It was only a matter of time before Microsoft finally announced that LIVE support for the original console and games (including those Xbox Originals that can be downloaded on your Xbox 360) will come to an end. The official cut off date is on April 15th.  For some this may come as good news, for others, bad.

The bad news is that other options will need to be explored in order to take older games, such as Halo 2 online.  No matter if it's backwards compatible or downloaded to your Xbox 360 from the Marketplace, you'll have to find other ways if you still want continued support for your older titles.  Engadget reports that Xbox LIVE GM Marc Whitten hints at a potential compensation for affected gamers.

The good news is that if you're already on one of those newfangled 360 systems then you're going to reap the benefits of this refocusing of XBL resources.  These "benefits" are already rumoured to include a booster shot for your friends list and potential Xbox/Windows Mobile synergy.  With X10 just a few days away there's a good possibility that there will be more details shortly.