[quote]***************************2019 edit***************************
[url=http://halo.bungie.net/forums/posts.aspx?postID=43235214]C̶l̶i̶c̶k̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶v̶i̶e̶w̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶r̶e̶a̶d̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶i̶t̶s̶ ̶o̶r̶i̶g̶i̶n̶a̶l̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶m̶a̶t̶[/url] This link no longer works because, unfortunately, the b.net web team decided to delete the archived forums on halo.bungie.net in 2018.
[url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623111755/http://halo.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=43235214&postRepeater1-p=1]Click here to view this thread in its original format on archive.org.[/url] Thank you to shadowkiller168 for archiving this thread. Every page in this thread is archived. By reading the comments in order, you can see how this story unfolded on a day-by-day basis.
This thread is completely dead now. But for historical purposes, I wanted to give one last update in order to post the archive. Thank you.[/quote]
[b]12/24/2014-Final Update:[/b] Wow, I can't believe it's been nearly 5 years since the original Halo 2 servers were shut down (and over 10 years since Halo 2 came out!). It's amazing how much has changed since then. With the release of Destiny, bungie.net is a completely different entity than it was when this thread was created. We are in a whole new generation of gaming, so it's not surprising to see how different the community is here now. I know some of you have stuck around since before the darkness; this thread is mostly for you guys. This thread was originally meant to be sort of a protest to the discontinuation of Halo 2 XBL matchmaking, but now this is no longer necessary. The Master Chief Collection has given Halo fans what we have been wanting since the servers were shut down. Halo 2 really set the standard for what competitive online gaming should be like, and I'm so glad that the current generation of gamers will be able experience what made the previous generations so great. I wanted to personally thank all of the people who have kept this thread somewhat alive over the years. You guys have proven that Halo is more than just a game. Not many things in this world can create such a deeply shared passion by so many people across the globe, but Halo proved to be one of those things. So many unlikely friendships were formed, so many memories were made, and so much fun was had. Refusing to let Halo 2 die was my way of thanking the community and thanking Bungie for the good times you have given me. The nostalgia I have of the early Halo days will never go away, but the MCC will allow us to relive those memories once again. So, once again, I wanted to thank Bungie and 343 Industries for making this possible. And I wanted to thank the Halo and Bungie community for sharing this passion with me.
(If you guys ever want to play some swords and snipes on lockout, add me on XBL: Agent Windex. Hopefully, I'll have an Xbox One sometime next year)
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[quote][b]The original thread is posted below. I hope it brings back some good memories and lots of nostalgia. Thanks guys![/b][/quote]
As all of you know, the Xbox Live servers were shut down for all Xbox original games on April 14, 2010. A small, dedicated group of Halo 2 players didn't agree with this, and did everything they could to not let the game die. As long as we didn't shut off our Xboxes, or lose connection in any way, we would still be able to play Halo 2 online. At first there were over 500 people that had kept their Xboxes on after the servers were shut down, but that quickly decreased to less than 100. Many players had lagged out, and some players Xboxes actually overheated. In the end, were able to keep Halo 2 alive for nearly 1 month longer than it should have been.
You may ask why we did this. Everyone has their own reason, but mostly it was for the love, and memory, of Halo 2. For some, it was to show their disapproval to Microsoft for shutting off Halo 2 so we could have more friends on our friends list. (Which is apparently why they shut down the servers, and that update still hasn't happened!)
A lot of us became really good friends.
For a while, we had 'T0 Be Continued' live streaming all of our games, until her xbox regrettably froze while playing custom games. Then, 'Mr7ankjump' did a live stream, but he lagged out only 4 hours later. 'Z0mbie Stench' was doing a live stream every day after those 2 lagged out, but sadly she was kicked off because of connection trouble. XXBooker DXX was the final live streamer.
I would like to thank everyone who followed our story, all of your support really inspired us to stay on as long as possible. Also, I would like to thank all of the Final Few, you guys are awesome and it was an honor playing with you. Also, I would like to thank [url=http://www.GamesRadar.com/]GamesRadar.com[/url] for giving out F&F beta codes for the final 12.
There are no longer any Halo 2 players online. Here are the names of the Final 52, in order of not being kicked offline.
1.APACHE N4SIR
2.Agent Windex
3.Lord Odysseus11
4.xxMAKDADYxx
5.DirtyCajun
6.Aforeignobject
7.XXBooker DXX
8.HiredN00bs
9.Rob2D
10.Z0mbie Stench
11.H20 Shoagie
12.Sherlok 1
13.SieferSword
14.Detenn
15.WGL Gonzo
16.MangledRex
17.XYOX
18.Anelf3
19.DeadlyChippy
20.Bond WM
21.Lockepyker
22.BillFromChicago
23.Mr7ankJump
24.NoName Nomad
25.T0 Be Continued
26.Family Fry
27.Hal0 HuLk
28.slater ohm
29.Dustyn1001
30.Milhouse06
31.Se7enUpMustang
32.TS Smokz
33.HummpaDummp
34.Crazy Kai
35.Wopsle
36.RomeoDude
37.xxxPuNiiSheRxxx
38.A Snoopkat
39.Keneken
40.xzzy
41.Nedge
42.TubbyKarma304
43.Lucky v1
44.Dragonslayer91
45.vxv frosty vxv
46.coppertop101
47.Osgray
48.MazeltovKoktail
49.Envoyyy JG
50.ssr14
51.Trent4now 05
52.One Eyed Monky
53. bLiGhTy (bligh7y)
27-53 are complete guesses, I just wanted to make sure their names were listed. Feel free to correct anything on this list.
Our message was heard throughout all of the internet. There were many articles written about what we did, on almost every gaming website. Here are some of the articles:
[url=http://www.slashgear.com/dedicated-halo-2-players-keep-online-gaming-going-2783371/]Slash Gear's Article[/url]
[url=http://www.gamestooge.com/2010/04/26/never-say-die-halo-2-fans/]Game Stooge's Article[/url]
[url=http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/042310-halo-2-players-keep-original.html]Network World's Article[/url]
[url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/100219-Halo-2-Players-Refuse-to-Leave-Xbox-Live]Escapist Magazine's Article[/url]
[url=http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/214933/dozens-of-halo-2-players-keep-original-xbox-online-gaming-alive/]Game Pro's Article[/url]
[url=http://www.games-inet.com/news-dozens-of-halo-2-players-keep-original-xbox-online-gaming-alive_369.html]Games Inet's Article[/url]
[url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20003533-17.html]Cnet's Article[/url]
[url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/people-still-playing-halo-2-somehow]Eurogamer's Article[/url]
[url=http://www.maxconsole.net/content.php?39820-LOL-Halo-2-players-refuse-to-quit-Xbox-LIVE-keep-playing-until-consoles-freeze]Max Console's Article[/url]
[url=http://kotaku.com/5525837/fourteen-halo-2-fans-refuse-to-let-it-die]Kotaku's Article[/url]
[url=http://thegamingliberty.com/index.php/2010/04/28/halo-2-fans-refuse-to-let-halo-die/]The Gaming Liberty's Article[/url]
[url=http://slashdot.org/story/10/04/28/0754207/Dedicated-emHalo-2em-Fans-Keep-Multiplayer-Alive]Slashdot's Article[/url]
[url=http://www.videogamer.com/news/halo_2_players_keep_game_alive.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter]VideoGamer.com's Article[/url]
[url=http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/704188/halo-2-refuses-to-die-gamers-still-playing-over-xbox-live.html]G4 TV's Article[/url]
[url=http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3179031]1up's Article[/url]
[url=http://gizmodo.com/5526334/halo-2-superfans-refuse-to-let-the-dream-die]Gizmodo's Article[/url]
[url=http://tweakers.net/nieuws/67039/fans-houden-xbox-game-halo-2-online-in-leven.html]Tweaker's Article (Dutch)[/url]
[url=http://www.switched.com/2010/04/27/gamers-refuse-to-turn-off-xboxes-keep-playing-halo-2-online/]Switched's Article[/url]
[url=http://www.freexboxcheats.com/halo-2-lives-on-with-the-help-of-14-gamers]Free Xbox Cheats' Article[/url]
[url=http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Technology/20100427/10444016/Gamers-Refuse-to-Turn-Off-Xboxes-Keep-Playing.htm]One News Page's Article[/url]
[url=http://www.gamespot.com/news/6260513.html]Gamespot's Article[/url]
[url=http://www.gamereactor.de/Blogs/christian+gaca/279]Game Reactor's Article (German)[/url]
[url=http://www.joystiq.com/2010/04/29/halo-2-still-kinda-alive-thanks-to-some-fans/]Joystiq's Article[/url]
[url=http://www.xbox-news.com/e9490.html]XNews' Article (Japenese)[/url]
[url=http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/archives/204921.asp]Seattlepi's Article[/url]
[url=http://xboxlive.ign.com/articles/108/1086645p1.html]IGN's Article[/url]
[url=http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/plugged-in/stay-in-the-fight-halo-2-superfans-keep-game-alive/1397830]Yahoo's Article[/url]
[url=http://www.gamesradar.com/f/exclusive-interview-halo-2s-final-players-share-their-stories/a-2010051415103021070]GamesRadar Interview[/url]
Halo 2: Final Few Montages: (Thanks to Slater Ohm) Amazing videos, some of the last Halo 2 montages ever made.
[url=http://youtu.be/BYthxCUE7dw]Episode 1[/url]
[url=http://youtu.be/Zb6Q6ZbB5HE]Episode 2 (no audio)[/url]
[url=http://youtu.be/2Hegzh2gS5s]Episode 3[/url]
[url=http://youtu.be/gp9qOMTfAMU]Episode 4[/url]
[Edited on 02.04.2012 11:25 PM PST] [b][/b] [b][/b] [url=http://www.bungie.net]link[/url] [url=http://www.bungie.net]link[/url]
Edit: This thread was moved to the OffTopic forum because #Gaming was removed from Bungie.net.
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http://www.facebook.com/groups/243190072371017/editgroup.php? gid=243190072371017&sk=information#!/groups/2431900723710 17/ plz if you have facebook join this group so hopefully we can persuade microsoft to put the servers online agian thx
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] slater ohm my new h2 montage [url]http://www.thehaloforum.com/halo-2-videos/387135-slater-ohm-presents-fashionably-late-h2-gameplay-dutchy-slater-deathenator.html[/url] yayay[/quote]Haha! Loved it!
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It seems just like yesterday i was playing Halo 2 :'). They should have left peer to peer gaming. It would have cost nothing (no dedicated servers) and could bring joy to many halo fans. Why didn't they leave that functionality?
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There's nothing to be said on this except well done. Anyone who calls themselves a fan of the Franchise is [b]nothing[/b] compared to you guys. You did what we all should have done.
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my new h2 montage [url]http://www.thehaloforum.com/halo-2-videos/387135-slater-ohm-presents-fashionably-late-h2-gameplay-dutchy-slater-deathenator.html[/url] yayay [Edited on 08.05.2011 8:01 PM PDT]
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Things like that are why Halo has the best community of any multiplayer game. Also, that's dedication homes!(obligatory)
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anyone else just -blam!- went through a rollercoaster during the bungie vidoc? haha, how is this -blam!- still getting to me. releasing my final big XBL montage soon.. also weird thing to realize. :/ <3
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This remake for halo 1 is good and all.. but I would be more than double excited for a halo 2 remake... not because of the remake itself, but because of a possible return of halo 2 matchmaking.
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Sooo many of us would play halo2 for hours on end if they brought the servers back. Brings back memories when I read and remember having read the updates as those playing after the shutdown began to be booted or logged off one by one off the servers.
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I really wish I got the chance to play Halo 2 on Xbox Live (with my own Xbox that is). I've only had live for a couple of years, and I can't tell you how excited I was to FINALLY play on Xbox Live. The first game I played when I got my membership set up was Halo 3...but Halo 2 was my favorite out of the series, and I wish I could play it online. If they ever decided to bring back the servers on Halo 2. I would SOOOOOO play the crap out of it!!!
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I'm honored knowing that I was part of at least the last 300 online players, it feels kind of weird that it's been more than a year. After seeing some of the thread's pages I'm very glad to see people who has posted that played with me during the final days of Halo 2. So many memories come to my head right now...... Hopefully we will meet again online in Reach or another Halo game. And tomorrow the Bungie 20th Anniversary ViDoc, can't believe time has passed so overwhelmingly fast since 2001. I actually think I'll be crying while watching the ViDoc. Long Life to Bungie, Halo and Beyond! Regards, D4rth T Man7iz (Current GT)
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Rob2D Everybody who had an old live account got the free live and points reward. Gamesradar gave us the codes which was nice of them. Used mine straight away. I probably could have left my xbox on and beat Apache, but by that time there were no games being played anymore so there was no point. Plus you have to look to the future as well, and that was Reach. I still wonder why Bungie never gave us a shout-out. Although the guys over at Roosterteeth talked about us on their podcast which was cool because I've been a fan of Red vs Blue for years.[/quote]Yeah, that's why joe campbell stopped, he didn't get kicked, he just stopped because it was pointless. Besides, Apache was set up so he couldn't fail. All in all though, it was a special time and Bungie should have given a nod.
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Everybody who had an old live account got the free live and points reward. Gamesradar gave us the codes which was nice of them. Used mine straight away. I probably could have left my xbox on and beat Apache, but by that time there were no games being played anymore so there was no point. Plus you have to look to the future as well, and that was Reach. I still wonder why Bungie never gave us a shout-out. Although the guys over at Roosterteeth talked about us on their podcast which was cool because I've been a fan of Red vs Blue for years.
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] slater ohm I got like 3 months of xbox live I think? some of us received emails stating some -blam!- about us being cool, I dont remember very well but I've probably got it somewhere. I still think about this once in a while[/quote]Yeah, you should think about it from time to time, I do and I wasn't even a part of the final few but I remember watching a lot of the streamers that hung in there. I remember Joe hanging in there to the very end, man that was an awesome once in a lifetime experience for all the final few.
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I got like 3 months of xbox live I think? some of us received emails stating some -blam!- about us being cool, I dont remember very well but I've probably got it somewhere. I still think about this once in a while
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I shed a tear every time I look at the title of this thread. It really brings out the sadness in the situation. I was in the last 300. Really wish I made it into the last 50 like you guys did. I was showing my support by watching T0 be continued's live stream.
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yeah btb mm and pre-game lobbies were best on xbl. [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] joe campbell Haha, that's an awesome picture. :p And yeah, I still play Halo 2 on Xlink Kai and XBC, but it's just not the same. :/ [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] totallymassive I think this pictures is about you [url=http://revo-emag.com/wp-content/upLoads/2010/04/halo-tree-sitters.jpg]Here[/url] tree sitting trying to keep it halo 2 alive. It still is though on kai, so it also applies to us kai and connect players but I think the pic was made for those that stayed after the xbl shut down. [/quote][/quote]
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Haha, that's an awesome picture. :p And yeah, I still play Halo 2 on Xlink Kai and XBC, but it's just not the same. :/ [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] totallymassive I think this pictures is about you [url=http://revo-emag.com/wp-content/upLoads/2010/04/halo-tree-sitters.jpg]Here[/url] tree sitting trying to keep it halo 2 alive. It still is though on kai, so it also applies to us kai and connect players but I think the pic was made for those that stayed after the xbl shut down. [/quote]
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I think this pictures is about you [url=http://revo-emag.com/wp-content/upLoads/2010/04/halo-tree-sitters.jpg]Here[/url] tree sitting trying to keep it halo 2 alive. It still is though on kai, so it also applies to us kai and connect players but I think the pic was made for those that stayed after the xbl shut down. [Edited on 07.23.2011 7:19 PM PDT]
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Pineapple Pie honestly this is quite touching. i just came to the sad realization that i never played halo 2 online(i didn't have broadband till Xbox 360).[/quote]Likewise. This story is truly Inspirational, though. It brings back Memories of the hours on campaign and LAN games i spent. I would have sacrificed Reach Beta to be among such Legendary gamers in Halo 2 post-finale games. I only wish they would bring back Halo 2. However, the extended games on Halo 2 past its shutdown really is dedication. *Salutes to those Final Players*
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I don't think anyone got anything from Bungie. I know the final... 20? people left online got early beta codes, thanks to the kindness of Gamesradar.com (Not that we were expecting anything, we just wanted to play some Halo 2.) Edit: Now that I think of it, I think T0 Be Continued, and possibly a few more who did not get codes from Games Radar, got an early beta code from Bungie because she was part of the Final Few, but my memory is fuzzy. :/ [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] nightspark So what did you guys get? I remember reading that Bungie was going to give that last players something. It wasn't just the nameplate, was it?[/quote] [Edited on 06.28.2011 3:49 PM PDT]
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So what did you guys get? I remember reading that Bungie was going to give that last players something. It wasn't just the nameplate, was it?
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joe campbell, you mind tellin' me what you're doing on those servers? [i] Sir, continuing this fight. [/i]
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It was awesome what you guys did, wish I had known that I could have just left my xbox on.
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Thanks for the videos Slater, it was great to see and hear everyone again. I couldn't watch part 4 though!
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I loved Halo 2. We always played split screen because I didn't know how Xbox live worked at the time. Kinda wish we would have set it up though. I hear alot of my friends who did play online talk about how Halo 2 on live was the best Halo multiplayer to date. Kudos to the final players. That's pretty epic to keep the game running past its death sentence. Very Spartan like indeed. Yall sent it out with a bang.