The closing of the one game era

Before the Xbox 360 came out, Xbox Live players played one game: Halo 2. That's not to say that players weren't playing other games, but the one that brought people together (as evidenced by this site) was the second game in Bungie's trilogy. You could count on your friends list being active every night, and your clan smacking down fools in matchmaking or in intra-site clan challenges. It was a simple time, and the gaming was good.

Even after the introduction of the 360, Halo 2 remained king over XBL. Newer, slightly prettier games were coming out, but the lobby and matchmaking system kept Spartans and Elites shooting it out on the new hardware. Games like Call of Duty 2 and Perfect Dark Zero promised to lead the way for a new generation of online gaming, but neither had any real long-term interest. The real contenders to overthrow Halo 2 from the top of the play-time list didn't show their faces until about a year ago, with Gears of War and Call of Duty 3.

When these games came out, Xbox players started to fragment. Some shrugged at the new offerings and went back to the tried-and-true Bungie title. Others became avid players of their new titles, loving the chainsaw and the roadie run in GoW. Yet others like the game options and first-person feel of CoD3. The usual crowd on XBL became diverse and even shrunk a little as some had just lost interest in Halo 2 and none of the newer titles really interested them enough to make regular appearances.

The Xbox crowd continues to divide as more and more good titles come out. Halo 3 even seems like something of a recent memory since Orange Box and CoD4 came out. But it isn't just the shooters taking the spotlight and pulling players in different directions. Single player games like Bioshock and Mass Effect have taken a toll on the online numbers, as have Rock Band and Guitar Hero 3. In addition, the PS3 is still slowly chugging along here in the states, and the Wii remains out of stock just about anywhere you look. PC games like Crysis and WoW will also have an impact on the XBL crowd. So as the masses divide, each finding their gaming niché.

Speaking of Halo 3, why did it just breeze by? I know people are still playing it, and that it isn't a bad game, but something was just missing. Or perhaps it was too familiar. After two years of playing Halo 2 nearly every day, Halo 3 just felt like too much of the same. Had it been changed too much, it would have suffered for not being Halo. As it stands, new weapons, equipment and maps are fun, but it's still Halo, and gamers appear ready for something new. I'm looking forward to the next map pack for H3, as I think the included maps where the biggest let down for me.  I'll probably only download and play them for a week or two then head back to my role-playing addiction. I miss the classics from Halo 2, which somehow never really got to feeling old. I also missing seeing everyone on my friends list playing the same game, not because it was the only thing out, but because it was like coming home. But as more players go their separate ways, I doubt that we'll ever see a console game dominate an online service did like Halo 2 did.