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What Made the Xbox 360 an Amazing Console?

The Xbox 360 remains one of Microsoft's biggest achievements in the industry to date- but what exactly made it so good?

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CaptainHenry9161043d ago

It came out 1 year before the PS3 is what made it an amazing console. They also relied on Halo, Gears, and Forza which helped a whole lot

Jericho13371043d ago

It also popularised online gaming on console, a blueprint which Sony spent most of the generation copying.

JEECE1043d ago

Yeah, no one played Halo 2 or Socom II.

1043d ago
bouzebbal1043d ago

xbox had a super aggressive strategy, the fight was about the exclusive games or content.. Japan was a high priority for them as well..
360 really pulled a good fight, and made ps3 the amazing console it is.

Jericho13371043d ago

I said popularised mate, not started. Grab a dictionary if you’re not sure next time.

bouzebbal1043d ago

WTF, online play was available on dreamcast… Sony spent so much time copying that they got inspired from GwG to create ps+?
How about free online on ps3? It got better overtime but call it copying is fanboy

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porkChop1043d ago

Xbox pushed out a lot of great games and new IP during the 360 era. It wasn't just Halo, Gears, and Forza. A lot of features and concepts that are standard today started with the 360.

1043d ago
porkChop1043d ago

@White-Bandit

Absolutely. They came off the 360's success with arrogance, and they paid the price for it.

Rude-ro1043d ago

They bought the exclusives…
When Sony finally got into the gen and fought back… Microsoft’s true offerings started to stand out.
They did not get “arrogant”.. they did not make games. Still evident today.

Without the activision cod exclusive deals when it was huge, ea’s mass effect & gears.. they would not have had the same effect commercially.

oldenjon1042d ago (Edited 1042d ago )

@porkChop Not to mention RROD. People don't talk about it much anymore but it was a pretty big deal. My console fell just outside the extended warranty when it RRODed and I tried to fix it myself but only lasted a few weeks. Instead of buying another 360, I bought PS3 and I've been a playstation gamer ever since. I'm sure this is the case for a lot of other people as well.

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darthv721043d ago

The 1 year head start was both necessary and strategic. Necessary in the sense that their talks with Nividia over continued chip supplies for the og xbox had fizzled out (thus leading to its quick demise) and strategic in the sense that they could show off what the HD era was capable of to court developers and publishers away from Sony's grasp.

It also helped that being easier to develop for is something many devs recall as the selling point from the previous gen (saturn vs ps1).

Sitdown1043d ago

Strategic? I thought the PlayStation 3 got hit with a delay?

kneon1043d ago

@Sitdown

Yes the PS3 couldn't launch earlier as they had been waiting for HDMI and Bluray specs to be finalised.

1Victor1043d ago (Edited 1043d ago )

@keon both Blu-ray and hdmi was already on the market when PS3 released it was a diodite production problem that cost the delay and Microsoft took advantage of it offering big incentives to developers to ether go full exclusive (gears) or timed exclusive ( mass effect) but we all know how it would turn out if they released at the same time regardless of PS3 been harder to develop for.
@ darth 😂 necessary and strategic 🤦🏿
was you part of the secret Microsoft envidia and the Blu-ray diodite manufacturers to delay the PS3? 😂

XBManiac1042d ago

Yes... remember that initially PS3 was designed with two CELL processors for almost everything... but Sony had to redesign it and substitute one with an NVIDIA GPU, so developers could understand the architecture earlier... PS3 also had two HDMI ports... Microsoft saw clearly they had to fight with games, not with what Sony really were good at... multimedia. Does this sound to you? Microsoft fiasco with Xbox One, for example.

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annoyedgamer1043d ago

Halo Gears and Forza were actually good back then.

CaptainHenry9161043d ago (Edited 1043d ago )

It was. It's unbelievable that they relied on both over 2 decades. But I always forget Microsoft has money to stay in the game industry regardless if their exclusives fail

JackBNimble1043d ago

I'm not going to bother naming off Sony's decades old exclusives but they too rely on them.

I don't think your point is valid

Rude-ro1043d ago

Marketing and exclusivity deals due to Sony being a year late.
Ea, activision etc all got a lot of money from Microsoft.

Mass effect, gears were some big hitter that were bought.

porkChop1043d ago

Mass Effect was exclusive because Microsoft both funded and published it. EA only purchased Bioware a month before the game came out.

dmonee1043d ago (Edited 1043d ago )

Those games were the shit when they first came out. My knock is that Xbox has relied on bi-yearly sequel’s to those games way too much.
I feel that PC developers are more comfortable with the Xbox/X new architecture and we will see not necessarily new games but games we wouldn’t see on consoles finally come to fruition. Microsoft flight simulator comes to mind when I think like this. I want to want an Xbox, but they need to sell me on it. The last generation felt kind of blah for Xbox. Perhaps the edition of developers like Bethesda can help the brand

anubusgold1043d ago (Edited 1043d ago )

No at launch they had ghost recon advanced warfighter, Oblivion , condemned criminal origins, perfect dark, Kameo. project Gotham racing, geometry wars, a good EA boxing game, madden and cod 2 that matched the pc graphics that was enough for the first 3 months .

neutralgamer19921043d ago

Don matrick because I like Phil he had the balls and the know how to compete with Sony and Nintendo. Xbox fanboys hate him but under him is the only time Xbox brand actually stayed on level footing with PlayStation. He understood it took exclusive games, times exclusive games or content and exclusive marketing deals

JackBNimble1043d ago

Xbox almost completely collapsed under Don Matrick because of bad decisions coming into last gen.

Xbox one was almost cancelled before it even launched. The only reason xbox is still around is because Phil Spencer took over and convinced MS to let him give it one last chance.

neutralgamer19921043d ago (Edited 1043d ago )

JackBNimble

Really that's a bit of a overreaction don't you think? What he said about buy a Xbox360 if you can't connect to net was a bad statement but at no time was Xbox one about to get cancelled I don't think

What has Phil done? If you look at what don matrick announced for Xbox one, Phil has implemented almost everything but now more so under the radar and with praise from gamers while talking from both sides of his mouth. You do know it was only because of don matrick Xbox 360 was as successful as it was right? Because if it wasn't why hasn't the Xbox brand ever become as impactful ever since

Phil has gotten a free pass for almost 10 years now and he has yet to deliver. He talks a lot and for some reason that seems to be good enough for a lot of Xbox fans. They are so far behind playstation now that they even stopped releasing sales data(something they couldn't stop doing during Xbox360 days) Phil has been there a while even when don matrick was in charge so let's not act like Phil had no say with Xbox one because he was pretty high up in the food chain when it came to Xbox even back around 360 days

If we are talking about competition than Xbox 360 vs ps3 was the best time for being a gamer. Just look at some of these games franchises man. This is why it stinks now. Yes as a playstation gamer Sony makes amazing games but I believe they could do better and have more diverse lineup if Xbox was pushing and competing with them. No hate as a gamer ps3-xbox360 era was pure gold

Mgs 4
Peace walker
Mgs hd collection
Uncharted
Halo 3
Forza
Fable
Killzone 2
Resistance
Bioshock
Mass effect
RDR
Skyrim
GTA5
Fallout 3
Fallout new Vegas
Orange box
Portal 2
Gears of war
Left for dead
Alan wake
Farcry 2-3
Dead space
Borderlands
The last of us
God of war 3
Journey
Demon souls
Heavy rain
Infamous
Ratchet and clank
Prototype
Rayman
Army of 2
Assassin's Creed

I am sure I am forgetting many

Atom6661043d ago

Everything that set up the 360 to have success was w/ Peter Moore. When Don's contributions were felt, it was the second half of the 360, and the launch of the One. A/k/a the worst period in the brand's existence.

The missteps and screwups he oversaw damn near killed the entire brand. That's a undisputed fact. But worst of all, he did the same as his predecessors and failed to look at the long term.

Timed deals, marketing deals, and motion control fads. All short term BS.

You want to know why Spencer gets credit? Compare June 2013 to June 2021.

I know his very existence triggers you "neutral" gamers to no end, but objectively, he's had the biggest impact on the Xbox brand. He's also somehow managed to do what old Donny and others couldn't: Convince 2 trillion dollar MS to finally invest in what it should have been doing all along.

jeromeface1043d ago

it started the race a year and a half early and still lost... "amazing"?

SyntheticForm1043d ago

So you're going to ignore everything that 360 popularized and all the concepts created or polished during its time because it sold a bit less?

This is simply dumb thinking and rationale on your part.

One minor thing I loved about 360 that may mean more to me than others was how much it experimented with UI - I thought many of the styles were cool.

darthv721042d ago

You do realize that you can lose the fight but still win the crowd... right? And that is what the 360 did. It won over millions of gamers and took more market share away from Sony than Sega or Nintendo ever did.

IRetrouk1042d ago (Edited 1042d ago )

How do you know that the 360 took more of the market share from sony than nintendo?
The wii sold more than anything, therefore it would be logical to assume that nintendo took more than ms did, but then again, each gen is a restart on market share, you don't bring the last gen market share with you into the next, no company has ever added a previous gens marketshare to their next.

Chevalier1043d ago

Is the best Xbox console I own because it had great games. Since then Xbox has been a huge disappointment to me imo. Will wait for more games before I consider a series X down the road.

FreeckyCake1043d ago

" 360 really pulled a good fight, and made ps3 the amazing console it is. " That's what a fanboy would say.

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Knightofelemia1043d ago (Edited 1043d ago )

XB360 had some great titles on it but I didn't find it amazing when it carved up discs or when it red ringed. The XB360 is my least favorite console just for those two issues alone. I had 2 disc carvers and 2 red rings I finally said screw it and sold my XB360. My uncle gave me his old 360 and I haven't even turned it on since 2016 even after swapping out the thermal paste on it.

darthv721043d ago

Never had the disc issue, I'd heard it was something akin to moving the system when the disc was spinning or standing it up if it was lying down (again, while the disc was spinning).

As for RRoD, only one system of mine got that. It was my Nov 05 Pro and it didnt develop the issue until 07. And by that time the free repair program was in place so it didnt cost me anything. It also helped that I had bought the black elite when it came out (as that was my start to collecting variants). So i wasnt without a system to play while it was being fixed. I feel for those who chose not to go the free repair route and instead buy another but... to each their own.

AmUnRa1043d ago

Telling the true about the disaster that was RRoD and disc carving and MS willfuly try to deny it and putting the blame on the gamers gives you 16 downvotes....some people are still in denail.

SyntheticForm1043d ago

Everyone knows it was a disaster but man did I love it anyway.

I thought I was lucky and skating for 3 years until my first console finally ringed. From there it was a string of bad consoles up until the "Elite" unit I believe.

That one's in fine working order to this day.

sourOG1043d ago

Demos. I bought so many games because I loved the demos. I beat the bioshock demo at least 40 times.

Eidolon1043d ago

Took you 40 times to buy this gem?

sourOG1043d ago (Edited 1043d ago )

No I just loved it that much lol. It came out before release. I bought it day 1 because of that demo and it’s still my favorite game of all time.

anast1043d ago (Edited 1043d ago )

For the first year it was, because it was the newest console and people had already invested in it. After other consoles came out it turned out to be the worst investment. They needed Sony's second hand games to build their library. By the time PS3 came out Xbox was set up to be 20 years behind.

1043d ago
IMissJimRyan1043d ago ShowReplies(1)
Orchard1043d ago

You must have had a different PS3 from the rest of us...

PS3 was constantly playing catch up in terms of features and functionality and many 3rd party games were better on XB360.

kneon1043d ago (Edited 1043d ago )

Playing catch up? With HDMI, bluray, SPDIF and wifi in the original version, unlike the xbox that didn't get any of those until the elite version 2 years later, and the failed HD DVD later on. The 360 wasn't even designed as an HD console, you can tell by some of the stupid chip design decisions, as well as lacking any form of digital output.

I recall how people were saying HD wasn't going to get mass adoption for many years. But they were of course wrong. But Sony being a major manufacturer of TVs had a much better idea of how fast HD prices would drop and so how fast HD TVs would become mainstream

Orchard1043d ago (Edited 1043d ago )

@kneon Sure, PS3 was a great box for movie watchers - which is not me. Heck, I didn't even have a TV that supported HDMI until far into the generation.

Sony were constantly playing catch up in terms of actual gaming functionality on the box though (the things that matter), we didn't even get in-game XMB, party chat, trophies, etc. for ages. Lots of games performed worse too.

The Wood1043d ago (Edited 1043d ago )

Games plain and simple. Ms had those

Sony overtook Microsoft despite all these things i see guys listing. You dont overtake a console without doing something better and sony released more compelling games over the gen without the drastic fall off the 360 suffered when ms got complacent and lazy. Sony pushed through and that carried over to the ps4. Microsoft was doing smart deals at the start and understood the power of exclusive content and deals with 3rd parties.... sony had to do more to catch up after the delay. That 7 to 10 million deficit got eaten up ...why....games...sony didn't drop off

Imalwaysright1043d ago (Edited 1043d ago )

I think you got it backwards as it Sony that was behind and was playing catch up and trying to emulate Xbox in terms of software and here's proof of it:

"Sony kept pushing for a more realistic game in all respects. The market had changed a lot by then. The demographic was older and gritty shooters were really dominating. Sony wanted very much to get into that market share, it pushed all of its developers in this direction."

"So the big push from Sony, not just at Naughty Dog but at all of Sony's development companies at the time, was to craft games for PlayStation 3 that were much more realistic. The pressure from Xbox's success with gritty shooters was a very real force on our direction at that time."

https://www.eurogamer.net/a...

As we now know, the game that ND was specifically looking at was Gears of War.

And let's not forget that MS had completely changed gaming's landscape with its unified online service and Sony was yet again playing catch up and trying to emulate it with its own online unified service: PSN and the result was a console that was more similar to the original Xbox and the 360 than it was to the PS1 or PS2.

brewin1043d ago

Lol, my PS3 literally collected dust for a year before anything meaningful came out! Name one PS3 launch title that was a killer app?! They even had rappers joking about it in their. Bishop Lamont said, " Boy I aint playin games, this ps3" lol

anast1043d ago

A rapper jokes about it, so it must be true...

SonyStyled1042d ago (Edited 1042d ago )

Resistance Fall of Man, Ridge Racer 7 as far as exclusives.

Motorstorm was a launch title in Europe.

For multi platform, Call of Duty 3 and Tony Hawks Project 8.

That’s 4 more killer apps at launch than you asked for.

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60°

Killing Floor at 15 - When a Mod Launched a Critically Acclaimed Series

Tripwire Interactive's Killing Floor debuted 15 years ago, birthing a critically acclaimed series and a new publishing arm.

220°

Price Reductions Available Now on the Digital Xbox 360 Store - Closing July 29, 2024

Xbox 360 launched 18 years ago and was a generation-defining console that invited many people to jump into gaming for the first time and connect with friends around the world. We’re thrilled people continue playing their favorite Xbox 360 games on Xbox 360, or on newer consoles via Backward Compatibility for supported titles.

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Einhander19721d ago

"we believe in game preservation"

Remember the media reaction when PlayStation wanted to shut down the PS3 store (but then kept it open)... where is that reaction here?

CrimsonWing691d ago

What are you asking? Like, if people got pissed at Sony for that? Because they did. We also got pissed at Nintendo when they did it.

You’re getting a chance to buy what you want before they close it. Moving forward digital stores should work like Steam. It’s just in this beginning they made it platform specific and closed off. A hindsight in their part and it sucks, but what is the percentage of people buying anything off these stores and what is the cost to keep the servers up?

I get it and yes making strives so this isn’t the case every gen we go into is absolutely a must. I mean PSN on PS3 is so convoluted to buy anything since you can’t use a credit card. Vita store is gone. It’s going to go away eventually.

Einhander197223h ago

"What are you asking? Like, if people got pissed at Sony for that? Because they did. We also got pissed at Nintendo when they did it."

My point is when PlayStation did this every website under the sun was writing articles talking about how "anti-consumer" it was yet I haven't seen anything like that happening when it's xbox doing it, in fact mostly what I see is praise from media when xbox makes obviously false claims about game preservation while they close down their store and xblig and push for digital only consoles streaming and subscriptions.

What I am asking is for everyone to be criticized or praised equally.

I mean look at the way the PS5 Slim's detachable disk drive was reported, it was super critical. Even though in reality they made it easier for people who initially buy a digital only console to move to physical, it was actually a step away from digital only. But did it get reported like that at all... no.

And you can still buy stuff on PlayStation you just need to add money to your account on the website or a PS4/5.

Tacoboto23h ago

That reaction isn't here because you can still play Xbox 360 discs of supported BC titles on Series and Xbox One, and you can still buy BC titles on the current Xbox Store.

It still sucks losing access to non-BC titles but don't act like it's the same situation. Let me know when PS5 actually supports my PS3 library.

Einhander197223h ago(Edited 23h ago)

How are you going to play those discs on your Series S (which 75% of xbox owners have) or your adorably all digital Series X?

And keep in mind that BC on xbox is an extremely limited selection of games, it's less than 25% of retail releases, and way less than the entire catalogue.

It's not a solution for the future, this isn't how "game preservation" looks, it's the fake PR that makes it that much worse.

Tacoboto23h ago

I'm not getting an all digital Series X so bark up someone else's tree, creep. I have my Series X for that disc support and functioning old hardware I still buy discs for (Bought Sudeki, Super Paper Mario, and 3D Dot Game Heroes a few months back - one for each old platform).

Fact is there's a mechanism that exists for Xbox OG and 360 BC physically and digitally. PS has none for PS1 or 2 or 3. If you're gonna bring PS into an Xbox article, at least know what you're talking about.

Einhander197222h ago

"Fact is there's a mechanism that exists for Xbox OG and 360 BC physically and digitally. PS has none for PS1 or 2 or 3. If you're gonna bring PS into an Xbox article, at least know what you're talking about."

I understand that, I'm making commentary on the fact that xbox is moving to digital only (and that the vast majority of current gen xbox owners do not have a disc based option) and not towards preservation as they claim.

And obviously people can play games on the original hardware for as long as that lasts, I have hundreds of games from "retro" consoles, I own nearly 200 PS3 discs alone.

Is there some reason, you feel the need to make personal insults in every comment, I reply to what you say without insulting you. But you know whatever, it says more about you than me...

And for the record "you" was being used colloquially I wasn't speaking you directly.

shinoff218320h ago

It won't as far as emulation. The os3 was built different.

I am in agreement though. I wish Sony would sell like an ultimate console. Have it where you have to order off their site and make it have real bc. Like the og ps3 had ps2 inside so to say.

Tacoboto19h ago

@Ein You're a creep because of your obsessive comment history making everything revolve around Sony or how awful Xbox is to a point that you're now just throwing irrelevant things in any way you can.

And don't try to make "you" colloquially now just because you're wrong about me and your feelings got hurt.

Einhander197216h ago

Whatever, keep insulting me, if you think that is going to make me change my opinions or what I say you couldn't be more far from the truth.

How you choose to treat other people only reflects poorly on you. (and this time it's not colloquially)

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darthv7223h ago

The PS3 situation may have something to do with no forward way to play those games on newer hardware. Not to mention the PS3 store has been around far less than the 360 store. 360 store closing was expected and they did a pretty good job making many of its digital games forward compatible with XBO and subsequently the Series as well. Ones they could not come to an agreement with are going to be left behind, but here is your chance for last minute deals for you to continue playing on your 360.

Just because the 360 store closes doesnt make all of those games you have (digital/physical) stop working on real 360 hardware. If people have physical 360 games, chances are they also have the means to play them. Just like People with PS3 games having a PS3. It would be nice if all older games worked on newer hardware... but that is not for us to decide, that is for MS, Sony and Nintendo.

Asplundh21h ago

Difference being the 360 games will still be sold on series consoles, while the PS5 only preserved a selection of Ps3 games for premium subs. If the Xbox 360 store closes the games will still be available, if the Ps3 store closes then those games are gone.

How does this contradict what they said about game preservation?

Einhander197221h ago

As far as what I have read that is not accurate, except for a small selection of games that are available through BC.

And even when the PS3 and Vita stores were going to be shut down they still were still going to be available to download if you purchased them already.

rlow115h ago

So you’re asking for equal treatment? That’s not how the world works or don’t you know? Which I can can’t believe you’re that naive. Xbox gets attacked on this site all the time. You have to ask why that was a big deal amongst the PS3 fan base? Because it wasn’t Xbox fans that were throwing up a huge stink. It’s was PlayStation fans and look at the results, Sony gave in and kept it open. You should celebrate it, instead of worrying about who takes it on the chin more.

The one thing I’ve Learned, is these companies don’t need people to defend them. They have all done things worth criticizing, but it will never be equal.

darthv7215h ago

While the 360 store is closing and you will not be able to make any new purchases from a 360..... you can still download content you have previously purchased prior to the closure. The same can also be said about access to 360 games available on the XBO/Series. You will be able to make new purchases of titles that are available on the current store as well as download previously purchased content that is also compatible with the XBO/Series.

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1Victor1d ago (Edited 1d ago )

RIP Xbox 360 digital store and all its games.
It really grinds my gears that they are waiting till 10 days before closing to give the best discounts and the list as of now is 100 or less titles from the massive 360 library

Phoenix761d ago (Edited 1d ago )

I should have enough points by the weekend to get £25 credit off MS, (hardly ever spend money on xb1), might look at a few of these.

DivineHand1251d ago

The Xbox 360 store was one of the only advantages the Xbox Series consoles had over the PS5. When I got my series X, I spent more playing Xbox 360 games vs current-gen Xbox games since that was the golden era for Xbox and several titles had enhancements such as 4k resolution and fps boost.

Closing this store will now only benefit the competition.

VersusDMC23h ago

The xbox360 store is closing on the xbox 360.

Xbox 360 games are unaffected on the xbox one and series consoles.

Einhander197223h ago

"Xbox will stop supporting the ability to purchase new games, DLC, and other entertainment content from the Xbox 360 Store on the console ->and the Xbox 360 Marketplace (marketplace.xbox.com).<-&q uot;

You will not be able to purchase any 360 games. You will only be able to play xbox discs if you have a console that support discs which doesn't look great for the future of xbox, if it has one.

VersusDMC22h ago

@Ein

Why are you repeating what i said?

You will not be able to buy digital 360 games to play on your 360.

You will still be able to buy 360 games on Xbone and Series consoles. Go to marketplace.xbox.com, that's the old browser store and not the new one.

Knightofelemia19h ago

Won't be long before Sony pulls the plug on the PS3.

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110°

7 Deserving Games That Never Got Backward Compatibility

Backward compatibility works for many games on newer consoles, but titles such as The Simpsons: Hit and Run have been left out.