[Playerhata27]

You have some great points, and views that I totally agree with you on. I'm also aggravated on how difficult it is to express rules and regulations in a custom game while half the players are in parties. I try my best to notify everyone...and if they break a rule then they get the boot.

But what you don't understand, is that's mostly Halo 3 you're talking about. Microsoft/Xbox Live is no longer really focused on Halo to revive their money. In Halo 2 sure, Microsoft really only had Bungie to feed them money, seeing Halo 2 was the main reason to buy old Xbox Live. But now times have changed, and Halo 3 is the only actual casual game I see myself playing anymore.

Microsoft has multiple genres now. Most games are competitive, and don't inherit such a complex system that Halo 3 has, being from forge to custom games to matchmaking. Halo 3 is the only game I know of notifying players that some one is even in a party, or using their microphone with some other function. No other game has that technology.

Plus, parties were an overall boost for Microsoft in the long run. Newer players would love to have easy access to their friends via chatting, and not being limited to one game at a time. Hell, even I love the feature, and I'm sure you find some great uses for it also.

In the long run, it may be taking away a certain experience from Halo 3, but overall it's not an actual deficiency but rather a benefit for Microsoft.