Xbox Live Account - Original to 360 Migration

I recently bought a 360 and even though I originally planned to delay my play until I got our new TV on Monday, I just couldn’t wait that long. Unfortunately, Microsoft believes that neither I nor anyone else should be able to use the online name that I’ve been using for seven years.

You see, I made the mistake (in Microsoft’s eyes) of never paying for my old Xbox Live account with a credit card. So now, according to the various employees at 1-800-4MY-XBOX, my old gamertag is in limbo. It can’t be recovered, nor will it ever be deleted. It will simply be a place holder on their servers, never to be released into the wild.

The biggest question in my mind is what purpose does this serve? I can’t see how it makes anything easier on their part and according to the supervisor I talked to, it infuriates a number of customers.

Do they realize how much some gamers identify with their handles? Being told that the name I use for my online identification had me seriously considering the return of over $600 worth of merchandise, including a 360 Elite that had me calling every electronics store within a 100 mile radius. I didn’t return it and I’m not threatening to; but they forced me to think about it.