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It has been described as an end of an era, but last night Microsoft said that the decision to turn off support for original Xbox consoles and titles on Xbox LIVE will “enable some awesome new stuff”.
What that awesome new stuff is, however, we don’t know. All Stephen Toulouse, Director of Policy and Enforcement for Xbox LIVE, said in an update on his blog, was that the dumping of the original Xbox LIVE would “enable new functionality”.
“Today we took a rather deep decision,” Toulouse wrote. “In order to enable some awesome new stuff that I cannot possibly talk about, we needed to turn off support for original Xbox consoles and titles on Xbox LIVE. It wasn’t easy, and was taken with the utmost consideration for our customers to enable new functionality.”
Last night, thousands of gamers marked the end of the original Xbox LIVE service by playing the Bungie-developed FPS Halo 2.
Halo 2, of course, kick-started online console gaming with a multiplayer offering that many consider to have been the best of all time.
We took a look back at the game and its impact on gaming in a special feature of our own.
When Microsoft announced the closure of the original Xbox LIVE in February, Xbox LIVE General Manager Marc Whitten said the switch would “provide the greatest benefit to the Xbox LIVE community”.
He added at the time: “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.”
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