Microsoft Ends Xbox Live for Original Xbox Games and Owners

On Friday February 5th, Microsoft made the announcement on MajorNelson.com that Xbox Live will "be discontinued for original Xbox consoles and games". This is a major change that will affect the playability of Xbox Games. One of the reasons that many people who were not original Xbox owners purchased an Xbox 360 was because of backwards compatibility with original Xbox titles and continued multiplayer support.

The Announcement
"On April 15, 2010 Microsoft will discontinue Xbox LIVE service for original Xbox consoles and games, including Xbox 1 games playable on Xbox 360."

What does this Mean for Xbox and Xbox360 Owners?
This means that players still using an original Xbox will no longer be able to play on Xbox Live. Additionally, current Xbox 360 owners will not be able to play their original Xbox games such as Halo 2 on Live either.

Nowhere in the announcement does it say that original Xbox games will no longer work on an Xbox 360, just that one will no longer be able to connect to Live with an original Xbox game for multiplayer or downloadable content.

The Reason for the Change?
"This change will allow us to continue evolving the LIVE service with new features and experiences that fully harness the power of Xbox 360 and the Xbox LIVE community." Additionally, "this decision will allow us unprecedented flexibility for future features."

According to Marc Whitten "this isn't a decision we made lightly, but after careful consideration, it is clear this will provide the greatest benefit to the Xbox LIVE community." Marc elaborated by stating that "we need to make changes to the service that are incompatible with our original Xbox v1 games."

The fact that there are still original Xbox owners out there with subscriptions to Xbox Live just so they can play Halo 2 (and a few select other games) is pretty amazing in and of itself. The Xbox 360 is almost five years old as it is.

What doesn't make sense is why Xbox 360 owners wouldn't be able to play original Xbox games over Xbox Live. The games themselves are just software. The release of Windows 7 hasn't stopped people from playing Doom multiplayer.

Will Microsoft Lose Gamer Confidence?
Video gamers who have poured hundreds of dollars into Xbox 360 titles as it is may rethink the decision to purchase used original Xbox games in the future. While most second hand retailers such as Game Stop have pulled their original Xbox games from their stores, it is still available online. With the recent announcement, their inventory will surely undergo a substantial amount of depreciation.

Team Kobun replied to the announcement "What's to stop Microsoft from saying in a couple of years or so that the company will no longer be supporting 360 games?" Team Kobun makes a valid question that could affect the trade in costs of Xbox 360 games, especially when a new console is announced.

Although systems may be backwards compatible with older games, the lack of any means to play those games with other players renders them useless (unless the game had a stellar campaign, such as the case for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic) and worthless.

Continue Playing Original Xbox Games Online Via XBConnect.com
Halo 2 players need not fret! XBonnect.com is a website that will allow both original Xbox and Xbox 360 owners to play multiplayer games online after April 15th. One simply connects their Xbox to their computer, and using the free software from XBConnect.com, they are able to play any game as if it were in LAN mode.

While this method does take several additional steps, it will allow die hard players to still use their favorite original Xbox games (in addition to not having to pay for an Xbox Live membership to play current Xbox 360 games).

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Sources:
Xbox LIVE being discontinued for Original Xbox consoles and games, MajorNelson.com. Retrieved February 5, 2010 from http://majornelson.com/archive/2010/02/05/xbox-live-being-discontinued-for-original-xbox-consoles-and-games.aspx

Marc Whitten , A Letter from Marc Whitten: Discontinuation of Xbox LIVE for Original Xbox Games, gamerscoreblog.com. Retrieved February 5, 2010 from http://gamerscoreblog.com/press/archive/2010/02/05/gh789.aspx