Halo 2 limiting Xbox 360 friend lists
- August 12, 2009 18:37 PM PST
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If you've ever wondered why you can't have more than one hundred friends on your Xbox 360, a still-popular original Xbox game may be to blame.
A common complaint amongst my gamer friends is that while Xbox Live is a great way to connect with people, it has its limits. For those who aren't aware, Xbox currently has a friends cap of 100 friends per account. Once you have 100 friends you can no longer get or send requests. Microsoft is finally addressing the issue and the technical problems might not be as technical as you think.
Thousands of people put all that care into their Avatars, and only 100 friends can see each.
Microsoft has gone through great lengths to make Xbox and Xbox Live a destination for all types of people and their friends. New add-ons like Xbox parties, and the inclusion of Facebook, Twitter and last.fm are all making sure Xbox is more relevant than ever. These additions also prove that it is well within their means and their best interest to allow as many people to communicate and play together as possible. Extending the friends cap would do this.
So in four years, why hasn't it happened yet?
Microsoft has been citing technical difficulties related to original Xbox titles and the way those games were built. If you are like myself you are wondering what this means and why Xbox games would affect the performance of Xbox 360 games. Needless to say I was surprised when I learned the reason there is still a friend cap is because of Halo 2.
He's in ur 360s, breakin ur friends list.
Despite two new Halo games since Halo 2's release (Halo 3 and Halo Wars), there is still an overwhelming amount of support for the game on Xbox Live. The original Xbox Live was not meant to handle more than 100 friends and Halo 2 couldn't function if it were. Obviously, the Xbox 360 can function with more friends but the demand for Halo 2 is so high Microsoft has opted to not upgrade. Getting rid of the friends cap would mean disabling live support for Halo 2.
A source told G4TV.com Microsoft wasn't sure when steps to remove Halo 2 support thus allowing more friends would take place. Bungie has said that fans shouldn't expect to see more Halo games in the future after Halo: Reach so Microsoft could be waiting for Halo fans to have another game to play before they cut the cord on Halo 2.
Now that we finally know what the situation is we can bet that Microsoft will be listening to our opinions on the matter before they make their next step.
I'm one of those people who has a full friends-list. I can't add fans of my show, and I can't add old class mates in favor of making room for friends, family, and members of a "club" I'm in. I found it very frustrating that I was limited to just 100 friend slots and was very vocal about my disappointment with Microsoft's lack of support on the issue. I also thought that this was more of a technical issue than it was Microsoft simply trying to protect the interests of their gamers. Knowing what I know now, I'd understand if Microsoft decided to hold out on removing the cap in favor of allowing Halo 2 fans to keep playing. Having more friends does not trump actually playing a game. As long as there is a strong community supporting Halo 2, I support Microsoft's decision to hold off on any friends-list updates.
Microsoft has made it clear that what we think matters. Do you think it is time to let go of Halo 2 and update Xbox Live? How do you think Microsoft should approach this situation?
Source: G4TV.com
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- Aug 12 2009 at 03:16:08:PM PST
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Interesting. It's good to see Microsoft is still supporting Halo 3. The game is 5 years old.
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I think this is wise decision on MS' part. It may be upsetting to people but I'm all about supporting games that still have a full community.
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The most interesting thing is that, while many people complain about the friends cap, how many people actually play with ALL 100 friends? Nobody does. More friends just means more people that you aren't going to play with more than once. But if the masses call for this, let it happen I guess.
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one hundred is fine i use to have one hundred friends but whats the point i certaintly don't play with each one u shouldnt need that many. isn't the ps3 capped at one hundred as well?
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It' doesn't really matter. Who actually has 100 actual friends that they play with on live? My list is full, but there are about 10 people I play with on Live on a regular basis. If you say you play with all 100 on your list on a regular basis, you are probably lying. Honestly.
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That's interesting. I think MS is doing the right thing though. The Halo 2 community is still pretty big and very active. No reason to take that away from them. My friends list used to be nearly 100 (I think 93) until I realized that I only played online with about 14 or 15 of them. So I just got rid of them all and I only have 18 friends now. I don't think 100 friends cap is too small. Unless you're a professional gamer!
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I think it's a smart move by MS. If there are still alot of people playing a game, then don't cut it off for the sake of a not so needed expanded friends list. I know people would say, do it anyway, but think if it were your favorite game and you still loved to play on it and MS pulled the cord on your game, it wouldn't be cool. All props MS!!
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