Microsoft to Stop Xbox Live Support for Original Xbox

Microsoft has today announced that from April 15th 2010 Xbox Live will no longer support the original Xbox console or any of its games. This also applies to Xbox games that are compatible with the Xbox 360 and the “Xbox Originals” which you can download via Xbox Live Marketplace. In an open letter to all Xbox Live members, Microsoft’s Marc Whitten stated that the decision was made “after careful consideration” and was something needed to done to evolve the service. Mr Whitten stated, “Your Xbox LIVE community has grown to 23 million strong. And as we look down the road, we’ll continue to evolve the service with features and experiences that harness the full power of Xbox 360. To reach our aspiration, we need to make changes to the service that are incompatible with our original Xbox v1 games.”

Xbox Live launched for the original Xbox on November 17th 2002 and supported games such as Unreal Championship and MotoGP. As the years passed the service supported many more games and as a result it became a huge hit amongst Xbox owners. Without a shadow of a doubt though, the most popular original Xbox game on the service was Halo 2. Even to this day, the game still has a huge following on Xbox Live but that will come to end on April 15th 2010. Ahh, the memories of playing Halo 2 and Pro Evolution Soccer 4 online on the original Xbox are flooding back! Good times, good times.