Halo 2 On Xbox Live Officially Dead As The Last Player Disconnects

Despite the fact that Microsoft cut the cord, figuratively speaking we hope, on the original Xbox's access to Xbox LIVE on April 15th, there were determined gamers out there that wanted nothing more than to keep playing their favorite First Person Shooter (FPS) on the service. They wanted it so much, in fact, that they refused to turn off their consoles, or disconnect from their Internet connections at all costs. It garnered them some instant fame, and put them in a spotlight that none of them probably expected.

April 15th marked the end of days for the original Xbox's access to Xbox Live, and with it went the games that had access to the platform as well. As we reported a couple weeks back, there were just over a dozen gamers left online, shooting it out with the other dedicated people who couldn't let their favorite online game go. And as the days counted down, more and more gamers felt the sting of time. Some of their consoles continued to fall, and other's Internet connections were lost. And then, just as everything does, it came down to one individual.

He calls himself Apache N4SIR on LIVE, and he was the very last person to be playing Halo 2 on Xbox LIVE. When his comrades all fell away, he was left with a question about what to do. Keep playing Custom Games? While other suggested that he should play through the Campaign again. He wouldn't be able to finish it, however, as the game would automatically sign him off Xbox LIVE, and therefore the mission would be over. But then it all came crashing down when the system automatically booted him off, for unknown reasons.

Director of Policy and Enforcement for Xbox LIVE, Stephen Toulouse, considered the hardcore gamers some of the finest people in the gaming universe, and even tweeted about their endeavors, saying that those at Xbox LIVE saw them, and that, as a matter of fact, they saluted their hard work and determination. Before the end of Halo 2 online though, Microsoft formally invited them to the Halo: Reach Beta, which is going on right now.

And so, that marks the end of an era. Online gaming for original Xbox titles is over and done with, and we can't think of a better way to mark the end of it then to know that the final shot, for all intents and purposes, was fired in one of the most popular video game titles ever created.

[via CNET]