Summary
An Xbox fan recently discovered an unusedXbox Livefree trial card included with a copy ofCrimson Skies: High Road to Revenge. While the 20-year-old card is probably useless now, it’s a neat little throwback to the early days ofXbox Live.
Microsoft launched Xbox Live in 2002, about a year afterthe original Xboxwas released. However, Microsoft had planned for it to have online functions from the start, with the console featuring an Ethernet port and built-in broadband support. Xbox Live was also one of the reasons that the original Xbox had a built-in hard drive, with Microsoft correctly anticipating that DLC would become a major part of its online services. While Xbox was not the first console to feature online functionality, it is notable for succeeding where earlier attempts failed.
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Reddit user backseatdog recently acquired a copy ofFASA Studio’sCrimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, an Xbox-exclusive aerial combat game from 2003. Inside was an unscratched card for a 12-month trial for Xbox Live. The game and free trial came free with some Xbox consoles as a way to incentivize players to try out the online multiplayer modes. However, while these “starter kit” cards were not exactly rare, it’s unusual to find one still in pristine condition 20 years after it was printed.
Crimson Skiesis best known for the 2003 Xbox game, but there was also an earlier PC game, and both were based on a tabletop miniatures game from 1998.
The card itself makes for a somewhat amusing look athow far Xbox has come since 2003. It boasts of supporting “Over 70 games,” which was no doubt impressive at the time but now seems quaint in a world where online features are standard, and gamers can play thousands of games directly from the cloud. The orange picture of the excited players screaming into their headsets also reflects the advertising sensibilities of Microsoft in the early 2000s.
Is an Original Xbox Live Card Still Useful?
Of course, backseatdog’s big question is whether the Xbox Live card is worth anything. A few people suggested that someone might be willing to pay for it as a piece of memorabilia, but there was disagreement about whether the code was still usable. Players can redeem Xbox Live Gold codes forthe new Game Pass Core. However, those are usually codes for the version of Xbox Live that launched with the Xbox 360. This card is for the original version of Xbox Live, which Microsoft shut down in 2010.
Still, backseatdog might be able to convince Microsoft’s customer support to honor it even after all this time. Even if they can’t, it is still an interesting piece of nostalgia for an Xbox fan to stumble across.
Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge
WHERE TO PLAY
An Xbox 360 hard drive is required to use this item GAME-PLAY ALERT: The online multiplayer, leaderboards and voice features of this game are no longer supported. This game has been fully tested to successfully play on your Xbox 360 console. However, in some cases, you may see some minor irregularities with audio/video for brief periods. For more details, see www.xbox.com/xboxoriginals. Crimson Skies®: High Road to Revenge™ combines thrilling aerial combat with the swashbuckling style of a Hollywood action-adventure movie. Set in an alternate 1930s world of gunship diplomacy and sinister intrigue, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge lets you pilot powerful aircraft against nefarious air pirates and behemoth war zeppelins.
