Xbox 360

Lore & Background

The Xbox 360 was conceived in early 2003 under development names including Xbox Next, Xenon, Xbox 2, Xbox FS, and NextBox. Planning for the Xenon software platform began in February 2003, headed by Microsoft Vice President J Allard. That month, Microsoft held an event for 400 developers in Bellevue, Washington to recruit support. Peter Moore, former president of Sega of America, joined Microsoft that same month. On August 12, 2003, ATI signed on to produce the graphics processing unit. Before launch, several Alpha development kits were spotted using Apple's Power Mac G5 hardware because the system's PowerPC 970 processor ran the same PowerPC architecture that the Xbox 360 would use under IBM's Xenon processor. The cores of the Xenon processor were developed using a slightly modified version of the PlayStation 3's Cell Processor PPE architecture. Jeff Minter created the music visualization program Neon included with the console.

The Xbox 360 was launched in 36 countries in its first year, more than any other console in a single year. Early versions suffered from a high failure rate indicated by the so-called 'Red Ring of Death,' necessitating an extension of the device's warranty period. Microsoft released two redesigned models: the Xbox 360 S in 2010 and the Xbox 360 E in 2013. The console's online service, Xbox Live, was expanded from the original Xbox and received regular updates, offering free and subscription-based varieties for online play, game downloads, and media streaming. Peripherals included wireless controllers, expanded hard drive storage, and the Kinect motion sensing camera.

Sales were initially constrained by supply shortages; Microsoft began production only 69 days before launch on September 14, 2005, and could not meet demand in North America or Europe. By year's end, 1.5 million units had shipped. In the US, the Xbox 360 was the leader in current-generation home console sales until June 2008, when surpassed by the Wii. Between January 2011 and October 2013, it was the best-selling console in the US for 32 consecutive months. By the end of 2014, Xbox 360 sales had surpassed the Wii in the US. In Japan, lifetime sales reached 1,616,218 units, improving on the original Xbox's 474,992 units, though Microsoft was unable to make serious inroads against domestic rivals Sony and Nintendo.

Reader's Guide

The Xbox 360 is notable for its influence on digital media distribution and multiplayer gaming through Xbox Live. TechRadar deemed it the most influential console of the seventh generation, emphasizing digital media distribution and online gaming, and popularizing game achievement awards. PC Magazine considered it the prototype for online gaming, proving that online gaming communities could thrive in the console space. The Kinect motion capture camera, released five years after the console's debut, set the record as the fastest-selling consumer electronic device in history and extended the console's life. Edge ranked the Xbox 360 the second-best console of the 1993–2013 period, citing its PC-like architecture, Xbox Live's existing friends list, and the impact of Halo as a killer exclusive. The release of additional services and peripherals helped the Xbox brand grow from gaming-only to encompassing all multimedia, turning it into a hub for living-room computing entertainment. The Xbox 360's successor, the Xbox One, was released on November 22, 2013. Production of new Xbox 360 hardware ended on April 20, 2016, though support continued. On August 17, 2023, Microsoft announced that the Xbox 360 game marketplace would stop offering new purchases on July 29, 2024, and the Microsoft Movies & TV app would no longer function, though the console would still allow downloading previously purchased content and entering multiplayer sessions.