The ex-box: Microsoft officially closes original Xbox Live

Microsoft this morning officially ended online support for the original Xbox console, writes Eoin Mason.

Back in February, Microsoft said the closing of the online service would benefit for future upgrades to the Xbox 360, but didn't cite anything specific. The most consistent rumour has been that the Xbox 360 Live friend list - currently capped at 100 - would increase. However, nothing has been confirmed.

Xbox Live general manager Mark Whitten did make a minor reference to Project Natal in a letter to the community. Coming this November, it is set to rival Sony's Playstation Move and Nintendo's Wii console.

Gaming community reaction to the closure of Xbox Live for the original console has been predictably negative. Some have questioned why there is any reason at all for the closure. The Inquirer's  Numb Thumbs Blog said: 'We can't figure out why Microsoft needs to do it now. An online support structure for Natal is probably in research and development or private beta. Either way, Natal implementation shouldn't have a knock-on effect for Xbox live. And Xbox 360 users on Live are ticking over nicely."

Even though Microsoft has kept its council, it's likely to be more than a coincidence that new social network features have appeared in the last few months. And this will also be a gentle encouragement for Xbox owners clinging to their old console to upgrade.

Interestingly, the Official Xbox Magazine's Ryan King put up a story yesterday saying that, for most of the day, Xbox Live servers were not as full as expected and it was easier than usual to get onto a game on Halo 2. Other popular Xbox Live titles such as Unreal Tournament 3 and Crimson Skies, however, had no one online when we took a peek yesterday - a sad farewell.