Halo 2 Fans Still Playing on Xbox Live

Oh sure, one more Halo-related post for today. When Microsoft announced that it would shut down Xbox Live for all original Xbox games on April 14, I was under the impression that they’d throw a switch and everyone would get booted offline. But apparently, any original Xbox game you were playing on the last day would continue to work as long as your console is turned on and connected. So now we have 13 gamers whose Xbox consoles haven’t had a wink of sleep for 13 days, and these players are gaming the system to enjoy as much Halo 2 as they can.

“A lot of us became really good friends, and it’s almost like we’re family now,” says Bungie.net forumgoer Joe Campbell. A couple players were broadcasting live streams of the games, but their consoles eventually froze or lagged out. A couple more people are still streaming. “We will keep playing until we are all forcibly removed,” Campbell writes. “It could be by Microsoft, Bungie, our Xbox’s overheating, or just lagging out. Not for competition, not for a prize, but for the love, and memory of Halo 2.” Microsoft, hook these guys up with Halo: Reach beta codes, stat. [Bungie.net via Gizmodo]