005, so they have supported those original Xbox games for an extra four and a half years. Thats not so bad when you consider that they could have just ended it all back in 2006 when they ended first party support for original Xbox games. I'm still going to miss some of those games though, especially Burnout 3, Halo 2 and Star Wars: Jedi Knight Jedi Academy.

[Zthun]

I never got to play Conker Live and Reloaded with anyone online.

F******************************************K

[Icarus Moonsight]

It's like a little window into the future of gaming. Like what you see?

[JunkTheMagicDragon]

fyi, the xbox dlc is back online (http://twitter.com/majornelson/status/8965762388) till 4/15.

get it while it's hot.

[Zoltor]

fyi, the xbox dlc is back online (http://twitter.com/majornelson/status/8965762388) till 4/15.

get it while it's hot.

However, "dlc" for a game should always be available period, nothing warrants taking dlc down, it matters not, that they brought it back to warn people/give people a chance to dl it.

Even if they take down the game servers, there's no reason why they couldn't just put all the dlc from different games all on a single server(lol it still wont take up much space at all, and It's not like the bandwidth required would even be noticeable), but Microsoft clearly doesn't give a shit(as if that's surprising).

[Leo_A]

That's a nice move and I think now fully fulfills their responsibilites to their consumers. I'll certainly be getting everything I want on to both of my systems.

While it would be nice if they made a seperate XBL system with free log-in capabilities for continued access to patches and expansions (And I suspect it wouldn't be too resource intensive to maintain due to the small amount of content there was and the low traffic levels of people needing to access it), they're certainly under no obligation to do so. I wish they would though. I doubt every patch and piece of downloadable content added up would match even just 1 download the size of something like Shivering Isles, and I doubt they'd need much bandwidth to address demand.

Is there a way to make a image of the contents of my hard drive once everything is down forever that can be used to restore my access to this content on a modded console in the future as a backup? I really don't want to lose this stuff, I see no reason why I won't still be playing this 20 years from now if I'm still around just like I'm playing 2600 games now.

[The 1 2 P]

fyi, the xbox dlc is back online (http://twitter.com/majornelson/status/8965762388) till 4/15.

I just read this on Gamepro and I'm extremely pleased. This is what they should have done in the first place though. I will now make sure to download everything on both my original Xbox and my 360. I'll then use a super memory card to back everything up on(you can still use third party cards on the original Xbox but not the 360).

So it looks like Microsoft cares afterall. Or maybe they just got tired of all the angry emails, phone calls and tweets that they received over this. Either way, we now have until April 15 to get all the free original Xbox dlc our systems can handle. This has been a very big two days for Microsoft with tons of huge game announcements coming from their X10 show. I hope it continues,

[GarrettCRW]

Is there a definitive list of what games for the original Xbox have DLC so those of us who want to rush out and get all the possible DLC before the closure can get the games we want and/or need?

[Icarus Moonsight]

Is there anyone covering this on the archival end? I mean, sure it's DLC, but still... Planning for the future and all.

[Rickstilwell1]

Hurry up and unlock the extra characters for X-Men Legends 2, only available as DLC.

I wonder if the mods will still work though? Like the one for Archangel. Of course if you get the PC version of that or Marvel Ultimate Alliance there are many more character mods you can get. There is probably a way around going online if you have a modded Xbox 1 though. Perhaps FTP-ing DLC to the hard drive from websites?

As far as this topic goes, I was surprised they still had Xbox Live going. I thought it would have probably been killed off by 2006. Shows how little I know about online gaming.

[ubersaurus]

Is there anyone covering this on the archival end? I mean, sure it's DLC, but still... Planning for the future and all.

At least some of it is...a quick look on google shows that the two DLC exclusive Halo 2 maps, Tombstone and Desolation, are at least out on the internet. It would be ideal if there were a list of all the DLC and a place to get it once the servers are shut down, though...I can't imagine there being a huge demand for them, but hell, a lot of Dreamcast DLC is still out on the net, isn't it?

Offhand this is the DLC I know of:

Halo 2
KOTOR
Splinter Cell
Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow
Splinter Cell Chaos Theory
Brute Force
Mechassault
Crimson Skies
Toejam & Earl 3
Star Wars Battlefront II
Mechassault II
Project Gotham Racing II

[The 1 2 P]

Offhand this is the DLC I know of:

Halo 2
KOTOR
Splinter Cell
Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow
Splinter Cell Chaos Theory
Brute Force
Mechassault
Crimson Skies
Toejam & Earl 3
Star Wars Battlefront II
Mechassault II
Project Gotham Racing II

I'm going to add to your list based on the games in my collection:

Battlefield 2
Dance Dance Revolution: Ultramix 2
Doom 3
Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil
Farcry Instincts(currently not available but theres a spot for it in the menu)
Farcry Instincts: Evolution
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter
Ninja Gaiden
Outlaw Volleyball
Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast(listed on case but apparently doesn't exist)
Pariah
Playboy: The Mansion
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
Project Snowblind
Return To Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War
Soldier of Fortun II: Double Helix
Star Wars: Battlefront
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Star Wars: Republic Commando
Time Splitters: Future Perfect
Unreal Championship
Unreal II: The Awakening
Unreal Championship 2

This should be enough to get you guys started. Keep in mind that some games(like Farcry: Instincts and Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast) have "content download" listed on the back of the case but in the actual game theres no content to acquire. Rather this has been like this all the time or if there was once a time when you could dl content is still unknown. I suppose the best way to check would be to buy the games at Gamestop, take them home to test and then return them within their 7 day return policy. Some of the games in my list are still factory sealed so I'm going to go the Gamestop route as well.

[Leo_A]

You can't go by the case, content download just means the game supports future expansion by downloadable releases and patches to address technical issues. It doesn't mean DLC ever existed. Furthermore, not every game that supported online patching and downloadable content has the marking on the case. In Outrun 2006's case, I believe it was patched at least once using it's content download capabilities. I don't think expanded content was ever in the works for it.

You guys are forgetting that more than just DLC is disappearing. Many games saw patches released that addressed issues and made many improvements. It's not just the downloads with expanded content that are going away here, so I urge all of you to put all of your games into your drive before the end to ensure you have everything.

Rallisport Challenge 2 saw some new series added to it in one of it's patches. I don't think it added new vehicles or courses, but it certainly increased the single player content that was available to race. Edit - The free download added "two new vintage cars (the Volvo Amazon and the Saab 96), two new SUV models (the BMW X5 and VW Touareg), and two new career modes. The download also offers an array of new paint jobs for all 43 of the game's original car models, as well as a new "challenges" mode that lets players compete in daily contests with results posted on Xbox Live scoreboards".

Links 2004 had additional courses that could be purchased.

[E Nice]

I checked not to long ago going online with the actual games.

These don't have any download content. I don't think they ever did.
Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil
Kingdom Under Fire: Crusaders
Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes
Outlaw Golf 2
Outlaw Tennis
Pro Fishing Challenge
Playboy: The Mansion
Unreal II: The Awakening


In addition to those already listed these also have content.

CounterStrike
Inferno Map (demolition), Office Map (hostage rescue)

Dance Dance Revolution: Ultramix 3
Song Pack 25

Full Spectrum Warrior
2 missions - Epilogue 1, Epilogue 2

Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers
1 mission - After Zafarra

Ghost Recon 2: Summit Strike
Bonus Content, Patch (think there were some Xboxes that had trouble running it. You could tell if the Ubisoft video skipped badly)

Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters
1 map - Thrashburg

Iron Phoenix
2 maps - Night Demon Island, Shin's Fortress

Phantom Dust
Skill Update 1.10, Skill Update 1.20

Tron 2.0:Killer App
Team Shareware Level (Team Derez), Shareware Level (Derez), outfits - Tron Colors

[Mytho]

The Digiex forum has been archiving Xbox DLC for a little over a year now (http://digiex.net/downloads/download-center-2-0/consoles-homebrew/675-xbox-offline-xbox-live-downloadable-content-dlc-installers.html). They seem to have a fairly comprehensive library as of now, but are still missing the DLC to some games.

Personally, I'm hoping somebody can grab the Steel Battalion: LoC patch and upload it for future SB players. I would do it, but I have neither LoC nor the original Steel Battalion. :(

[The 1 2 P]

The Digiex forum has been archiving Xbox DLC for a little over a year now (http://digiex.net/downloads/download-center-2-0/consoles-homebrew/675-xbox-offline-xbox-live-downloadable-content-dlc-installers.html). They seem to have a fairly comprehensive library as of now, but are still missing the DLC to some games.

This is exactly what I was looking for. Now I know which of my factory sealed Xbox games I need to open for updates and downloads before that dreaded day of April 15 arrives. Isn't that tax day?

[ubersaurus]

The Digiex forum has been archiving Xbox DLC for a little over a year now (http://digiex.net/downloads/download-center-2-0/consoles-homebrew/675-xbox-offline-xbox-live-downloadable-content-dlc-installers.html). They seem to have a fairly comprehensive library as of now, but are still missing the DLC to some games.

Personally, I'm hoping somebody can grab the Steel Battalion: LoC patch and upload it for future SB players. I would do it, but I have neither LoC nor the original Steel Battalion. :(

I have LOC but I have no idea how I would be able to get a patch off my unmodded Xbox...

[raylydiard]

does this mean even if there where a few xbox 360s with say flatout
the frist one and all tryed to go online it would not work i think it not fair
for people like me never play on the old xbox live because i did not have a master card/visa card/american express i did have a xbox always wanted to go live but never had the bank card to do so



I have LOC but I have no idea how I would be able to get a patch off my unmodded Xbox...