AfterDawn: News

Xbox 'Halo 2' fans to have one last battle on April 14th

Last week Microsoft announced that it was shutting down the Xbox Live service for the original Xbox console starting in April, effectively killing all online play for the orphaned console, as well as for Xbox games that can be played on the Xbox 360.

Bungie, the developer behind the Halo series, says it is saddened that gamers will no longer be able to play Halo 2 online.



"We're all saddened at the realisation that an era is coming to an end but looking back, we're incredibly fortunate to have had such a great run and such strong support from our fans," says Bungie. "Halo 2 has been at or near the top of the Xbox Live charts for original games since it launched over five years ago. We're extremely thankful to everyone who has played, enjoyed and supported Halo 2 over Xbox Live. We've had some great fun together, including far too many humpday losses to even recount."

With that being said, Bungie is inviting all current and former Halo 2 players to have one last battle on April 14th, the last day before the servers go down.

"Mark your calendars now - on April 14th let's all rally to go online for one last hoorah. One final farewell and one final opportunity for all of you to kick our asses at Halo 2."

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 9 Feb 2010 14:21

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• 16 comments

• keith1993

  There's going to be a lot of disappointed people when they crash the servers...
  

  
  
  I could put something funny here but I cant be arsed. Now GO AWAY!

  9.2.2010 14:53 #1

• pspweazl

  Goodbye, farewell and good riddance! PS3 FOREVER! LOL, nah just kidding, sad to see it go, looking forward to seeing the future for Xbox

  9.2.2010 18:26 #2

• dragnandy

  just wondering...how many people still have the xbox live for the first generation xbox?

  9.2.2010 19:11 #3

• av_verbal

  Originally posted by pspweazl: Goodbye, farewell and good riddance! PS3 FOREVER! LOL, nah just kidding, sad to see it go, looking forward to seeing the future for Xboxand you think that sony wont shut their servers.
  
  at some point in the future both m$ & sony downloaded content that relies on DRM checks to operate will fail to work thanks to the new digital push.
  
  the digital revolution is about the corporations regaining control & stopping second hand sales, all this "rented" content is priced the same as content that we have purchased in the past which we considered it an investment, now the content is worthless as whenever they want to force you to upgrade your games machine or last years version of "Madden" or "Gran Turismo 11" they will simply pull the plug.
  
  not sure about you but i still like the idea that i can play my games in 15 years time without someone saying that its too old to be supported.

  9.2.2010 23:08 #4

• chris4160

  So no original xbox games can be played online anymore, even on the 360? That sucks.

  10.2.2010 02:36 #5

• KillerBug

  Originally posted by chris4160: So no original xbox games can be played online anymore, even on the 360? That sucks.Yeah...legacy support was one of the last things that the 360 had on the PS3. Without legacy support and piracy, what is the point?

  10.2.2010 04:02 #6

• NINVIN21

  WOW I would sue them for the price of all my old Xbox games if I had an EX-BoX that is.
  
  ex-box get it ha ha

  10.2.2010 12:43 #7

• shaffaaf

  I find it cute that some people use "m$" or "$ony".
  
  as for this, yes its sad but MOST peopel have moved on. and i bet was it not for this most peopel wouldnt have or are nto playing halo 2. its a very old game now, its okay if it dies.

  10.2.2010 15:19 #8

• DXR88

  this doesn't include the Halo:CE and Halo 2 for windows live however.
  
  i still find time to play Halo:CE.

  11.2.2010 07:28 #9

• iRuler

  Imagine that. You can't trust Microsoft. You bought a game several years back, and now 1/2 of its content (arguably the better half) is being stripped away. You won't see a refund for that either. You won't see anything but history repeating itself when the next Xbox hits the market and all the games you own for the 360 are shut down online.
  
  ... I personally can't wait for Apple to get into the gaming business. They already own the hand held market with the simplistic games on iPhone and iPod Touch. If they had a console it would be unmatched. Period.

  11.2.2010 20:27 #10

• shaffaaf

  seriously millions MORE people have halo 3 over 2.
  
  its a last gen system, its doors are being closed big woop. why didnt people cry when they stoped making xboxes at all? one shoudl haev gotten a PC, as dedicated servers, wont be closed if someones still playing. this is a life of console games.

  11.2.2010 21:13 #11

• DRokKer

  Originally posted by shaffaaf: one shoudl haev gotten a PC, as dedicated servers, wont be closed if someones still playing. this is a life of console games.
  Not true. GT Legends THE best 60s era driving sim ever made had all its servers turned off last year. The simracing community had to buy its own server and hack the game to get it back up.
  Another thing Windows 7 doesn't support Starforce DRM so to run GTL on it you have to use a pirated version.
  Having a PC means there is usually away around it but don't be fooled into thinking your games are not at risk of being turned off.
  Pro evolution 6 (the best football game ever made for online play) got switched off last year too.

  12.2.2010 14:26 #12

• creaky

  From time to time i still play Halo 2 on system link with my daughters, i much prefer Halo 1 & to Halo 3.
  

  
  
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  12.2.2010 14:30 #13

• cptracks

  dang thats crazy. no more Halo 2 online

  12.2.2010 19:46 #14

• Nervax

  Solution?? XBConnect !!

  19.2.2010 21:23 #15

• scum101

  Aye creakster.. halo 3 was pretty boring after the first couple of levels.. I like the outside snow level in halo 1 myself.. great fun.
  
  Never played online.. can't see the point of jumping about on a map shooting at other losers jumping about on a map.. give me somewhere to explore properly too.. otherwise it's just like the original unreal from all those years back..
  
  Only games I liked on system link were racing games.. and the xbox didn't have many of those worth playing for some reason.
  

  "Ubuntu" - an African word meaning "Slackware is too hard for me"

  19.2.2010 21:30 #16