Microsoft discontinuing Xbox Live on original Xbox

[Chief]

Beginning on April 15th, 2010 Microsoft will be permanently discontinuing support for Xbox Live on the original Xbox; which will prevent any original Xbox console or original Xbox game from being able to access the Xbox Live service in order to make room for new features and experiences on the Xbox 360. .

This sure has to suck if your one of the original XBOX owners but still... onwards and upwards I guess...??

Heres the link that Xbox LIVE general manager Marc Whitten posted to the community which provides a little more info / context : http://gamerscoreblog.com/press/arch.../05/gh789.aspx

[eggathis]

really? wow! counterstrike and halo 2 players are gonna be pissed! there goes microsoft again, bullying people to make an upgrade

[xrnzaaas]

Well, X360 is compatible with the original Xbox so they have an excuse. I just hope that from now on everything will be unified and that all the achievements and profiles from X360 will be transferred to the next Xbox console...

[eggathis]

Well, X360 is compatible with the original Xbox so they have an excuse.

indeed, but they the fact that they are not supporting xbox games with live features anymore, even if played on 360, is just bad form, imo. i think i like it about as much as the ps3 commercial that claims my ps3 "only does everything" when it wont play my ps2 titles.

[xrnzaaas]

Oh, I didn't know that it also applies to Xbox1 games being played on Xbox360... well then you're right. There are A LOT of great multiplayer Xbox games and it's stupid to discontinue supporting them just because they're several years old and they look ugly to casual players (= not too profitable for M$). To be honest I've purchased an Xbox only because of several exclusives I was desperate to play (Forza 2, Dead Rising and several others). If it wasn't for these games I would have most certainly bought a PS3 which is more customer friendly.

[fadeout001]

This is just another thing Microsoft is doing in order to try and make more money by forcing people to buy newer games & titles since there are still apparently to many people playing older games and not buying new ones.

The last thing they did on this level was update live and sneak in an update that makes xbox 360's not recognize any memory cards except official xbox ones. I had a Max memory pro that held 16GB worth of memory for 2 weeks of which I spent 40 bucks on and then it quit working. I called xbox and they said it must be trouble with the memory card and when I told them it worked for 2 weeks and I knew about their "patch" they hid in their update I was promptly hung up on. The report was MS wasn't selling their memory cards well and it is no wonder. 35 bucks for a 512 MB memory card or someone can be smart and pay 40 bucks for one that hods 16 GBs.

I figured that would be the response I would get but I wanted to know for sure. Microsoft will do anything for a buck and their constant refusal to help customers is turning a lot of people off xbox. I bought my xbox for some exclusive titles such as Mass Effect and I am seriously thinking about getting a PS3 and just keeping my xbox for those few select console exclusive titles.

Even when you call with simple issues the support team who doesn't even play games tries to tell you your an idiot and don't know your own game. I called about some issues with a DLC for Mass Effect and I got asked 50+ times if I was sure I got Spectre Status of which he was pronouncing incorrectly every time.

Microsoft earned a lot of gamers respects with the original xbox and their 4 player games much the same way the N64 won gamers over. Create a console with decent to great single player games, add in a 4 player MP that can be played on one console, and boom you have a great system with potential for fun times.

The 360 barely has any really good SP games and they are so focused on MP that you generally end up with sub standard SP / MP games, throw in all the cheating and glitching that Microsoft doesn't really want to deal with, add in the monthly cost of buying a 4 player game to play with friends that you need 2 copies, 2 consoles, and at least an ethernet cord, and/or live membership and I would say they dropped the ball on what made their first console really great.

To top it off as usual they have horrible customer service, to many problems that go wrong with the system & games, and then throw in the fact that every 6 months or so Microsoft screws gamers over by removing / patching things so that they can make more money in some way.

IF MS is so desperate for money and by that I mean Bill Gates wants to recoup is couple million he has dropped because of the economy then they need to build a better product that is more gamer friendly like their competitors do and not drop services because they think it will make people spend money on what they want.

Even there "On Demand games' that you can DL via Xbox live are pissing people off. They advertise the full game as released in stores but they didn't tell you that the one thing the On Demand games are missing is the achievements. So if you care about 'chieves do not purchase the games from live go to the store and pick them up.