The Xbox 360 came as an underdog and solidified its brand recognition in the hearts of gamers and developers across the gaming world. No doubt, the original Xbox which was released in 2001 was an embarrassing attempt to challenge the dominance of Sony’s PlayStation 2. In 2005, Microsoft re-ignited the rivalry between PlayStation and the Xbox, the Xbox 360 was the device trusted to ridicule the monopoly of the PlayStation brand. How far did the Xbox 360 go? Let us examine the trend by reflecting back to memory, taking into consideration the doom and gloom of the Xbox 360 from 2005 to 2013.
May 2005 – The Xbox 360 was officially unveiled on MTV. More details about the game and launch games were revealed at E3 2005. The event took place a few days after it was officially unveiled on MTV.
November 2005 – Microsoft released the Xbox 360 in United States and Canada. It was at the right time and with a sweet price tag of $399. It enjoyed success as there was no direct competition since the PlayStation 3 was delayed to November of 2006.
December 2005 – Reports of Xbox 360 hardware failure flew like wide-fire all over the internet.
January 2006 – Microsoft picks the HD-DVD over Sony’s Blu-Ray disc. HD-DVD was a standalone external drive for the Xbox 360 that allowed users to enjoy high-definition films. Toshiba eventually lost the battle to Sony’s Blu-ray which was already incorporated into the PlayStation 3.
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February 2006 – Xbox 360 was hacked barely 4-months after it was officially released worldwide. A hacking group posted a video on the Internet which showed the hack of Microsoft’s Xbox 360.
July 2007 – Microsoft officially admits Xbox 360 technical flaws resulting in the popular “RROD” issue that destroyed millions of games. Vice-President of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business division announced a three-year warranty from the original date of purchase for every Xbox 360 console that experiences the “general hardware failure” indicated by three flashing red LEDs on the console.
August 2007 – The first price cut for the Xbox 360 was announced. The Core system’s price was reduced in the United States by $20, the Premium by $50, and the Elite model by $30.
December 2007 – Halo 3 became the best-selling game on the Xbox 360 with 8 million copies sold. Gears of War was the initial holder of that title with 3 million copies, but Halo 3 became a sudden hit and sold like hotcakes.
May 2008 – Microsoft confirmed the number of Xbox 360 sold. The figure was an astonishing 10 millon Xbox 360 sales in the US. The Xbox 360 became the first seventh generation console to surpass the 10-million sales mark in the United State.
June 2008 – Wii surpasses Xbox 360 total sales in the United States.
August 2008 – Microsoft, Immersion Settle ‘Force Feedback’ Lawsuit
October 2008 – A class action lawsuit was filed in California against Microsoft over the RROD problem. Meanwhile, Game Informer survey already placed the figure of the Xbox 360 failure rate at 54.2%.
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November 2008 – The Xbox 360’s dashboard was rebranded. The “Blade” interface was changed to a dashboard reminiscent of that present on the Zune and Windows Media Center, known as the “New Xbox Experience” or NXE.
June 2009 – Project Natal which later officially became Kinect was announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo by Microsoft. Kinect is a “controller-free gaming and entertainment experience” built specifically for the Xbox 360.
February 2010 – Microsoft celebrated 23 million members in Xbox LIVE.
June 2010 – A redesigned Xbox 360 was announced by Microsoft. The new Xbox 360 was slimmer than the previous Xbox 360. It had five USB 2.0 ports as compared to three in the previous model.
November 2010 – Kinect was officially released and worked with all models of the Xbox 360. It ushered in a fresh brew of hope in the gaming industry. The device enabled users to control and interact with the Xbox 360 without a game controller by using gestures, spoken commands and presented objects and images.
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January 2011 – Over 50 million Xbox 360 consoles have been sold worldwide.
June 2011 – Xbox LIVE would be integrated into Windows 8. The integration was perfect and Windows 8 users now enjoy Xbox LIVE services.
February 2013 – 45 millions members reported to be using Xbox LIVE. A massive 15% growth from the previous year.
May 2013 – Xbox 360 successor, Xbox One is unveiled.
October 2013 – 78 million Xbox 360 is reported to have been sold. This marked a new beginning for the Xbox brand. The original Xbox was completely outclassed in sales by the PS2. The PS3 currently stands at 80 million units sold.
It is Microsoft who would be elated following the journey of the Xbox 360. The gaming device was completely written off but some how, the guys at Microsoft got the balance which was mostly influenced by the low price tag; a $100 bill cheaper than the PlayStation 3 at launch. The inability of the PS3 to release simultaneously along side the Xbox 360 also gave the console enough time to get loved by the gaming community.
The seventh generation of gaming has come to an end and in the next few weeks, both Microsoft and Sony would excite us with the eight generation of gaming with their hotly anticipated Xbox One and PS4 consoles respectively. The gaming industry keeps evolving; more games and more jaw-breaking innovation. Could it get any less better? You guess is as good as mine. 🙂
Last Updated October 30, 2013.
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