The MCC was the main reason I bought an XBO. I already had a Wii U and a PS4, which covered pretty much everything except Halo, but because Halo was an Xbox exclusive, that gave me incentive to still get an XBO. The MCC was to me a more exciting product than Halo 5. From my point of view, the ability to play Halo 1 online was a big selling point, perhaps the biggest. I haven't had the ability to play that game's MP in years, and the days of big LAN parties are long gone, so being able to revisit those days was to me worth the price of a new console. Now it seems that that the ability to play Halo 1 (and Halo 2, 3, & 4) online is severely compromised by a botched product plagued with broken matchmaking and a broken party system. The patch intended to fix the various issues with the product did jack squat. The MCC is still broken.

343i has tested my patience long enough. First was the Reach TU, which I felt broke that game, but I got over it as non-TU playlists still existed. Then there was HCEA, which lacked the original game's MP "For Reasons," but I eventually got over it as it the status quo remained unchanged; I resigned myself to the fact that I may never be able to play Halo 1's MP ever again. Then came Halo 4, which disappointed me with its terrible continuity-ignoring art design, lackluster level design, inferior Forge and custom game options, uninteresting story, and the attempts to ape CoD by adding Skinner box bullshit in multiplayer, among other missteps. I wasn't as forgiving, and I've gone long stretches without playing the game. I've only played 32 matches in matchmaking in the past six months, which is often what I'd play in a single week in Halo 2, 3, & Reach, and I rarely touch Campaign. The product just doesn't have the appeal of Bungie-era Halo.

When they announced the MCC, I thought they had redeemed themselves. I mean, not just H2A, but Halo 1 through 4 in their entirety, with their original MP components fully intact? What's not to love? But when the MCC finally landed on store shelves, 343i destroyed the newly-gained goodwill. It wouldn't be so bad if it was on the 360, but the MCC required buying a whole new system. That's $410 just to be able to play it. $410 for the chance to play a broken product. That is absolutely unacceptable. What conceivable reason could they possibly think of as to why I should continue doing business with them if this is what I can continue to expect from them? What guarantees do I have that Halo 5 won't launch as a totally broken product?

I am a paying customer and I want results, not excuses. As with most products, I have 30 days to return my Xbox One for a full refund, and I can recoup at least some of my costs with my opened copy of the MCC. 343i has three weeks to fix this broken product. If not, then I'm returning my XBO. I'll be done with Halo and, by extension, Xbox. I'll still keep my 360 around just to keep playing the games I have for it, including the old Halo games. But as MS owns 343i and thus the buck ultimately stops with them, MS will not get any more money from me. They don't deserve it. I'll wash my hands of them. And yes, that includes Xbox Live. I've been on XBL for almost ten years, but my loyalties lie with my wallet and my own satisfaction as a customer. I've enjoyed all the time I've spent online playing with you guys, and I've made lots of great memories, but if 343i and MS can't prove themselves worthy of my time and money, then it'll be time for me to move on to something else. While Halo has been perhaps the biggest part of my hobby since 2001, there's a lot more to gaming than Halo, and I can go spend my money on products that are more deserving.

And that's all I have to say about that.