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Microsoft Gives Reparations To Halo 2 Players
Microsoft is going ahead with plans to shut down original Xbox Live on April 15, but the company is offering an olive branch to Halo 2 players who will lose their favorite game's online functionality. These players are getting three free months of Gold subscription, 400 Microsoft points, and an invitation to the Halo: Reach beta according to a mass email sent out to registered Halo 2 users.
Microsoft is selling the decision to turn off the old Xbox Live as necessary for its "continuing efforts to evolve the service," though no details of how exactly the original Xbox Live was holding back the 360 version of the service have been provided.
It undeniably sucks to lose online support for a beloved game – heck, I've been known to fire up older games for some multiplayer action with buddies from time to time – but Halo 2 players have ultimately been playing on Microsoft's dime for five and a half years now. At least you're getting more consideration than EA gives to players of its older games when those servers are shut down. Then again, more Halo 2 players are probably being affected by this than the sum total of all EA server shutdowns from the last three years.
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