Microsoft, Fans, and the Death of Xbox Originals Online Play

Well, it’s official.  The Xbox 1 is about to die.  This April 15th (Tax Day for all of us Yankees!), Microsoft will be shutting down the online servers for all Xbox 1 multiplayer games.  Halo 2, Counter-Strike, Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, Star Wars: Battlefront 2, and a host of other servers will be closing.  While it’s true that die-hard Xboxers will still be able to play local and single-player games, this shutdown indicates the end of the Xbox 1.  After all, most gamers still playing Xbox 1 games have their favorite single-player campaigns down by heart with the only challenge coming from small online community.  Given the communities which have formed over yeas of camping and corpse-humping, is Microsoft crossing any boundaries with this announcement?