Xbox 360

Xbox 360
  • Left: original model Xbox 360 (2005)
  • Center: redesigned slim model Xbox 360 S (2010)
  • Right: final model Xbox 360 E (2013)
DeveloperMicrosoft
ManufacturerFlextronics, Wistron, Celestica, Foxconn[1][2]
Product familyXbox
TypeHome video game console
GenerationSeventh
Release date
November 22, 2005[5]
  • Original Xbox 360
    • US/CA: November 22, 2005
    • EZ/NO/SE/UK/CH: December 2, 2005
    • JP: December 10, 2005
    • CO/MX: February 2, 2006
    • KR: February 24, 2006
    • HK/SG/TW: March 16, 2006
    • AU: March 23, 2006
    • CL: July 7, 2006
    • IN: September 25, 2006
    • ZA: September 29, 2006
    • CZ/PL: November 3, 2006
    • BR: December 1, 2006
    • RU: February 11, 2007
    • PE: February 25, 2008
    • UAE: October 28, 2008
    • NG/TR: 2009
    • SC: Spring 2010
  • Xbox 360 S
    • NA: June 18, 2010
    • AU: July 1, 2010
    • NZ: July 8, 2010
    • EU: July 16, 2010
  • Xbox 360 E
Introductory price
  • US$299, €299, £209 (Xbox 360 Core)[6]
  • US$399, €399, £279 (Xbox 360 (20 GB))[6]
Discontinued
  • WW: April 20, 2016[7]
Units soldWorldwide: 84 million (as of June 9, 2014)[8] (details)
MediaDVD, CD, digital distribution
Add-on: HD DVD (discontinued)
Operating systemXbox 360 system software
System on a chipXCGPU (Xbox 360 S and E models only)
CPU3.2 GHz PowerPC Tri-Core Xenon
Memory
  • 512 MB of unified GDDR3 RAM clocked at 700 MHz
  • 10 MB of eDRAM cache on Xenos GPU
Storage
Storage media
  • Detachable hard drives
    20, 60, 120 or 250 GB (older models); 250, 320, or 500 GB (Xbox 360 S models)
  • Memory cards (removable) (original design only)
    64 MB, 256 MB, 512 MB
  • On-board storage chip
    • Arcade consoles (later models)
      256 MB, 512 MB
    • Budget level "Xbox 360 S" consoles:
      4 GB
  • External USB storage device (requires system software update)
    1 GB to 2 TB
  • Cloud storage (requires Xbox account)
    2 GB[9]
Display
Video output formats
Graphics500 MHz ATI/AMD Xenos, 240 GFLOPS
Sound
  • Analog stereo
  • Stereo LPCM (TOSLINK and HDMI)
  • Dolby Digital 5.1 (TOSLINK and HDMI)
  • Dolby Digital with WMA pro (TOSLINK and HDMI)
Controller input
4 maximum* (any combination):
  • 4 Big Button Pads may be used in addition to other controllers.
Connectivity
  • Original models:
    2.4 GHz wireless, 3 × USB 2.0, IR receiver, 100 Mbit/s Ethernet
  • Add-on: Wifi 802.11 a/b/g, Wifi 802.11a/b/g/n[11]
  • Revised "S" models:
    2.4 GHz wireless, 5 × USB 2.0, Digital Optical audio out, IR receiver, 100 Mbit/s Ethernet, Wifi 802.11b/g/n, AUX port, HDMI port
  • Revised "E" models: 2.4 GHz wireless, 4 × USB 2.0, IR receiver, 100 Mbit/s Ethernet, Wifi 802.11b/g/n, AUX port, HDMI port
Current firmware2.0.17559.0[12]
Online servicesXbox Live
Best-selling gameKinect Adventures!, 24 million
(bundled with Kinect)[13][14]
Grand Theft Auto V, 22.95 million (non-Kinect game)[15]
Backward
compatibility		Selected Xbox games[16][17] (requires hard drive and the latest update)
PredecessorXbox
SuccessorXbox One
Websitexbox.com/en-US/xbox-360

The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detailed launch and game information announced later that month at the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).[18][19][20][21] As a seventh-generation console, it primarily competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii.

The Xbox 360 features an online service, Xbox Live, which was expanded from its previous iteration on the original Xbox and received regular updates during the console's lifetime. Available in free and subscription-based varieties, Xbox Live allows users to play games online; download games (through Xbox Live Arcade) and game demos; purchase and stream music, television programs, and films through the Xbox Music and Xbox Video portals; and access third-party content services through media streaming applications. In addition to online multimedia features, it allows users to stream media from local PCs. Several peripherals have been released, including wireless controllers, expanded hard drive storage, and the Kinect motion sensing camera. The release of these 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.[22][23][24][25]

Launched worldwide across 2005–2006, the Xbox 360 was initially in short supply in many regions, including North America and Europe. The earliest versions of the console 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 of the console: the Xbox 360 S in 2010,[26] and the Xbox 360 E in 2013.[27] Xbox 360 is the ninth-highest-selling home video game console in history, and the highest-selling console made by an American company. Although not the best-selling console of its generation, the Xbox 360 was deemed by TechRadar to be the most influential through its emphasis on digital media distribution and multiplayer gaming on Xbox Live.[25][28]

The Xbox 360's successor, the Xbox One, was released on November 22, 2013.[29] On April 20, 2016, Microsoft announced that it would end the production of new Xbox 360 hardware, although the company will continue to support the platform.[7] On August 17, 2023, Microsoft announced that on July 29, 2024, the Xbox 360 game marketplace would stop offering new purchases and Microsoft Movies & TV app will no longer function (the console will still be able to download previously purchased content, run it, and enter multiplayer sessions).[30][31]

  1. ^ Radd, David (August 16, 2005). "Xbox 360 Manufacturers Revealed". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on August 17, 2010. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
  2. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (November 19, 2010). "Report: Foxconn Denies Protest Over Pay". Kotaku Australia. Archived from the original on August 20, 2012. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
  3. ^ "New Xbox 360 model on sale now for £149 in the UK". Archived from the original on June 22, 2013. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
  4. ^ "E3 2013: New Xbox 360 Model Revealed". IGN. June 10, 2013. Archived from the original on October 3, 2021.
  5. ^ Dybwad, Barb (September 15, 2005). "Xbox 360 launch date is November 22". Engadget. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference gamespot-launchprices was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b Spencer, Phil (April 20, 2016). "Achievement Unlocked: 10 Years – Thank You, Xbox 360". Xbox Wire. Archived from the original on February 16, 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  8. ^ "E3 2014: $399 Xbox One Out Now, Xbox 360 Sales Rise to 84 million". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 25, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  9. ^ "Xbox 360 Cloud Storage Size Revealed". PSU. November 14, 2011. Archived from the original on April 28, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
  10. ^ Xbox 360 D-Terminal HD AV Cable, archived from the original on October 31, 2010, retrieved December 29, 2019
  11. ^ "Microsoft confirms Xbox 360 802.11n adapter". joystiq. September 21, 2009. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved November 23, 2009.
  12. ^ "Xbox 360 operating system versions and system updates". support.xbox.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  13. ^ Dean Takahashi (January 9, 2012). "Xbox 360 surpasses 66M sold and Kinect passes 18M units". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on January 12, 2012. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
  14. ^ "Microsoft sells 24 million Kinects". Joystiq. Archived from the original on February 13, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  15. ^ Cherney, Max A. "This violent videogame has made more money than any movie ever". MarketWatch. Archived from the original on April 7, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  16. ^ "Original Xbox Games Playable on Xbox 360". Archived from the original on May 12, 2008. Retrieved November 17, 2009.
  17. ^ Corriea, Alexa Ray (May 2, 2015). "Why Are Current Consoles Not Backward Compatible?". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 10, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  18. ^ "Xbox 360 Ushers in the Future of Games and Entertainment". Microsoft (Press release). May 12, 2005. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  19. ^ "Microsoft introduces next generation Xbox". CNN Money. May 13, 2005. Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  20. ^ "Microsoft unveils new Xbox 360 console". The Irish Times. May 13, 2005. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  21. ^ "Robbie Bach, J Allard, Peter Moore: Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2005". Microsoft (Press release). May 16, 2005. Archived from the original on April 23, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  22. ^ "The 10 Greatest Video Game Consoles of All Time". PC Magazine. Archived from the original on May 3, 2016. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  23. ^ Ross Miller (November 13, 2012). "Living with the Xbox 360: how Microsoft's trojan horse took over your living room". The Verge. Vox Media. Archived from the original on August 26, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  24. ^ "Is the Xbox 360 the Elusive Living Room PC?". PC Magazine. Archived from the original on August 26, 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  25. ^ a b Jon Hicks (November 6, 2013). "How the Xbox 360 won the console war". TechRadar. Archived from the original on December 10, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  26. ^ Thorsen, Tor (June 14, 2010). "New $200 Xbox 360 planned, Elite & Arcade getting $50 price cut". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 17, 2010. Retrieved June 17, 2010. Moore said that Microsoft is currently working on a second new Xbox 360, which will be offered at the arcade's price point of $200. He declined to say what functionalities the cheaper model would or would not have. ... One likely scenario is the cheaper model will essentially be a slim arcade with no Wi-Fi capabilities or a hard drive. ... Moore also said that going forward, all future models of the Xbox 360 would not have names and would only be designated by their memory capacity.
  27. ^ "E3 2013 Reveals New Xbox 360 Console Model And Introduces Free Games For Gold Members". The Inquisitr. June 10, 2013. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
  28. ^ Keith Noonan (January 3, 2014). "Has Microsoft Dodged Its Xbox One Disaster?". The Motley Fool. Archived from the original on January 5, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
  29. ^ "Microsoft unveils Xbox One next-generation console". BBC. May 21, 2013. Archived from the original on May 22, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  30. ^ Axon, Samuel (August 17, 2023). "End of the road: The Xbox 360 game marketplace will shut down". Ars Technica. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  31. ^ Nelson, Mike (August 17, 2023). "The Xbox 360 Store Will Close July 2024, But You Can Keep Playing Your Favorite Games". Xbox Wire. Retrieved August 19, 2023.