MS sent me this little email this morning!

[Dobie]

Apparently, they're trying to make good with OG Xbox users. In my case, Halo 2. Did anybody else get one of these? Text is as follows, I thought it was a nice gesture.


On April 15, 2010, we will discontinue the Xbox LIVE service for original Xbox games playable on Xbox v1 and Xbox 360. In our continuing efforts to evolve the service, we need to make changes to the LIVE service that are not compatible with original Xbox v1 games.

What does this change mean for you?

• It does not affect your ability to play original Xbox v1 games offline, but does remove LIVE connectivity and support for online multiplayer, leader boards, and other online features of these games.
• We realize that you are an avid Halo 2 fan. Unfortunately, with this change, you will not be able to play Halo 2 on Xbox LIVE going forward.
• Although it is difficult to say goodbye to Halo 2, the Halo franchise continues as the benchmark for multiplayer gaming in this generation with Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, and soon Halo: Reach. On the Xbox 360, you will continue to have access to the LIVE service where you can enjoy hundreds of other LIVE-enabled games.

When will this change take effect?

• April 15, 2010.

What is Xbox LIVE doing for me?

• To thank you for being a loyal Xbox LIVE customer, we are giving you a free, three-month LIVE Gold membership and 400 Microsoft Points for you to use as you choose on Xbox LIVE.
• In addition, because you've been so loyal to Halo, we are inviting you to participate in the exclusive Halo: Reach Beta.

How do I get these offers?

• You will receive a token for 400 MS points. Check your Xbox LIVE account messages on the console. These points can be used for 365 days after you activate your token.
• We are extending your Gold membership by three months automatically. The extension will be directly reflected in your LIVE account.
• Finally, as the beta gets closer, you will receive an e-mail containing the code granting you access to the exclusive Halo: Reach Beta.
Thank you for being a loyal Xbox LIVE member. Please visit xbox.com/support if you have any questions or for more information.

The Xbox LIVE Team

[kupomogli]

It's better to do this than not do something for people who mainly played regular XBOX games and may not have paid for another year for newer games. This way most of those people may continue to get the service by finding other games to play I'd think.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Microsoft should sell crack at school playgrounds. They'd make a killing. Same sales model. 8-)

In other words, what Kupo said.

[TonyTheTiger]

I can't think of any shutdown being paired with perks amounting to an apology. Usually it's just a "tough luck" deal. This is a really unexpected show of good faith on Microsoft's part. I've said before that the RROD debacle humbled Microsoft a lot. I think they're now in the business of consumer satisfaction to a fault.

[Arkhan]

yeah there goes playing Steel Battalion.

might as well put my xbox back in the box, cause i wont play it at all now lol



I remember when they first made mention of this, I looked at my Xbox and went "YOU BASTARD"

[portnoyd]

I have been unable to cancel my original XBL account for years. Emailing, websiting, calling, even when my card expired, they somehow found the new expiration date! Nothing has worked. Now finally, they can get fucked.

[scottw182]

How do you qualify for these gifts? I mean, I've played Halo 2 on my 360....not extensively, but for a month or so, a while after Halo 3 was out, me and a couple friends switched back to it for a while.

[kupomogli]

We realize that you are an avid Halo 2 fan. Unfortunately, with this change, you will not be able to play Halo 2 on Xbox LIVE going forward.


I mean, I've played Halo 2 on my 360....not extensively, but for a month or so, a while after Halo 3 was out, me and a couple friends switched back to it for a while.

You just answered your own question. Look up the definition of avid. From what was emailed to Dobie, I'm guessing he has been continuously playing the game online.

[The Clonus Horror]

I have been unable to cancel my original XBL account for years. Emailing, websiting, calling, even when my card expired, they somehow found the new expiration date! Nothing has worked. Now finally, they can get fucked.

This same thing happened to me!

[ubersaurus]

yeah there goes playing Steel Battalion.

might as well put my xbox back in the box, cause i wont play it at all now lol



I remember when they first made mention of this, I looked at my Xbox and went "YOU BASTARD"

Hasn't LOC's servers been down for years now anyway?

Really if I recall the game supports LAN play, so you could just use XBConnect or something similar to continue playing online.

[BetaWolf47]

What about original Xbox owners who don't have an Xbox 360?

[kupomogli]

What about original Xbox owners who don't have an Xbox 360?

Microsoft: Who cares about them? You want to continue playing games online? It's time to upgrade.

[The 1 2 P]

It would have been nice if they had sent me this email. I have over 80,000 online kills in Halo 2. I started playing it again just because I miss the maps. However, I really can't blame Microsoft for discontinuing support. Regardless of it's avid fans, it's alot harder to get a matchmaking game in Halo 2 than it is in 360 games, mainly because not that many people play it anymore. I've played swat a couple days in a row now and you are guaranteed to play with the same 20 people over and over again.

Hopefully they bring an updated version of Halo 2 out in the future for the 360. But it won't really matter because 13 days from now all of my time will be spent killing mofos in Perfect Dark. Adapt or get stuck with offline only games I guess.

[kupomogli]

Hopefully they bring an updated version of Halo 2 out in the future for the 360.

Halo Collection. Remastered in 720p. For Xbox 360 with Xbox Live support.

[ProgrammingAce]

licensing would be a problem, but i'm guessing there's enough money in it for everyone to give in. I don't think microsoft directly owns the IP, i think they own 343 Studios, which manages the IP. You'd still have to worry about the voice actors and music, which both probably belong to bungie.

Bungie always had a unique agreement with microsoft, so who knows which company owns what.

[Matthew_E]

i too got that letter but i have played less than 50 games of halo 2 online . not gona complain about free ms points and 3 months of gold . its a nice gesture i think and it is very hard to even get into a halo2 game anymore .

and from what i have heard/read bungie has left ms and halo will now be handled only by 343 . halo:reach is the last halo game bungie is going to produce .

[buzz_n64]

My question would be, would they then allow private and 3rd party servers to host their own matches, even if it's only on the original xbox, they no longer would have anything to lose by doing this on the og xbox. I've heard that some people still play online with sega saturns, so this would only be a matter of microsoft giving a final good will gesture, besides the wannabe compensation of some points and limited gold service.

[ProgrammingAce]

There's already something that does that called x-link Kai. It fools the xbox into thinking that your internet connection is really your local lan. It only works for games that support system link matches though.

Because most of xbox live's communications are encrypted and you never really get a whole lot of data from the matchmaking servers, it's unlikely live itself will ever be copied.

[Dobie]

You just answered your own question. Look up the definition of avid. From what was emailed to Dobie, I'm guessing he has been continuously playing the game online.

I honestly don't know why they sent this to me. I figured most everybody got one. I play Halo 2 still, but mostly custom with friends or on LAN. Haven't done any ranked since they reset the leaderboards a couple years ago. I believe my Halo 3 games played just recently passed my Halo 2 count.

BTW, they were very quick to send everything. I got my points code last night, and the three months were added to my Live subscription this morning when I checked.

In any event, it was a solid gesture. I think the biggest news out of it all was that MS is sending out Halo: Reach beta codes, which up until yesterday, the only way in was to own ODST.

[Matthew_E]

i have not received any points or live time , but i got that email .
all i got on my X360 was a message saying live support was gona end on April 15 for v1xbox games.