The Xbox 360 is the second video game console developed by and produced for Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles. As of April 19, 2012, 67.2 million Xbox 360 consoles have been sold worldwide.[3]
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 upon release in all regions except in Japan.[11][12][13]
Several major features of the Xbox 360 are its integrated Xbox Live service that allows players to compete online, download arcade games, game demos, trailers, TV shows, music and movies and its Windows Media Center multimedia capabilities. The Xbox Live also offers region specific access to third-party media streaming application such as Netflix and ESPN in the US or Sky Go in the UK.
At their E3 presentation on June 14, 2010, Microsoft announced a redesigned Xbox 360 that would ship on the same day.[14] The redesigned console is slimmer than the previous Xbox 360 model and features integrated 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, TOSLINK S/PDIF optical audio output, five USB 2.0 ports (compared to the three from older versions) and a special AUX port.[15] Older models of the Xbox 360 have since been discontinued.[16] The first new console to be released features a 250 GB hard drive, while a later, less expensive SKU features 4 GB internal storage.
With the announcement of the Xbox 360 S, Microsoft has said that they believe that the console is only mid-way through its life-cycle and will continue through 2015.[17][18][19] Development of the system has also been implied by updates Microsoft employees have made to their resumes, which state that they were working on the next Xbox console.[20]
Three red lights on the Xbox 360's ring indicator representing a
"General Error" requiring service of the Console or Power Adapter,
nicknamed the "Red Ring of Death", "Red Ring of Fire" or "Red Lights of
Death."
The Xbox 360 has been subject to a number of technical problems.
Since the console's release in 2005, users have reported concerns over
its reliability and failure rate.[35][36][37]
To aid customers with defective consoles, Microsoft extended the Xbox 360's manufacturer's warranty to three years for hardware failure problems that generate a "General Hardware Failure" error report. A "General Hardware Failure" is recognized on all models released before the Xbox 360 S by three quadrants of the ring around the power button flashing red. This error is often known as the "Red Ring of Death".[38] In April 2009 the warranty was extended to also cover failures related to the E74 error code.[39] The warranty extension is not granted for any other types of failures that do not generate these specific error codes.
Since these problems surfaced, Microsoft has attempted to modify the console to improve its reliability. Modifications include a reduction in the number, size, and placement of components, the addition of dabs of epoxy on the corners and edges of the CPU and GPU as glue to prevent movement relative to the board during heat expansion,[40] and a second GPU heatsink to dissipate more heat.[41] With the release of the redesigned Xbox 360 S, the warranty for the newer models do not include the three-year extended coverage for "General Hardware Failures".[42] The newer Xbox 360 S model indicates system overheating when the console's power button begins to flash red, unlike previous models where the first and third quadrant of the ring would light up red around the power button if overheating occurred. The system will then warn the user of imminent system shutdown until the system has cooled,[43] whereas a flashing power button that alternates between green and red is an indication of a "General Hardware Failure" unlike older models where three of the quadrants would light up red.[44]
A Kinect sensor device
Kinect is a "controller-free gaming and entertainment experience" for
the Xbox 360. It was first announced on June 1, 2009 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, under the codename, Project Natal. The add-on peripheral enables users to control and interact with the Xbox 360 without a game controller by using gestures, spoken commands and presented objects and images. The Kinect accessory is compatible with all Xbox 360 models,[48] connecting to new models via a custom connector, and to older ones via a USB and mains power adapter.[49] During their CES 2010 keynote speech, Robbie Bach and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer
went on to say that Kinect will be released during the holiday period
(November–January) and it will work with every 360 console. Its name and
release date of November 4, 2010 were officially announced on June 13,
2010, prior to Microsoft's press conference at E3 2010.[50]
On November 19, 2008, the Xbox 360's dashboard was changed from the "Blade" interface, to a dashboard reminiscent of that present on the Zune and Windows Media Center, known as the "New Xbox Experience" or NXE.
Since the console's release, Microsoft has released several updates for the Dashboard software. These updates have included adding new features to the console, enhancing Xbox Live functionality and multimedia playback capabilities, adding compatibility for new accessories, and fixing bugs in the software. Such updates are mandatory for users wishing to use Xbox Live, as access to Xbox Live is disabled until the update is performed.
The NXE also provides many new features. Users can now install games from disc to the hard drive to play them with reduced load time and less disc drive noise, but each game's disc must remain in the system in order to run. A new, built-in Community system allows the creation of digitized Avatars that can be used for multiple activities, such as sharing photos or playing Arcade games like 1 vs. 100. The update was released on November 19, 2008.[51]
While previous system updates have been stored on internal memory, the NXE was the first to require a storage device—at least a 128 MB memory card or a hard drive.
Microsoft released a further update to the Xbox 360 Dashboard starting on December 6, 2011.[52] It included a completely new user interface which utilizes Microsoft's Metro design language, and added new features such as cloud storage for game saves and profiles, live television, Bing voice search,[53] access to YouTube videos and better support for Kinect voice commands.[54]
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.[56][57] As the Xbox 360 uses a modified version of the UPnP AV protocol,[58] 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. This is possible with video files up to HD-resolution and with several codecs (MPEG-2, MPEG-4, WMV) and container formats (WMV, MOV, TS).[59]
As of 27 October 2009,[60] UK and Ireland users are also able to access live and on-demand streams of Sky television programming.[61]
Canadian users can access a streaming HDTV service from Telus.[62]
At the 2007, 2008, and 2009 Consumer Electronics Shows, Microsoft had announced that IPTV services would soon be made available to use through the Xbox 360. In 2007, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates stated that IPTV on Xbox 360 was expected to be available to consumers by the holiday season, using the Microsoft TV IPTV Edition platform.[63] In 2008, Gates and president of Entertainment & Devices Robbie Bach announced a partnership with BT in the United Kingdom, in which the BT Vision advanced TV service, using the newer Microsoft Mediaroom IPTV platform, would be accessible via Xbox 360, planned for the middle of the year.[64] BT Vision's DVR-based features would not be available on Xbox 360 due to limited hard drive capacity.[65] In 2010, while announcing version 2.0 of Microsoft Mediaroom, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer mentioned that AT&T's U-verse IPTV service would enable Xbox 360s to be used as set-top boxes later in the year.[66] As of January 2010, IPTV on Xbox 360 has yet to be deployed beyond limited trials.
Six games were initially available in Japan, while eagerly anticipated titles such as Dead or Alive 4 and Enchanted Arms were released in the weeks following the console's launch.[78] Games targeted specifically for the region, such as Chromehounds, Ninety-Nine Nights, and Phantasy Star Universe, were also released in the console's first year.[79] Microsoft also had the support of Japanese developer Mistwalker, founded by Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi. Mistwalker's first game, Blue Dragon, was released in 2006 and had a limited-edition bundle which sold out quickly with over 10,000 pre-orders.[80] Blue Dragon is one of three Xbox 360 games to surpass 200,000 units in Japan, along with Tales of Vesperia and Star Ocean: The Last Hope. Mistwalker's second game, Lost Odyssey also sold over 100,000 copies.[81]
The 2007 Game Critics Awards honored the Xbox 360 platform with 38 Nominations and 11 Wins.[82] By March 2008, the Xbox 360 had reached a software attach rate of 7.5 games per console—a record for any console in history, in EU the rate was 7.0 while its competitors were 3.8 (PS3) and 3.5 (Wii)
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 upon release in all regions except in Japan.[11][12][13]
Several major features of the Xbox 360 are its integrated Xbox Live service that allows players to compete online, download arcade games, game demos, trailers, TV shows, music and movies and its Windows Media Center multimedia capabilities. The Xbox Live also offers region specific access to third-party media streaming application such as Netflix and ESPN in the US or Sky Go in the UK.
At their E3 presentation on June 14, 2010, Microsoft announced a redesigned Xbox 360 that would ship on the same day.[14] The redesigned console is slimmer than the previous Xbox 360 model and features integrated 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, TOSLINK S/PDIF optical audio output, five USB 2.0 ports (compared to the three from older versions) and a special AUX port.[15] Older models of the Xbox 360 have since been discontinued.[16] The first new console to be released features a 250 GB hard drive, while a later, less expensive SKU features 4 GB internal storage.
With the announcement of the Xbox 360 S, Microsoft has said that they believe that the console is only mid-way through its life-cycle and will continue through 2015.[17][18][19] Development of the system has also been implied by updates Microsoft employees have made to their resumes, which state that they were working on the next Xbox console.[20]
Contents |
History
Development
Known during development as Xbox Next, Xenon, Xbox 2, Xbox FS or NextBox,[21] the Xbox 360 was conceived in early 2003.[22] In February 2003, planning for the Xenon software platform began, and was headed by Microsoft's Vice President J Allard.[22] That month, Microsoft held an event for 400 developers in Bellevue, Washington to recruit support for the system.[22] 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.[23] Before the launch of the Xbox 360, several Alpha development kits were spotted using Apple's Power Mac G5 hardware. This was because the system's PowerPC 970 processor running the same PowerPC architecture that the Xbox 360 would eventually run 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. According to David Shippy and Mickie Phipps, the IBM employees were "hiding" their work from Sony and Toshiba, IBM's partners in developing the Cell Processor.[24] Jeff Minter created the music visualization program Neon which is included with the Xbox 360.[25]Launch
Main article: Xbox 360 launch
The Xbox 360 was released on November 22, 2005, in the United States
and Canada; December 2, 2005, in Europe and December 10, 2005, in Japan.
It was later launched in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Hong Kong,
Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa,
India, and Russia. In its first year on the market, the system launched
in 36 countries, more countries than any other console has launched in a
single year.[26]Hardware
Main article: Xbox 360 hardware
The main unit of the Xbox 360 itself has slight double concavity in
matte white or black. The official color of the white model is Arctic
Chill. It features a port on the top when vertical (left side when
horizontal) to which a custom-housed hard drive unit can be attached in sizes of either 20, 60, 120, 250, or 320 GB. Inside, the Xbox 360 uses the triple-core IBM designed Xenon as its CPU, with each core capable of simultaneously processing two threads, and can therefore operate on up to six threads at once.[27] Graphics processing is handled by the ATI Xenos, which has 10 MB of eDRAM. Its main memory pool is 512 MB in size.
Retail configurations
Main article: List of Xbox 360 retail configurations
At launch, the Xbox 360 was available in two configurations: the
"Xbox 360" package (unofficially known as the 20 GB Pro or Premium),
priced at US$399 or GB£279.99,
and the "Xbox 360 Core", priced at US$299 and GB£209.99. 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" was replaced by the "Xbox 360 Arcade" in
October 2007[28]
and a 60 GB version of the Xbox 360 Pro was released on August 1, 2008.
The Pro package was discontinued and marked down to US$249 on August
28, 2009 to be sold until stock ran out, while the Elite was also marked
down in price to US$299.[29] In June 2010, Microsoft announced a new, redesigned, model and the discontinuation of the Elite and Arcade models.[16]Timeline
United States
November 22, 2005
|
August 28, 2009
|
Technical problems
Main article: Xbox 360 technical problems
To aid customers with defective consoles, Microsoft extended the Xbox 360's manufacturer's warranty to three years for hardware failure problems that generate a "General Hardware Failure" error report. A "General Hardware Failure" is recognized on all models released before the Xbox 360 S by three quadrants of the ring around the power button flashing red. This error is often known as the "Red Ring of Death".[38] In April 2009 the warranty was extended to also cover failures related to the E74 error code.[39] The warranty extension is not granted for any other types of failures that do not generate these specific error codes.
Since these problems surfaced, Microsoft has attempted to modify the console to improve its reliability. Modifications include a reduction in the number, size, and placement of components, the addition of dabs of epoxy on the corners and edges of the CPU and GPU as glue to prevent movement relative to the board during heat expansion,[40] and a second GPU heatsink to dissipate more heat.[41] With the release of the redesigned Xbox 360 S, the warranty for the newer models do not include the three-year extended coverage for "General Hardware Failures".[42] The newer Xbox 360 S model indicates system overheating when the console's power button begins to flash red, unlike previous models where the first and third quadrant of the ring would light up red around the power button if overheating occurred. The system will then warn the user of imminent system shutdown until the system has cooled,[43] whereas a flashing power button that alternates between green and red is an indication of a "General Hardware Failure" unlike older models where three of the quadrants would light up red.[44]
Accessories
Main article: Xbox 360 accessories
Many accessories are available for the console, including both wired and wireless controllers, faceplates for customization, headsets for chatting, a webcam for video chatting, dance mats and Gamercize for exercise, three sizes of memory units and five sizes of hard drives (20, 60, 120, 250 (initially Japan only,[45] but later also available elsewhere[46][47]) and 320 GB), among other items, all of which are styled to match the console.Kinect
Main article: Kinect
Software
Dashboard
See also: Xbox 360 system software
The Xbox 360's original graphical user interface was the Xbox 360 Dashboard; a tabbed interface that featured five "Blades" (formerly four blades), and was designed by AKQA and Audiobrain. It could be launched automatically when the console booted
without a disc in it, or when the disc tray was ejected, but the user
had the option to select what the console does if a game is in the tray
on start up, or if inserted when already on. A simplified version of it
was also accessible at any time via the Xbox Guide button on the
gamepad. This simplified version showed the user's gamercard, Xbox Live
messages and friends list. It also allowed for personal and music
settings, in addition to voice or video chats, or returning to the Xbox
Dashboard from the game.On November 19, 2008, the Xbox 360's dashboard was changed from the "Blade" interface, to a dashboard reminiscent of that present on the Zune and Windows Media Center, known as the "New Xbox Experience" or NXE.
Since the console's release, Microsoft has released several updates for the Dashboard software. These updates have included adding new features to the console, enhancing Xbox Live functionality and multimedia playback capabilities, adding compatibility for new accessories, and fixing bugs in the software. Such updates are mandatory for users wishing to use Xbox Live, as access to Xbox Live is disabled until the update is performed.
New Xbox Experience
Further information: Xbox Live, section "New Xbox Experience"
At E3 2008, at Microsoft's Show, Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg and Marc
Whitten announced the new Xbox 360 interface called the "New Xbox
Experience" (NXE). The update was intended to ease console menu
navigation. Its GUI uses the Twist UI, previously used in Windows Media Center and the Zune.
Its new Xbox Guide retains all Dashboard functionality (including the
Marketplace browser and disk ejection) and the original "Blade"
interface.The NXE also provides many new features. Users can now install games from disc to the hard drive to play them with reduced load time and less disc drive noise, but each game's disc must remain in the system in order to run. A new, built-in Community system allows the creation of digitized Avatars that can be used for multiple activities, such as sharing photos or playing Arcade games like 1 vs. 100. The update was released on November 19, 2008.[51]
While previous system updates have been stored on internal memory, the NXE was the first to require a storage device—at least a 128 MB memory card or a hard drive.
Microsoft released a further update to the Xbox 360 Dashboard starting on December 6, 2011.[52] It included a completely new user interface which utilizes Microsoft's Metro design language, and added new features such as cloud storage for game saves and profiles, live television, Bing voice search,[53] access to YouTube videos and better support for Kinect voice commands.[54]
Multimedia
The Xbox 360 supports videos in Windows Media Video (WMV) format (including high-definition and PlaysForSure videos), as well as H.264 and MPEG-4 media. The December 2007 dashboard update added support for the playback of MPEG-4 ASP format videos.[55] The console can also display pictures and perform slideshows of photo collections with various transition effects, and supports audio playback, with music player controls accessible through the Xbox 360 Guide button. 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.[56][57] As the Xbox 360 uses a modified version of the UPnP AV protocol,[58] 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. This is possible with video files up to HD-resolution and with several codecs (MPEG-2, MPEG-4, WMV) and container formats (WMV, MOV, TS).[59]
As of 27 October 2009,[60] UK and Ireland users are also able to access live and on-demand streams of Sky television programming.[61]
Canadian users can access a streaming HDTV service from Telus.[62]
At the 2007, 2008, and 2009 Consumer Electronics Shows, Microsoft had announced that IPTV services would soon be made available to use through the Xbox 360. In 2007, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates stated that IPTV on Xbox 360 was expected to be available to consumers by the holiday season, using the Microsoft TV IPTV Edition platform.[63] In 2008, Gates and president of Entertainment & Devices Robbie Bach announced a partnership with BT in the United Kingdom, in which the BT Vision advanced TV service, using the newer Microsoft Mediaroom IPTV platform, would be accessible via Xbox 360, planned for the middle of the year.[64] BT Vision's DVR-based features would not be available on Xbox 360 due to limited hard drive capacity.[65] In 2010, while announcing version 2.0 of Microsoft Mediaroom, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer mentioned that AT&T's U-verse IPTV service would enable Xbox 360s to be used as set-top boxes later in the year.[66] As of January 2010, IPTV on Xbox 360 has yet to be deployed beyond limited trials.
XNA community
Main article: Microsoft XNA
XNA Community is a feature whereby Xbox 360 owners can receive
community-created games, made with Microsoft XNA Game Studio, from the
XNA Creators Club . The games are written, published, and distributed
through a community managed portal. XNA Community provides a channel for
digital videogame delivery over Xbox Live that can be free of
royalties, publishers and licenses.[67][68] XNA game sales, however, did not meet original expectations.[69]Games
Main article: List of Xbox 360 games
The Xbox 360 launched with 14 games in North America and 13 in Europe. The console's best-selling game for 2005, Call of Duty 2, sold over a million copies.[70] Five other games sold over a million copies in the console's first year on the market: Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter,[71] The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion,[72] Dead or Alive 4,[73] Saints Row,[74] and Gears of War.[75] Gears of War would become the best-selling game on the console with 3 million copies in 2006,[76] before being surpassed in 2007 by Halo 3 with over 8 million copies.[77]Six games were initially available in Japan, while eagerly anticipated titles such as Dead or Alive 4 and Enchanted Arms were released in the weeks following the console's launch.[78] Games targeted specifically for the region, such as Chromehounds, Ninety-Nine Nights, and Phantasy Star Universe, were also released in the console's first year.[79] Microsoft also had the support of Japanese developer Mistwalker, founded by Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi. Mistwalker's first game, Blue Dragon, was released in 2006 and had a limited-edition bundle which sold out quickly with over 10,000 pre-orders.[80] Blue Dragon is one of three Xbox 360 games to surpass 200,000 units in Japan, along with Tales of Vesperia and Star Ocean: The Last Hope. Mistwalker's second game, Lost Odyssey also sold over 100,000 copies.[81]
The 2007 Game Critics Awards honored the Xbox 360 platform with 38 Nominations and 11 Wins.[82] By March 2008, the Xbox 360 had reached a software attach rate of 7.5 games per console—a record for any console in history, in EU the rate was 7.0 while its competitors were 3.8 (PS3) and 3.5 (Wii)
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