Xbox 360

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Xbox 360
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Developer: Microsoft
Release Date: November 22, 2005 (United States)
Predecessor: Xbox
Successor: Xbox One
Competitors: PlayStation 3
Wii
Generation: Seventh generation
Discontinued: April 20, 2016

The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft, and the second console in the Xbox series. The successor to the Xbox, the Xbox 360 was first released in 2005 and is the first seventh-generation console. It competed against the PlayStation 3 and Wii during its lifetime, and was discontinued on April 20, 2016.

It was succeeded by the Xbox One in 2013. It is also Microsoft's best selling console.

Hardware specifications

  • CPU: IBM PowerPC Tri-Core "Xenon" @ 3.2 GHz
  • Memory: 512 MB GDDR3 clocked at 700 MHz
  • Storage:
    • Hard drives: 20, 60, 120 or 250 GB (original models), 250, 320, or 500 GB (S and E models)
    • Memory cards (original only): 64 MB, 256 MB, 512 MB
    • Internal storage: 256 MB, 512 MB (original models), 4 GB (S and E models)
  • Display: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p, 1024x768, 1280x1024, 1360x768, 1440x900, 1680x1050
  • Graphics: 500 MHz ATI Xenos
  • Media: DVD, CD, HD DVD (add-on, discontinued)

Why It Jumps In

  1. It was the first native HD home console, and a lot of the games on it still hold up at least decently well.
  2. It was a very influential system, as it was the first console to introduce many new features such as an Award System called Achievements. It also introduced video and music streaming with apps like Netflix.
  3. The dashboards looked very good, and over time they improved and added more features. Here is the list of dashboards:
    • Blades (2005 - 2008)
    • The New Xbox Experience (2008 - 2010)
    • The New Xbox Experience Kinect (2010 - 2011)
    • Metro (derived from Windows 8) (2011 - present)
  4. It popularized digital distribution of video games, online multiplayer gaming and wireless controllers.
  5. Improved upon the Xbox Live service of the original Xbox. An example was the revamped Xbox Live Arcade, which was the first online service to distribute retro games and where some popular indie games were released for the first time.
  6. Very long lifespan, a span of ten-and-a-half years from 2005-2016.
  7. Excellent controller that was praised for its design and its ergonomic qualities.
  8. The console also plays DVDs and CDs without the need for a DVD adapter, unlike its predecessor.
  9. It is possible to install games on the console's hard drive; although the disc is still required to play games, this reduces loading times and extend the life of the console's laser, as well as preventing other common problems the consoles have, like heating and noise.
  10. It's a home to great exclusives such as Halo 3, Gears of War 3, Forza Horizon, Fable II, Crackdown (2007), Naruto: Rise of a Ninja, Naruto: The Broken Bond, Dance Central 2, and more.
  11. It has some great digital Xbox Live Arcade games such as:
    • Trials HD
    • Super Meat Boy
    • Geometry Wars Evolved and 2
    • Limbo
    • BattleBlock Theater
    • Jetpac Refulled
    • Castle Crashers
    • NBA Jam: On Fire Edition
  12. Its PC-esque architecture made it very easy to develop games for, and it often had the best console versions of multi-platform games as a result.
  13. Many accessories, such as an Xbox Live Vision camera, Big Button Pad, Kinect, and more were released for the system.
  14. A hard drive transfer kit was sold to allow transferring data from a hard drive into a larger hard drive.
  15. Newer slim models included built-in Wi-Fi for quick internet connection and also fixed the several technical issues of the older models.
  16. Certain original Xbox games are compatible with Xbox 360 with the white button being mapped to the left bumper and the black button being mapped to the right bumper.
    • Albeit, this required an official hard drive.
  17. Many games released for the console are region-free, meaning that it is possible to play them regardless of the zone where the console was bought.
  18. Backwards compatibility and the option to change language settings allow in many cases to "translate" not only "regular" Xbox 360 video games, but original Xbox games too.
  19. The "Standoff" commercial of this console was a funny commercial.
    • Unlike the PS3, this had good commercials.
  20. Unlike its predecessor, this had a focus on children and not mostly on adults by having some exclusive SpongeBob SquarePants games or just ports of them, which were from handheld consoles.
  21. Since 2008, the console includes cartoony little avatars, which are like Miis, but with hats, awards, props and more. You can even have a pink, violet, etc. colored hair by performing an Easter egg in the Avatar Editor, which were later implemented on the Nintendo Switch. They continued to Xbox One, having better lightning for avatars, and in 2017, Microsoft introduced newer, more realistic avatars which are also great.
  22. It was later possible to use any 2.5" hard drive, making it easy if you had a computer and wanted to put an old hard drive to use.
  23. This is one of few consoles that let you use VGA cables and 16:10 resolutions like 1440 * 900.
  24. It was so popular and cheap that if a restaurant/play area has game consoles to play on, it's most likely gonna be Xbox 360s.
  25. Received more Japanese support by adding exclusive JRPGs, fighting games, and shoot em ups. For example, Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, Eschatos, Tales of Vesperia, Ninja Gaiden II, DoDonPachi Resurrection, Raiden Fighters Aces, Mushihimesama Futari, Deathsmiles and Dead or Alive 4. Though it still struggled in Japan.
  26. The 360 S has a very sleek look to it (especially the matte model) compared to the original and the E model.
    • Additionally, it was also much more reliable and lasts longer than with the original, having less chance of getting the Red Ring of Death.

Bad Qualities

Overall

  1. All versions of the console have a massive external power supply. The original model's power supply is practically the size and weight of a literal brick.
  2. All versions of the 360 did not have a rubber ring around the laser lens, resulting in discs getting horribly scratched.
  3. If you own a older Xbox 360 with an old dashboard, you cannot go on Xbox Live until you update it, and if it updates, you cannot go back to the older dashboard without modding it.
    • Newer games can become unplayable if you have an older dashboard due to many of the game having to be updated with Xbox Live.
  4. The wireless controller's battery life is short compared to the PS3 controller.
  5. The batteries don't connect to the controllers directly, instead they are placed in a separate piece, built as a peripheral that attaches to the controller. This piece can loosen off and disconnect your controller during gameplay very easily. Also, there is a rechargeable battery pack that is not bundled with each wireless controller you purchase.
  6. While not as limited as the Wii, the Xbox 360 used DVD-DLs as their main discs, while the PS3 uses Blu-ray. As a result, many games would be released on multiple discs on the 360, such as Final Fantasy XIII, Mass Effect 2, Wolfenstein: The New Order, L.A. Noire and Grand Theft Auto V. Early multi-disc games would require disc swapping mid-game, since some early Xbox 360 models did not have a hard drive at all, and early Xbox 360 hard drives had relatively small capacities. As hard drive storage capacities increased and became cheaper, later multi-disc games instead use only one disc to run the game, while the remaining discs were used for a one-time data installation on the hard drive or an external storage device. Compared to Blu-Ray, DVD-DL's were also more prone to damage, and can be scratched more easily (see below).
  7. Unlike the PS3, Xbox 360 exclusive titles declined severely after 2009.
  8. You had to pay for a subscription for online access and to access media apps (e.g., Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Video, etc.), which often require their own subscription fee. Sony and Nintendo consoles, dedicated streaming devices (e.g. Roku, Amazon Fire Stick, Chromecast, etc.), smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, and regular PCs can use these services without additional paywalls. In June 2014, Microsoft dropped the paywall requirement for media apps, relegating the paid Xbox Live subscription to online play, free monthly games, and cloud saves.
  9. The console used to be only compatible with first-party hard drives, unlike the PS3, which is compatible with any internal 2.5 inch SATA hard drive or solid state drive. Worse, it uses two different types of first-party hard drives for the original models and the later ones.
    • Technically, the first-party Xbox 360 hard drives use a standard 2.5 inch SATA hard drive, but the drive inside uses special firmware.
    • Later dashboard updates changed this, however, only official hard drives have emulation software for original Xbox backwards compatibility.
  10. Lots of Xbox 360 users were banned from Xbox Live for absolutely no reason at all. (did we mention that they were banned randomly and out of nowhere?)! This shows that Xbox's online moderation isn't good.
  11. Backwards compatibility with the original Xbox is very limited since only a certain number of games can be played, with 10 games such as Sniper Elite being removed in some firmware updates. Some Xbox 360 S models lack backwards compatibility all together, with a message saying an update may be required to support games that are already on the backwards compatibility list. Lots of original Xbox games played on the 360 are also bound to have some bugs like graphical glitches, lag and frame rate drops. For example, in Halo 2, players may occasionally observe ghost images displayed on the screen and performance issues occur when playing on the Backwash map.
  12. Discs are not properly secured inside the disc drive, meaning if you move your Xbox with a disc inside while turned on, there will be a high chance of the disc getting scratched.
  13. Unlike the original Xbox, all 360 models uses clips instead of screws in their bodies. This means that if you need to fix something, taking apart the console will be much harder and riskier of breaking the clips.
  14. The console's internet connectivity is extremely poor because it constantly disconnects whenever a players signs into their account, and none of the S or E version's built-in wifi adapter work properly. Even connecting the 360 via wired connection barely works.
  15. The Marketplace is no longer accessible due to its closure on July 29, 2024. This also makes the current dashboard look a bit empty and dull.

Original model

  1. Due to being built with substandard components as well as being rushed to market to get a year's head start against the PS3 and Wii, early versions of the system are prone to hardware failures like the infamous Red Ring of Death and the less common E74 error appearing on a black screen. Fortunately, the Jasper model, 360 S, and E have fixed this issue.
  2. On the original models of the console, due to its constrained case design and suboptimal cooling solution, the fan is very loud and majorly overheats very quickly which can damage your discs. Also, the heat generated by the console can cause the motherboard to warp and break solder joints, causing the aforementioned Red Ring of Death and E74 errors.
  3. For the early original models without a hard drive, users had to rely on expensive proprietary memory units, which were sold separately and only held 64 MB at launch; however, a 512 MB memory unit was eventually released and later entry level consoles would include a 256 MB memory unit before eventually switching to on-board flash memory. With the launch of the Xbox 360 S in 2010, Microsoft introduced the ability to use off-the-shelf USB flash drives at least 1 GB in capacity, although this rendered older memory units incompatible with the S consoles, and subsequent updates allow for external hard drives up to 2 TB.
  4. The original Xbox 360 model did not have built-in Wi-Fi; as of result, gamers have to pay extra to purchase an Xbox 360 wireless adapter or using the Ethernet port in order to log in to Xbox Live. This issue was fixed in later models.
  5. The very first original models and the 360 Core don't have an HDMI port. This meant that component and VGA were the best outputs and there wouldn't be a good HDMI solution. Later revisions added an HDMI port, though they don't include an HDMI cable which has to be bought separately.
  6. The way to open the disc tray on the console is very cryptic, because you have to lay it horizontally, and make sure there is a disc inside of it, or else if you place it diagonally, it won't open and you'll have to press the open button repeatedly until it finally opens.

360 S/Slim

  1. Early versions of the premium 360 S (250 GB) used glossy plastic on its exterior, which attracted fingerprints and scratches. Later versions would have a matte finish just like the cheaper 4 GB models.
  2. The entry level 360 S has only 4GB of storage, making it useless for playing games that require a large download like GTA V or DLC content without getting a hard drive.
  3. Instead of physical buttons, the 360 S uses touch sensors for the power and eject buttons, similar to the original model PS3, which can either become glitchy or not work at all when aging.

360 E

  1. Support for component video, VGA video, and digital audio was removed. The composite cable for the earlier 360s isn't compatible either due to the 360 E using a different port. The only supported standards are HDMI and composite video via a 3.5mm TRRS connector.
  2. Despite having a almost identical appearance, the power brick of the 360 S cannot be used with the 360 E or vice versa since the 360 E uses a different connector for power.
  3. The power button is rather small and also adjacent to the eject button.
  4. The 360 E has one less USB port than the 360 S.

Reception

Over 84 million units have been sold worldwide as of August 23, 2016. It is one of the most well known systems, despite being the lowest-selling of the seventh generation, ending up in third place behind the PS3.

Maintenance

Owners of this console must always remember to never move the Xbox 360 while a disc is inserted since such an action would cause scratches on the data surface of the disc. The console must be placed in a well-ventilated space in order to provide enough cooling, the same rule applies to its power source, which must never be placed in confined spaces such as a book shelf or behind a piece of furniture.

You can install games directly on the hard drive to reduce the risk of overheating and reduce the noise levels, or get a vertical stand with fans in it to cool it down further. Installing onto the hard drive will also reduce load times on most games.

If using the regular model of the 360 (The Xeon, Zephyr, and Falcon models), do not use it too long, as the console can overheat and the fans can run at a high speed. Use it routinely.

Trivia

  • The console was shown in Greatest freak out ever 2 on the computer desk while Stephen is playing a game online.
  • Similar to the original Xbox, the console runs on a heavily modified version of Windows 2000.
  • The console's achievement banner became an Internet meme.

Good/Decent Examples of Xbox 360 Games

First-Party Titles

Third-Party Titles

Bad/Mediocre Examples of Xbox 360 Games

First-Party Titles

Third-Party Titles

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