Version 2.0

I've been feeling this little soapbox rant growing inside me for quite a while and now I think I can finally put pen to paper in a digital style and vent my frustrations about this topic. What is the topic? Well. Xbox.

I'm sure I've recounted this story before but I'll tell the story of how I got my Xbox again. It all started when Ash once mentioned that Microsoft were doing a games console, he told me about it and I was pretty impressed. I'd been turned off console gaming thanks to Sony's dominance of the industry and the lack of anything new and interesting.

I've always been a console gamer but had a long foray into PC gaming because of the lack of interesting console games. When I heard that Microsoft was getting into the console market I was intrigued. So, I saved up, pre-ordered my Xbox and waited.

The turning point where I knew I'd decided to get involved with something special was when I saw a video of Halo on an old VHS and was mesmerised by the gameplay. Sticking grenades onto grunts, seeing Elites dodge your gun fire and the sheer beauty of the graphics had me hooked.

The day the Xbox arrived I was actually redecorating my bedroom and it spent most of the day in its box until I took it round to Ashley's house, set it up in his front room (along side his) and played it on an old TV. I played Halo for ages, then got into a little Bloodwake (which was a great concept but poorly executed) and then some Halo multiplayer. It felt like a revolution in my life.

Jumping to now, I've just finished reading Dean Takahashi Opening the Xbox, it's a great read, and tells the story of those men that created the original Xbox and their struggle to get the console accepted by Microsoft and the struggle to launch it. It's a tale of biblical proportions.

So, in my own small way, I shared their vision and their experience with the Xbox and it makes me feel proud that I've been behind Microsoft every step of the way with their massive gamble. It saddened me to learn that many of the original people that created the Xbox are no longer involved with it and I've realised that I'm no longer involved with it.

Microsoft has cut support for the Xbox off. That's it. Done. Dusted. The console that redefined the gaming industry has been reduced down to getting a bunch of PS2 ports like Urban Chaos and The DaVinci Code. The console which brought us amazing experiences in the form of Xbox Live and incredible franchises like Halo, Splinter Cell, Rainbow Six and many more great games like Full Spectrum Warrior, The Chronicles of Riddick, Beyond Good and Evil, Fable, Knights of the Old Republic and literally hundreds more is gone.

I pitched a bunch of ideas to a print magazine a few months ago and one was: "The Xbox Is Dead." They replied that they weren't interested because there are still plenty of games coming out for the Xbox and sighted Black as a prime example. Well, it's pretty obvious that he was wrong because the Xbox is dead.

Microsoft have killed off their console like they killed off Windows 95 with Windows 98 and as Activision's CEO Bobby Kotick once said: "Microsoft is a version 2.0 company."

And my god isn't that a shame. They clearly don't care about backward compatibility and didn't even think it would be an issue before they launched the Xbox 360 because they're running the console business like the Windows software business.

It's wrong that the Xbox was cut down in its prime. When games as gorgeous as Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory and Jade Empire we're showing just what the Xbox can truly achieve. Now it's been demoted to a handy second platform for Publishers to make the numbers add up on games sales.

So, I for one, salute the glory of the Xbox and still display my green Xbox below my TV in it's rightful place. Long live the Xbox.