Entertainment

I am DeathChef no more…

I've been known as DeathChef since Xbox Live launched. I managed to get on the beta in the UK, and couldn't think of anything to call myself. One of the guys I worked with at the time, Agent Mills, said quite randomly, "what about DeathChef?" and so, without any further discussion, that became my GamerTag for Microsoft's Xbox Live service.

A couple of months ago, I sold my Xbox. I wasn't using it for much (in the weeks following the birth of my son I had precious little time for gaming of any kind) and thought that selling it sooner, rather than after the Xbox 360 launch, would be a good idea. My son is now nearly 6 months old, and I'm reasonably sure I've not used Xbox Live at all in that time. As a result, I hadn't noticed that my subscription had run out.

Recently, Microsoft revamped Xbox.com. It's now got a delicious, shiny, 360-esque new look, and sports a few extra features, one of which is GamerCards - your handy online identity for Xbox Live. So, having realised that I could create my DeathChef GamerCard, I signed in - only to realise that I didn't know what my credit card details were, or which address I'd actually got on the Xbox. And without an Xbox, I couldn't check.

Thankfully, Microsoft provide a helpline for Xbox Live queries, so I gave it a call. After managing to explain my situation to the chap on the other end of the phone (who was, I might add, very foreign, resulting in us going back and forth for a good few minutes, trying to establish why I had an Xbox Live account if I didn't have an Xbox) he very proudly, and in an upbeat, sing-song voice, stated that I could never be DeathChef again. Apparently, if your subscription can't be renewed for some reason your GamerTag is forever lost. Presumably this is so someone else can't register your name and pretend to be you, but all the same, the owner of that Tag should be able to reactivate it, surely?

So, goodbye DeathChef, I barely knew ye. What did I select for my new Live identity, you ask? What magnificence have I bestowed upon myself? What name will strike fear into the hearts of Xbox Live players across the world?

© 2005 Is there food?.