A common complaint amongst my gamer friends is that while Xbox Live is a great way to connect with people, it is limiting due to only being able to have 100 people friended. 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.
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 Party, 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 had been siting 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 on an Xbox 360. Needless to say I was surprised when I learned the reason there is still a friend cap is because of Halo 2.
Despite two new Halo games since Halo 2's release, there is still an overwhelming amount of support for the game on XBLA. 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 or 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?
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