Xbox360
The integrated Xbox Live service allows players to compete online and download content such as arcade games, game demos, trailers, TV shows, and movies. The Xbox 360 is the successor to the Xbox, and competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles.
The Xbox 360 was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detailed launch and game information divulged later that month at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).
The console sold out completely at release in all regions except in Japan, and, as of January 5, 2009, 28 million units have been sold worldwide according to Microsoft. The Xbox 360 is available in three configurations: the "Arcade", the "Xbox 360", and the "Elite" console, each with its own selection of accessories.
Overview
Development
Known during development as Xenon, Xbox 2, Xbox FS, Xbox Next, or NextBox, the Xbox 360 was conceived in early 2003. In February 2003, planning for the Xenon software platform began, and was headed by Microsoft's Vice President J Allard. That month, Microsoft held an event for 400 developers in Bellevue, Washington, to recruit support for the system. Also that month, Peter Moore, former president of Sega of America, joined Microsoft. On August 12, 2003, ATI signed on to produce the graphic processing unit for the new console, a deal which was publicly announced two days later. The following month, IBM agreed to develop the triple-core CPU for the console. Before the launch of the Xbox 360, several alpha development kits were spotted using Apple's Power Mac G5 hardware.
It was later launched in Mexico, Colombia, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile, India, Brazil, Poland, Czech Republic, and Russia. Microsoft has additionally announced official launches in: Hungary, Slovakia, and the Philippines. In its first year on the market, the system launched in 36 countries, more countries than any console has launched in a single year.
Retail configurations
The Xbox 360 is available in three standard variants; the "Xbox 360 Arcade", the "Xbox 360", and the "Xbox 360 Elite". A discontinued SKU, the "Xbox 360 Core", was replaced by the "Xbox 360 Arcade" in October 2007. The 60 GB version of the Xbox 360 was released on August 1, 2008.
An Xbox 360 Arcade, photographed on store shelves before the console was officially announced
At launch, the Xbox 360 was available in two configurations: the "Xbox 360" package, priced at US$399 or GB£280 , and the "Xbox 360 Core", priced at US$299 and GB£199.
The original shipment of the Xbox 360 version included a cut-down version of the Media Remote as a promotion. The Elite package was launched later at US$479.
The Xbox 360 Core (discontinued) was an entry level Xbox 360.
The "Core" is no longer produced, having been replaced by the Xbox 360 Arcade. It was not originally available in Japan, but was later released on November 2, 2006. The Core system came bundled with composite video cables, capable of only SDTV resolutions, but newer models with lot number 0728 or greater have an HDMI 1.2 output. The Core may output HD signals up to 1080p when connected to separately sold HDMI, Component, or VGA cables.
The update was released on November 19, 2008.
While previous system updates have been stored on internal memory, this will be the first update to require a storage device. Users may play back their own music while playing games or using the dashboard, and can play music with an interactive visual synthesizer.
Music, photos and videos can be played from standard USB mass storage devices, Xbox 360 proprietary storage devices (such as memory cards or Xbox 360 hard drives), and servers or computers with Windows Media Center or Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or higher within the local-area network in streaming mode. As the Xbox 360 uses a modified version of the UPnP AV protocol, some alternative UPnP servers such as uShare (part of the GeeXboX project) and MythTV can also stream media to the Xbox 360, allowing for similar functionality from non-Windows servers.
The console's best-selling game for 2005, Call of Duty 2, sold over a million copies. Five other games sold as well in the console's first year in the market: Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Dead or Alive 4, Saints Row and Gears of War. Gears of War would become the best-selling game of the console with 3 million units, before being surpassed in 2007 by Halo 3, with 8.1 million units.
Six games were initially offered in Japan, and eagerly anticipated titles such as Dead or Alive 4 and Enchanted Arms were released only a few weeks later. Games more suitable to the region were planned or have since been released, such as Chromehounds, Ninety-Nine Nights, and Phantasy Star Universe. Microsoft also had the support of RPG developer Mistwalker, founded by Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi. Mistwalker's second game, Lost Odyssey also sold over 100,000 copies.
The Xbox 360 has managed to gain a simultaneous release of titles which were initially planned to be PS3 exclusive, including Devil May Cry, Ace Combat, Virtua Fighter, and Final Fantasy XIII., or PS3 timed exclusives, such as Grand Theft Auto 4.
At E3 2007, Microsoft announced that Disney movies would be coming to Xbox 360 Live Marketplace.
BioShock, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and Assassin's Creed for Xbox 360, as well as Crysis for the PC were demoed. Xbox Live Silver is free of charge and is included with all SKUs of the console.
It allows users to create a user profile, join on message boards, and access Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade and Marketplace and talk to other members. A Live Silver account does not generally support multiplayer gaming; however, some games that have rather limited online functions already, (such as Viva Pinata) or games that feature their own subscription service (eg. These features are available to both silver and gold members on Xbox Live.
A hard drive or memory unit is required to store products purchased from Xbox Live Marketplace. In order to download priced content, users are required to purchase Microsoft Points for use as scrip; though some products (such as trailers) are free to download. The Xbox Live Arcade also features games from other consoles, such as the PlayStation game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and PC games such as Zuma.
Forty thousand units appeared on eBay during the initial week of release; this was 10% of the total supply. By year's end, Microsoft had shipped 1.5 million units, including 900,000 in North America, 500,000 in Europe, and 100,000 in Japan.
At E3 in May 2006, Bill Gates announced that Microsoft would have a head start of 10 million units by the time Sony and Nintendo entered the market. Microsoft later specified that goal and estimated shipments of 10 million units by the end of 2006.
Cumulative sales from the system's launch until June 30, 2007 were predicted to reach 12 million units, down from 13 to 15 million units estimated earlier. This error is often known as the "Red Ring of Death". The warranty extension is not granted for any other types of failures that do not generate this specific error code.
Since these problems surfaced, Microsoft has attempted to modify the console to improve its reliability.