Support for original Xbox games ending on Xbox LIVE

Jacqueline DiOrio 5 Feb, 2010 at 12:00pm ET Article published in Gaming

Today Microsoft announced that on April 15th the firm will discontinue support for the original Xbox and its games on Xbox LIVE, including those compatible with the 360 and Xbox Originals titles.

Microsoft claims that the discontinuation of service corresponds with features the company is preparing for LIVE that are incompatible with original Xbox titles. Constantly evolving the functionality LIVE, Microsoft promises that 2010 will be a “landmark year in gaming and entertainment.”

“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”, said Xbox LIVE General Manager Marc Whitten. “To reach our aspiration, we need to make changes to the service that are incompatible with our original Xbox v1 games.”

Microsoft advises users to monitor their Xbox LIVE messages and associated email accounts for more information as it draws closer to the shut off date.

Comments

5 Feb 2010 ~ 12:10pm chrisWhite The thing to keep in mind here is that Microsoft will be loosing some incoming cash flow by doing this, any original Xbox users still playing Live who won't upgrade to a 360 is one less $50/year subscription fee Microsoft is able to charge. Maybe the price of maintaining the infrastructure offsets that but it isn't like MS didn't consider this move before making it.

I'd love to know the stats on how many people are still playing online on a first-gen.
5 Feb 2010 ~ 12:13pm Thrax The console is almost as old as Windows XP. Time to move on.
5 Feb 2010 ~ 12:55pm Cyclonite ^This.
5 Feb 2010 ~ 1:09pm djmeph Oh man, the Mech Assault community is going to be pissed.
5 Feb 2010 ~ 1:38pm shrekan Not that I completely disagree with this move, but isn't Microsoft obligated to provide an Xbox Live service if games have been sold under this pretense.
I bought Halo 2 a few years back, I bought it mainly for Xbox Live. On the back of my silver case, emblazoned in some cheap yellow gold ink were the words "XBOX Live 2-16 players". But now, if I'm ever in the mood to play it in the near future, I cant... is this right??
5 Feb 2010 ~ 1:56pm primesuspect You can if you play it in an Xbox 360
5 Feb 2010 ~ 1:58pm Thrax No, you can't. Microsoft is ending support for ALL Xbox games and consoles, even if they're compatible with the 360.
5 Feb 2010 ~ 2:20pm primesuspect Oh I read it wrong.
5 Feb 2010 ~ 3:03pm Cliff_Forster Hopefully for the next gen consoles gamers wont whine and cry about some half assed backwards compatibility implementation.
5 Feb 2010 ~ 4:29pm djmeph People can still host their own games if they are compatible with XBOX Connect. Mech Assault and Halo 2 are among these games.
5 Feb 2010 ~ 4:29pm djmeph http://www.xbconnect.com/index.php?topic=supportedgames
5 Feb 2010 ~ 6:43pm shrekan xbconnect has to operate over the system link, which is limited on the 360 by ping <200 if I'm remembering correctly, basically meaning unless your connection to the host is hotter than jessica alba's left ass cheek, you aint playing.
5 Feb 2010 ~ 8:27pm Tim I won't be able to play Halo 2 in live multiplayer games anymore? WTF?

I have both an Xbox and a 360 but I play Halo 2 on the original Xbox because Halo 2 is a better game than Halo 3, and the original Xbox controller layout is better than the 360 layout.
5 Feb 2010 ~ 8:35pm TiberiusLazarus Do you ever upgrade to anything new?
5 Feb 2010 ~ 8:52pm Tim Not too often. Sometimes the older stuff is better. Don't believe the hype about High Definition and 1080p and HDMI all that, that's just a way to get mindless consumer sheep to spend more money and buy new bigger more expensive things that they don't really need. So the big corporation makes more profit.

I play Halo 2 on my original Xbox on a 19" 13 year old K-Mart CRT tv, and it all does just fine.
5 Feb 2010 ~ 9:09pm mas0n I'm surprised you don't mail your posts to ICHQ via Pony Express.
5 Feb 2010 ~ 11:35pm chrisWhite You guys have got it wrong, I'm impressed that Tim's made it to a first-gen Xbox already. And Halo 2, hot damn!
7 Feb 2010 ~ 10:16pm ardichoke I liked where this thread was going for a while, but then it got a big shot of all over it
7 Feb 2010 ~ 11:05pm Garg I've been wanting to combine my love of charts with my need to play with my new Wacom tablet. Thanks, Internet.
7 Feb 2010 ~ 11:10pm chrisWhite LMAO, 10/10
7 Feb 2010 ~ 11:16pm ardichoke Heh... fukken saved.
7 Feb 2010 ~ 11:18pm Thrax +Rep
8 Feb 2010 ~ 4:03am Tim At least I did good on the intelligibility part. I've been calling 1-800-4my-xbox every day and telling the operators that getting rid of my ability to play Halo 2 is not a good idea. Join me in the crusade to save Halo 2 on Xbox Live !!!
8 Feb 2010 ~ 4:52am Jengo Fight'in the good fight?
8 Feb 2010 ~ 12:40pm Cris I'm not an xbox or xbox360 user but I can see that this is very bad. MS should provide an alternative network solution for these games, it is just plain stupid to shut down network support for thousands of gamers who bought their products in the past and are still paying fees to be able to play online.

I hope they are not giving similar ideas to other network owners...

*sends threat to Steam staff*
8 Feb 2010 ~ 12:55pm Thrax It's a fine idea. Microsoft said that their consoles would have a 10 year lifecycle. The Xbox's lifecycle has ended. This is nothing surprising.
8 Feb 2010 ~ 3:26pm Jengo Most (if not all) Xbox games didnt even have their own servers, most games were hosted by one of the players, the only thing i can think of that they would need their own servers for would be for DLC and maybe voice chat.
8 Feb 2010 ~ 7:06pm Tim Right, it shouldn't be that hard for Microsoft to set up a few servers to keep the original Xbox games going. And the voice chat and whatever. They don't have as much traffic now, so how bad can it be?
8 Feb 2010 ~ 7:18pm Cris It's one of the wonders of cloud computing Tim! your ability to play a game online is controlled remotely by some buttheads who one day would decide that supporting your game is not profitable anymore for them, and they decide that you must "move on" and purchase their newer products if you want to continue playing.

It's sad indeed.
8 Feb 2010 ~ 7:37pm ardichoke None of the Halo games were worth playing (especially online) anyway. No big loss there.
8 Feb 2010 ~ 10:04pm chrisWhite Guys, it's 10 years old and the next generation of the console has been on the market since late 2005. Most of the major game that people are probably still playing, like Halo have been also been upgraded to newer better titles since then. Halo has released two new games since Halo 2 and they're roughly halfway through their third.

I really just don't see any point to keep it running, the audience of people pissed off right now is laughably small.
8 Feb 2010 ~ 11:14pm Garg More like 8 years 3 months. Learn to round, people.