Halo 2 Players Refuse to Leave Xbox Live

[kaiZie]

these remaining few are...as they say...legends in their own right. it really is a testament to halo when u have players that stand up for something like this. Fair play to those still online. May the master chief watch over you =]

 

[Gjarble]

Personally, I think it's a bit of an overreaction to call these players stupid or pathetic. I don't think these guys are trying to make a point or take a stand against the shutting off of Xbox Live. Judging by the nature of their oath as reported in the article, they do not expect it to last forever. Unless they're costing Microsoft more than a few pennies (I know little about the nature of servers), I think "for kicks" is more than enough justification to do what they are doing. Imagine what it must be like to be able to make the the claim that you were the last person in the WORLD to be using the original Xbox Live? I say they're just cherishing the last few drops of what has been given to them... let the good times roll for as long as they can last!

On a semi-related note, I hope that, one day, online gaming can be totally decentralized (that is, the console acts as the server), so any game, past, present, or future, can be played at any time as long as there are enough people willing. Does anyone know if this is technically feasible?

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Yet another story of obsessed players making a stand against Microsoft. I still root for them because although they have no lives* they are fighting the man. Fight the power!

*Yes, I'm aware of the hypocrisy of that statement.

 

[Irridium]

Alright. Seriously, its over now. Straight from Bungie:

[HEADING=2]This is the End[/HEADING]

Sometime in the middle of last week, while a handful of devoted Halo 2 players were still valiantly slugging it out over Xbox LIVE, our direct feed to the mother ship was unceremoniously severed and our Halo 2 player count fell to zero.

Once again, we?d like to thank not only the handful of stubborn ass players who supported our studio and our game until the bitter end, but also the thousands who showed up for our final hurrah and the millions who, at least once, picked up controller and threw down in Halo 2?s multiplayer. We hope you had fun. We know we did.

If you?re looking for a more tangible reward, you?ll have to wait it out a little while longer. Tantrums won?t help your cause. Private Messages, either. We do have a small number of Friends and Family codes that we?re planning on granting to a select few players so they can have early access to the Halo: Reach Beta (it?s super awesome), specifically one for the player who came closest to guessing the final game, one for the player who snagged the final kill we have on record, and one for a player who kept on keeping on, well after our connection was severed. If you?re one of these three, we?ll let you know it. Please don?t bombard us with PM?s and emails. (We?ll get cranky.)

We?ll also be compiling a list of players whose April 14th stats impressed us enough to warrant some other sweet prizes. Those folks will be getting stuff like Bungie Pro and Render Minutes for use in Halo 3, ODST, and the Reach Beta (it?s super awesome), and a few might even receive a select handful of other sweet and more tangible prizes depending on their individual mettle. More on that when we have it all sewed up.

Of course, anyone who played, ever, will be getting some visual love once Reach rolls around, as long as the gamertag you?re currently using tallied up an online game of Halo 2. We know you want to know exactly what it is, but to be honest, we haven?t finalized the flair just yet. It won?t be something as grand as a suit of armor, but we?ll make sure that other players are able to pick you out of a lineup based upon your Halo 2 loyalty. When we hammer out some more details, we?ll get in touch to hammer them home.

>link< [http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&link=BWU_042310]

You'll have to scroll down to find it, but its there, and its official.

 

[Jezzascmezza]

Good on them, if you ask me

 

[Madshaw]

Anyone who still plays on an orginal Xbox needs to get kicked in the nuts.

You do realized there are a lot of poor people, and even more than usual despite the alleged recovery of the economy (according to the stock market). Some day it might be you who can't afford a new generation console.

-

That said, I think Microsoft is in the wrong here. Simply put I feel those people are entitled to play the games they bought online indefinatly. That's part of the product they puchused. To me the only way Microsoft should be turning off their servers or support of those games should be if it goes out of business entirely.

I understand other points of view on this, but to me this pretty much summarizes why I am against the idea of games going digital, or relying on digital connections in general. Right now we're seeing exactly why buying a game that is dependant on the company in any way is a bad idea.

I imagine in 10 years or so we'll hear about how Assasin's Creed 2's support servers are going offline and nobody will be able to play their copy of AC2 anymore. Strictly speaking I feel that if I bought a copy of a game, I have the right to just up and play it online 10 years later on an old machine if I get the hankering. By the same token even if the servers are deserted for decades at a time, I feel a group of Octogenerians in an home down the road would have the right to all login to Halo 2 with their antique X-boxs and play a few rounds for nostolgia if they wanted to.

"Cybersquatting" has apparently accomplished nothing though.

well said, after reading aon this site about the new pokemon games i decides to have another session of pokemon crystal, I would be livid if i found out that I couldn't pick it up and play it again in another few years

 

[Keepitclean]

Wooooow, it's not like there's another halo multiplayer.

I thought the Halo 2 multiplayer was the best. The halo 3 multiplayer is ridiculous. You just charge at each other with an assault rifle then bash when you get close enough. It's pretty much jousting with guns. It get really boring real quick.

What I don't get is why. I don't know much about Xbox Live, but can they now no longer play games online or something?

Microsoft turned the original XBOX's XBL off.

Ah ok. Is that different to the 360's live or something?

Yeah, it uses (used) different servers and such.

Can you still play Halo 2 online if you have a 360? Or is it that they have shut down the service for all teh original xbox games?

 

[Plurralbles]

Well, I despised, absolutely despised halo 3's multiplayer and insisted on staying on two. I can understand where these fans were coming from.

 

[Plurralbles]

Personally, I think it's a bit of an overreaction to call these players stupid or pathetic. I don't think these guys are trying to make a point or take a stand against the shutting off of Xbox Live. Judging by the nature of their oath as reported in the article, they do not expect it to last forever. Unless they're costing Microsoft more than a few pennies (I know little about the nature of servers), I think "for kicks" is more than enough justification to do what they are doing. Imagine what it must be like to be able to make the the claim that you were the last person in the WORLD to be using the original Xbox Live? I say they're just cherishing the last few drops of what has been given to them... let the good times roll for as long as they can last!

On a semi-related note, I hope that, one day, online gaming can be totally decentralized (that is, the console acts as the server), so any game, past, present, or future, can be played at any time as long as there are enough people willing. Does anyone know if this is technically feasible?

Peer to Peer. As much as PC people hate it, it's coming, and I"d welcome it if I could get me and a buddy to play any multiplayer I wanted.

Really, MS should just give the rights to run the Halo servers to whoever wants them. There's people who run servers just so they can enjoy a forum, surely to play a game more people would jump at the chance and we'd keep our multiplayer.

 

[Chipperz]

These people are just being stupid. I'm a massive Halo fanboy and I love Bungie to bits. And I even love Microsoft, since they've never done anything bad to me (and every time I've had any dealings with them I've been all the better for it, even when I had the RRoD and they replaced my console with a free three months of XBL thrown in).

Bungie and Microsoft together gave all Halo 2 users plenty of warning that almost everyone took as a case of "fair enough". Halo 2 was kept alive by Bungie for about four or five years after the Xbox 360's Live service came along, which is already impressive enough and a massive sign that Bungie and Microsoft do care somewhat about the gaming community. Not to mention that they threw in a bunch of extra support and nods to the community at the very end.

At the end of the day, the people who are remaining on their consoles are effectively kicking Bungie and Microsoft in the balls. That's a great way to thank the developer and publisher who did so much for you, isn't it?

This is the truth.

All these people were doing was holding back an update and generally deciding that they love Bungie so much they're gonna ignore everything they say. There's holding out for love, and then there's rudeness and being obnoxious.

 

[MetallicaRulez0]

Hang in there boys. I know it's hard to let go of something so close to your heart as Halo 2 was to mine. Here's hoping Reach can fill the giant shoes left by Halo 2 better than Halo 3 and ODST did.

 

[Orcus The Ultimate]

they should get Halo Reach 4 free... or die from extenuation.

 

[Weaver]

So does no one else find it hilarious you have to pay microsoft 60 bucks a year to keep this shit running, yet they can't even do it? yet I can still log on to UT99 and find plenty of servers around.

 

[crystalsnow]

I just can't understand why someone would go this far to keep a game alive that is essentially identical to the newer version, just with shittier graphics. If the companies want to stop wasting money on servers for a game that only a small fraction of people still play, good for them, that's a smart financial move. People like these Halo 2 clowns only serve to piss Microsoft and Bungie off.

 

[ShazBo]

Anyone who still plays on an orginal Xbox needs to get kicked in the nuts.

But I want to play Steel Battalion.

 

[19]

Well, in my opinion, Halo 2 was a much better game than Halo 3 and all other Halo games to date. It's sad to see it go (in a non-emotional way) but it's had its time.

 

[Blitzkrieg8]

They are probably fighting to get the last kill in halo 2

 

[Starke]

3. Assasin's Creed 2 doesn't need servers to run.

The PC version does. Along with Settlers 7 and Splinter Cell: Conviction.

 

[Brad Shepard]

Im just going to say this, let Halo 2 die with pride, besides, they dident shut down the PC version right?