It's hard to believe it's been five years since the launch of the Xbox 360. A lot has happened in my personal life, and my life as a gamer. One of the most significant sites that helped shape my community experience with the Xbox 360 is MyGameCard.net. A lot of sites have come and gone, but MGC.net has remained the constant. In the earliest days of the 360, it allowed us to share our gamercards on sites, forums, and e-mail unlike the basic Microsoft version. I would argue that the whole gamercard phenomenon would not be as popular as it is without MGC. Think of it as getting achievements without being able to share them with your friends.Unfortunately, MGC has shut down. Morgon, the site creator, had to pull the plug because it's just not financially feasible for him anymore. I totally get that. Anything I do online I do for free if at all possible. If something requires payment, I immediately break into a sweat. I can only imagine what maintaining the site cost on a monthly basis. It's sad because such a valuable resource would be easy for Microsoft to step in and help maintain. Unfortunately, there will probably be no such luck.
This further proves what we've been seeing from Microsoft for some time, which is the steady pulling away from the community aspects of their business and their focus on the milking of the brand. Now, I know what you will say. They're a business. They want to make money. I got that. I also know that the Xbox 360 wouldn't be where it is without the involvement of the community. All of the community developers, podcasters, and supporters of the console helped push it back in 2005. We were podcasting about all things Xbox even before the 360. Not to mention the laundry list of forums and blogs we created in order to bring together this massive group of like minded people.
Microsoft has been pushing away from the community table for quite some time, too. The dissolution of the Gamerscoreblog was the first major sign. Everything else has been a gradual shift. Not posting community playdates on the Xbox dashboard. Trixie360 resigning from her job. She was the last true link we had to how Microsoft used to work. And say what you will, but I find it hard to believe that anyone would leave a job with the Xbox division of Microsoft unless they saw the writing on the wall.
At the end of the day, it's the community that matters most. We are the ones that buy the games, DLC, and avatar gear. Sure, Microsoft could get by with a steady release schedule of movie licensed games, Madden, and Call of Duty, but who's going to be there when the Xbox 720 finally comes out? It's those of us that are dedicated to the platform that will be there on day one.
I plan on leaving our gamercards on the site just as you see them now. There's no good replacement for them and I would rather show my support of MGC than to just change them. I remember how we got here and I thank Morgon for his hard work. Unfortunately, I question whether Microsoft does the same.
