[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) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [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.