LIVE finishing for original Xbox

Owners and users of the original Xbox will have to say goodbye to Xbox LIVE, as the service is to be discontinued for that console as of the April 15.

Microsoft confirmed that it will be terminating the LIVE service for original Xbox users because it wants the change to “continue evolving the LIVE service with new features and experiences”. The official statement said that not only will the service be stopped for the original Xbox and games, but also for Xbox games that are playable on the Xbox 360.

The first step in doing this will be for Microsoft to turn off the auto-renewals for those members who only use Xbox LIVE for the Original Xbox only. One spokesman for Microsoft said:

While I can't comment on the specifics, this change will allow us to continue evolving the LIVE service with new features and experiences that fully harness the power of Xbox 360 and the Xbox LIVE community. We did not make this decision lightly, but after careful consideration and review we realise that this decision will allow us unprecedented flexibility for future features. The best is yet to come, and we look forward to sharing more details in the near future."