Microsoft Dumping Original Xbox Live Games
Firstly and most importantly, if you still want to play Star Wars: Battlefront 2 you can use the PC version which has a proper online service that won’t desert you after a few years.
Microsoft in all their wisdom has decided that the money it takes to support the original Xbox is just too much. As of April 15th they are not just reducing the online service, or replacing it with some cut-down version, they’re removing it altogether. This includes removing online play from games they claimed were compatible with the Xbox 360.
Obviously this is a move to curb costs; supporting a little played and unimportant console like the original Xbox does not make sense from a business perspective. Wait… oh, I mean they are moving forward to harrumph some innovation… something about experiences and harnessing power. Probably.
It could be that dumping Xbox 1 games will let Microsoft patch Xbox Live to give you than 100 friends, since they’ve previously said that legacy support was holding them to a hard-coded limit. Pretty crappy move though, considering some of these games are still being sold through Xbox Originals.
I’d say it makes perfect sense, BUT to continue selling games over Games on Demand that are now gimped is a bit mean.
Hey, if it means I can finally have more than 100 friends on XBL (which is what I’m hearing may come from this) then fuck the people living in the past. From what I remember there are… 2 maybe? … online games on the XBox worth playing, and both have sequels on the 360.
Also just to be a dick I’m going to say it… if there was a dedicated server option (as opposed to running everything through XBL) this wouldn’t be an issue.
@ScottyGrayskull: There’s no reason they couldn’t just make a gimped version of XBL for the old games to use.
And I think the PS2 version of ST:BF2 lets you use your own PS2 as a server, so should be fine (though I’m not sure what does the matchmaking)
What if I want to play Halo 2 again? :’(
But… this isn’t the PS2… This is XBox… Maybe they put the option in, but maybe not. Either way I’m not sure why you’re talking about the PS2.
As to whether or not they should make some sort of gimped service, I would really like to see some usage numbers… as I assume it just isn’t worth it for the limited market. I do think that by severing ties to the XBox they are allowing potential growth to what XBL can be and can offer, or at least would make development of such things a lot easier.
@Halfleft
Get it on PC. Pretty sure that version has dedicated servers.
@ScottyGrayskull: I mentioned the PS2 as that version, along with PC one, essentially have dedicated servers so still work.
Hohum. That means the genius that was Psychonauts will be well and truly lost to the aether again. Unless you pick it up from Steam for a £1 like I did.
@Mark B
No no no… backwards compatibility is still intact (and hopefully increase). The change is that you will no longer be able to play the online component of original XBox games like Halo 2, Burnout 3, or the aforementioned Battlefront 2.
How ridiculous is this? We are -paying- for Xbox Live, and instead of giving gamers an option, they cut corners to make more money.
It’s like a store selling you a pie, handing it to you, then some jerk in a suit demands you give him a slice back, to which he resells.
Blurgh.
Eh.
Heard about this, wasn’t too broken up over it.
The fact that they’re still selling original XB titles through games on demand is pretty ridiculous, though.