Found this Justin TV stream of people STILL connected to the Live service on the original Xbox... apparently there's only 65 of them left and none of them have turned their xboxes off since the service went "offline." I assume since Live is a service independant of platform, that they will simply either be forcibly disconnected at some point, or will no longer be able to connect if they log off. 
 
Here's the link:  http://www.justin.tv/fraggedears# 
 
Thoughts Giant Bombers? 
 
Personally I cannot fathom why people love Halo 2 so much, sure I played exactly 1140 matches before moving on, but then again I was a lot younger and still living with my parents when Halo 2 was coming out. What about you guys?

There was a thread like that earlier. But yeah, shit's crazy.

Until there xbox RED RINGGGGGGGGS DOHOHOHOH

Desperado, why don't you come to your senses? 
You better let somebody love you
Before it's too late

" Until there xbox RED RINGGGGGGGGS DOHOHOHOH "

" @Smashlampjaw said:

" Until there xbox RED RINGGGGGGGGS DOHOHOHOH "

BUT THEY'RE ALL PLAYING ON ORIGINAL XBOXS DOHOHOHOH "

Wow, i love Halo 2! wish I thought of this!

Wait, really? People loved Halo 2 that much? Enough to have kept their Xbox on for ages after the end of the service? That is incredible, but I don't see why Halo 2 seems so highly regarded. In fact, I don't really see why the Halo series at all is that highly regarded. But whatever. If they love the game that much they should perhaps find a way to play online on it without playing on Xbox LIVE with it.

wow i cant believe its still going

" Wait, really? People loved Halo 2 that much? Enough to have kept their Xbox on for ages after the end of the service? That is incredible, but I don't see why Halo 2 seems so highly regarded. In fact, I don't really see why the Halo series at all is that highly regarded. But whatever. If they love the game that much they should perhaps find a way to play online on it without playing on Xbox LIVE with it. "

" Wait, really? People loved Halo 2 that much? Enough to have kept their Xbox on for ages after the end of the service? That is incredible, but I don't see why Halo 2 seems so highly regarded. In fact, I don't really see why the Halo series at all is that highly regarded. But whatever. If they love the game that much they should perhaps find a way to play online on it without playing on Xbox LIVE with it. "

" @xMP44x said:

" Wait, really? People loved Halo 2 that much? Enough to have kept their Xbox on for ages after the end of the service? That is incredible, but I don't see why Halo 2 seems so highly regarded. In fact, I don't really see why the Halo series at all is that highly regarded. But whatever. If they love the game that much they should perhaps find a way to play online on it without playing on Xbox LIVE with it. "

says the poster with the halo avatar. "

Theres this thing called a pc

says the poster with the halo avatar. "

A friend of mine is still logged on.  I threatened to come to his house and disconnect his internet.

Man they must get tired of seeing the same people on over and over...

They can't stay connected forever, and I assume eventually they'll be booted off.
Seems like a waste of electricity really, the reward was for playing on the 14th.  They're not going to get anything for still hanging around  :P

" @xMP44x: You don't see why HALO is such highly regarded because you probably were not old enough to play the first when it came out and instead were one of those kiddos who just jumped in on the bandwagon.  Unfortunately that's pretty much most of the HALO community.  Little shits who never played CE or H2 and just jumped in with H3 or ODST.  Just like the kiddos who have never played the original Call of Duty or even CoD2 and just jumped onto COD4 or MW2.  HALO is what made console online gaming, it's what turned XBL into XBL, HALO is what made console FPS.  The cultural impact was also amazing since it spawned the 12 year old mic screamers. "

• I've contributed to the Bungie.net forums to the point where I was a 'Legendary Member'.
• I played Halo, Halo 2, and Halo 3.
• I used Halopedia to actually try and discover more about the world of Halo.
• I played Halo 3 enough to know I was not enjoying it. I made it to Lieutenant something or other in the hope my opinion would change.

" @j_drace: The original can have had all the impact it wants.  I respect it for that.  Bungie doesn't seem to know how to move on from a formula they kicked off nearly a decade ago, however, and that's why the series is getting a lot of flak from the gaming community at large. "

The reported number of people still connected has jumped around a bit so it's hard to know if it really is still 65 but none the less there's something rather special about seeing these few people still connected to the game making the most of it. I've found it really surprising how many have been able to hang on after the official shutdown and that they've managed to stay connected for this long but its awesome seeing that Bungie are giving their encouragement to these guys.

" @xMP44x: Everything you just said rendered you're opinion invalid and completely agreed with my point.  You did not own an original XBOX nor did you own HALO CE or H2.  You can't play H3 and then try to play the older games.  It's like playing GTA IV and then playing GTA II and being WTF why is it 2D?  Halopedia is useless because story has nothing to do with HALO and that should be obvious.  Forum posting also doesn't help anything and finally just because you didn't enjoy H3 doesn't mean that it should not be highly regarded.  If with what I've stated you still can't see why it's so highly regarded then IDK what to tell you.  HALO is right up there with Mario, it revolutionized console gaming.  It defined a genre.  If you don't like it that's fine, but you can't deny the impact it had, which is why it's so highly regarded.

" @j_drace said:

" @xMP44x: Everything you just said rendered you're opinion invalid and completely agreed with my point.  You did not own an original XBOX nor did you own HALO CE or H2.  You can't play H3 and then try to play the older games.  It's like playing GTA IV and then playing GTA II and being WTF why is it 2D?  Halopedia is useless because story has nothing to do with HALO and that should be obvious.  Forum posting also doesn't help anything and finally just because you didn't enjoy H3 doesn't mean that it should not be highly regarded.  If with what I've stated you still can't see why it's so highly regarded then IDK what to tell you.  HALO is right up there with Mario, it revolutionized console gaming.  It defined a genre.  If you don't like it that's fine, but you can't deny the impact it had, which is why it's so highly regarded.

What I said showed that I tried to enjoy the franchise as well. While it agreed with your opinion it shows that I didn't simply hop onto the franchise and not try to get more out of it. The fact that I bought Halo 2 for PC should highlight the fact that I was willing to try and find myself something I enjoyed about the Halo franchise. As for playing IV, and then playing GTA 2, I have actually done such a thing. And believe it or not I didn't mind it being a downgrade. Because technology was more limited at the time it was released and such. As for forum posting, it does have an impact on my game experience. Using the forums taught me some useful tips and such, so the forums do help IMO.
 
As for the series, I have my own opinion on it. It's alright. I don't think it is incredible, but I don't force my views on others. As for the Halopedia I do feel it is a nice resource because the story and world of Halo is incredibly deep. But generally most of it isn't really used, but it's nice to see it. I don't disagree that it caused a revolution in console gaming. It had a major impact. But I don't see why it's highly regarded. IMO, the gameplay is somewhat dated.  Now, you're welcome to your opinion. I don't particularly like the series though. So you're welcome to tell me I'm wrong and that I should be bowing at the magnificence of Master Chief. I'll still disagree but I won't argue with you. Not on the forums at least, because I don't want this to start becoming an argument between the two of us in a thread everyone can use. So if you must tell me I'm wrong and that Halo is awesome, then please do so in a Private Message. "

You don't see why HALO is such highly regarded because you probably were not old enough to play the first when it came out and instead were one of those kiddos who just jumped in on the bandwagon.  Unfortunately that's pretty much most of the HALO community.  Little shits who never played CE or H2 and just jumped in with H3 or ODST. "

I believe he is just saying that playing the game years after it has already been released takes away much of the wow factor. Much of the mechanics introduced by Halo are now outdated, so going back to play it is just not the same, regardless of how big an effort you make to enjoy it. Take from that what you wish. "

Now, you're welcome to your opinion. I don't particularly like the series though. So you're welcome to tell me I'm wrong and that I should be bowing at the magnificence of Master Chief. I'll still disagree but I won't argue with you. Not on the forums at least, because I don't want this to start becoming an argument between the two of us in a thread everyone can use. So if you must tell me I'm wrong and that Halo is awesome, then please do so in a Private Message. "

" @Tennmuerti: IDK what the fuck your deal is, you must be one of those kids, but It's not old school.  It's just the majority of the people who play it are 13-15 year olds who were 4-6 when the first came out and 7-9 when the second came out.  You should analyze the entire post before ending up being a dumbass. "

I think that even if you don't like the Halo series, it would be short-sighted for you to deny the impact that it has had on FPS gaming on consoles. Halo CE not only brought to the table intuitive controls, open ended gameplay and smart enemy A.I. but also proved that the FPS genre could work and work well on consoles. Without Halo CE, I doubt FPSs like Modern Warfare or all the other countless FPSs that have appeared on consoles since then could have thrived on consoles as they do today. Without Halo CE, FPSs wouldn't be nearly as popular or as successful on consoles as they are today (some PC gamers would still contend FPSs are best on the PC but the popular of console FPSs cannot be denied, nor can the huge contribution that Halo CE has made to this franchise) "

" Found this Justin TV stream of people STILL connected to the Live service on the original Xbox... apparently there's only 65 of them left and none of them have turned their xboxes off since the service went "offline." I assume since Live is a service independant of platform, that they will simply either be forcibly disconnected at some point, or will no longer be able to connect if they log off. 
 
Here's the link:  http://www.justin.tv/fraggedears#  Thoughts Giant Bombers?  Personally I cannot fathom why people love Halo 2 so much, sure I played exactly 1140 matches before moving on, but then again I was a lot younger and still living with my parents when Halo 2 was coming out. What about you guys? "

" @Tennmuerti: IDK what the fuck your deal is, you must be one of those kids, but It's not old school.  It's just the majority of the people who play it are 13-15 year olds who were 4-6 when the first came out and 7-9 when the second came out.  You should analyze the entire post before ending up being a dumbass. "

Well it probably has something to do with it being a lot of fun to play, and being far greater than its pos sequel Halo 3.  

Ignoring the nerd bashing wars going on, the fact people are still playing Halo 2 is epic, and a testament to the game. Well done those men.

" @Trilogy said:

" @Smashlampjaw said:

" Until there xbox RED RINGGGGGGGGS DOHOHOHOH "

BUT THEY'RE ALL PLAYING ON ORIGINAL XBOXS DOHOHOHOH "

Wow guys... lol. I believe the original still had a ring of light around the eject button yes? I can't recall and I don't want to find my Xbox in storage just to prove someone wrong =p. "

For anyone who was wondering these guys are apparently still going.  There are 14 players left in Halo 2.   They say they won't stop until forcibly removed.
 
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20003533-17.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

This is fantastic. I love these people.

Actually, I just heard a story recently that reminds me of this. It was someone talking about the death of the Dreamcast, and he went and picked up a copy of Quake 3. He decided to try the online and there was only one server on it, with two bots, hopping around and shooting at each other, but never managing to actually hit one another. He joined the server, and the bots swarmed him with unmatched zeal. He then quit and went into spectator mode, where the two bots continued jumping around in their fruitless efforts to kill each other. 
 
I hope, along with him, that these two bots remain locked in mortal combat for the rest of our lives, so that some poor person can play Quake 3 online

Still surprised that Microsoft didn't just pull a kill switch on it the next day after the Giantbomb recording on the 14th.

I wish I was a part of this :( So coooool

Right now there are still four guys playing. I am not sure whether this is sad or awesome.

Can't wait until their Xbox 360s go RRoD and finally shut them out.