: Microsoft and other companies need to work on preserving things, not
: replacing an item with a planned limited lifetime. If folks kept their
: servers online and kept up with supporting games with playlist tweaks or
: little patches, AND we didn't have a hundred sequels trying to vie for the
: next ten minutes of a teenager's attention, I think we'd see a lot of
: great games still active, even if its in a smaller scope.

But that's not profitable under the games-as-product model. The profitable way is to get a new big-ticket release at just the right pitch to keep returning sales high. That's where they make their money.

If keeping the servers online isn't generating new sales, they see little point. See Halo 2.

: Look at board games - Hasbro will always be producing some new twist of
: Battleship or Monopoly to draw folks in, but they are also still producing
: the classic version, because its a great long term investment, and even if
: its never a 'hot product' again, it will always be there for the fans of
: the game.

Board games are different because they wear out / lose parts and people want them replaced. Games don't as much.

Ever consider that new themed version of monopoly are a bit like selling skins for your guns/player character in games? Which a lot of people hate...