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History of video games/Platforms/Xbox 360

< History of video games‎ | Platforms
  • An original Xbox 360 Premium.
    An original Xbox 360 Premium.
  • An Xbox 360 Arcade, with no Hard Drive.
    An Xbox 360 Arcade, with no Hard Drive.
  • An Xbox 360 Elite.
    An Xbox 360 Elite.
  • An Xbox 360 E. The style of this console is very close to it's successor the Xbox One.
    An Xbox 360 E. The style of this console is very close to it's successor the Xbox One.

History edit

 
The logotype for the Xbox 360.

Development edit

The Xbox 360 was preceded by the original Xbox. Development on the Xbox 360 started in 2003 as project Xenon.[1] From 2003 to 2005 the dev kit for the Xbox 360 was based on an Apple PowerMac G5 desktop computer.[2][3]

The Xbox 360 exterior was designed by three different studios.[4]

Launch edit

The Xbox 360 was launched on November 22nd, 2005.[5]

Prime edit

Early Xbox 360 consoles would often scratch disks or overheat to the point of bricking the console.[6] In light of high failure rates, in 2007 Microsoft extended the Warranty of the Xbox 360 to three years, ultimately costing Microsoft $1.15 billion dollars.[7][8] The sheer scale of the recall was so massive that a significant portion of that cost, $240 million dollars, was solely dedicated to paying for the logistics of shipping consoles.[7] Legal action resulting from the high failure rates on the Xbox 360 would eventually lead to the US Supreme Court case Microsoft Corp. v. Baker.[9]

The Xbox 360 S was released in 2010.[10] The price of Xbox Live also increased in 2010.[11][12]

The Xbox 360 E was released in 2013.[10]

Legacy edit

The Xbox 360 was followed by the Xbox One.

Xbox 360 production ceased in 2016.[13] 85 million Xbox 360 consoles were sold.[14]

Technology edit

Compute edit

The Xbox 360 is powered by a custom three core IBM 64-bit PowerPC CPU named Xenon, clocked at 3.2 gigahertz.[15][16] The CPU has 165 million transistors.[15] The CPU also contains eFuses to prevent firmware rollbacks.[17]

The Xbox 360 GPU is a custom ATI design clocked at 500 megahertz, with 10 megabytes of dedicated RAM.[15]

The Xbox 360 has 512 megabytes of unified GDDR3 RAM clocked at 700 megahertz.[18][15] The Xbox 360 RAM is shared between the CPU and GPU.[18]

Storage edit

Most Xbox 360 units have removable hard drives.[19]

Software edit

Xbox Live edit

In 2020 Xbox Live cloud saves were made available to free Xbox Live users on the Xbox 360.[20]

Other system software edit

A software emulator was used for limited backwards compatibility with original Xbox games.[21]

The Xbox 360 contained a version of Neon, a light synthesizer developed by Jeff Minter,[22] who is also known for his work on the games Tempest 2000 and Tempest 3000.

Software development edit

Despite using a 64-bit CPU, ExtremeTech suggests that much of the code for the Xbox 360 was 32 bit.[23]

Notable Games edit

2005 edit

 
Xbox 360 at the Tokyo Game Show in 2005.

2006 edit

2007 edit

 
Bill Gates sells the first official copy of Halo 3 on launch night.

Shadowrun edit

One of the first games to have cross platform multiplayer between Xbox 360 and PC.[24]

Read more about the 2007 Shadowrun video game on Wikipedia.

2008 edit

 
Gears of War 2 at PAX 2008

2009 edit

  •  
    Forza Motorsport 3 at E3 2009.
  •  
    Project Natal at E3 2009
  •  
    Halo Reach trailer at E3 2009.

2010 edit

 
An Xbox 360 promotion truck.

2011 edit

2012 edit

2021 edit

Goldeneye 007 Remake edit

A nearly completed and highly anticipated, yet ultimately unreleased remasted version of Rare's innovative N64 title Goldeneye 007 was leaked in February 2021.[25][26]

Gallery edit

Consoles edit

  •  
    Xbox 360 Pro front
  •  
    Xbox 360 Pro rear, with no HDMI.
  •  
    Elite front
  •  
    Elite rear, with HDMI.
  •  
    An Xbox 360 S
  •  
    Xbox 360 S rear. Note the new Kinect Port.
  •  
    The redesigned 360 E Hard Drive bay.
  •  
    360 E front
  •  
    360 E IO. Note the new Kinect jack, as well as the new composite and audio minijack.

Controllers & Accessories edit

  •  
    Wired controller.
  •  
    The Xbox 360 controller with chatpad attached
  •  
    A special edition transforming d-pad controller.
  •  
    DJ Hero Turntable
  •  
    Xbox 360 Headset
  •  
    2nd Gen Headset
  •  
    Xbox 360 WiFi Adapter
  •  
    The Xbox 360 Kinect
  •  
    An Xbox 360 DVD-ROM.
  •  
    Xbox accessories at E3 2006
  •  
    The HD DVD add on for the Xbox 360.
  •  
    The HD DVD add on rear.
  •  
    Xbox 360 HD Transfer Cable
  •  
    Xbox 360 Hard Drive
  •  
    A 512MB memory card for the Xbox 360.
  •  
    Xbox 360 Play & Charge Kit
  •  
    Xbox 360 Faceplate

Technology edit

  •  
    The custom ATI Xenos GPU used by the Xbox 260.
  •  
    90nm 2005 Engineering Sample of the IBM "Xenon" CPU for the Xbox 360
  •  
    Clearer illustration of the same "Xenon" Engineering sample.
  •  
    Illustration of the 90nm 2006 "Zephyr" CPU revision
  •  
    Illustration of the 65nm 2007 "Falcon" CPU revision
  •  
    Illustration of the 45nm 2010 "XCGPU" which contains the CPU and GPU on the same die, as well as 10Mb of eDRAM in the smaller die.
  •  
    Popcorn BGA on an Xbox360 GPU.
  •  
    Two Xbox 360 Development Kits. Note the extended tops.
  •  
    The infamous Red Ring of Death
  •  
    How to read Xbox 360 error codes
  •  
    A 1.8 gigahertz Apple Power Macintosh G5, similar to the 2 gigahertz ones that served as the basis for the original Xbox 360 development kits.
  •  
    A diagram of how memory works on the Xbox 360.
  •  
    Early Xbox 360 DVD drives could scratch disks, as seen here.

Preservation edit

There is a WikiBook on the Xbox 360, with notes on development, undocumented commands, and motherboard replacement.

External Resources edit

 

Wikipedia has related information at Xbox 360

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Xbox 360

References edit

Parts of this page are based on materials from:
 Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia.
  1. ↑ "The Story Behind the Xbox". PCMAG. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  2. ↑ "The Mac That Helped Build The Xbox Rides Again". Hackaday. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  3. ↑ "The SDK "Power Mac G5" for the Xbox 360". Le journal du lapin (in French). 21 January 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  4. ↑ staff, CNET Australia. "Xbox 360 hardware specs in detail". CNET. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  5. ↑ "Microsoft Announces Xbox 360 Day One Launch Lineup — Strongest Launch in the History of Video Game Consoles". Stories. 14 November 2005. https://news.microsoft.com/2005/11/14/microsoft-announces-xbox-360-day-one-launch-lineup-strongest-launch-in-the-history-of-video-game-consoles/. Retrieved 28 October 2020. 
  6. ↑ "Engineering Disaster: The Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death". designnews.com. 26 October 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  7. ↑ a b "Steve Ballmer saved the Xbox brand". Windows Central. 3 July 2015. https://www.windowscentral.com/peter-moore-xbox-one-wouldnt-have-happened-if-steve-ballmer-had-not-saved-xbox-360. 
  8. ↑ Gilbert, Ben. "How Microsoft spent $1 billion on a simple mistake with its best game console". Business Insider. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  9. ↑ "Microsoft Corp. v. Baker". harvardlawreview.org. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  10. ↑ a b "The Evolution Of Xbox Consoles". GameSpot. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  11. ↑ "Xbox Live Price Increase Coming November 1" (in en-us). Kotaku. https://kotaku.com/xbox-live-price-increase-coming-november-1-5625516. 
  12. ↑ Carpenter, Nicole (22 January 2021). "The price of Xbox Live Gold is going up" (in en). Polygon. https://www.polygon.com/2021/1/22/22244203/xbox-live-gold-price-increase-subscription. 
  13. ↑ "Xbox 360 games console discontinued by Microsoft". BBC News. 20 April 2016. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-36097461#:~:text=Microsoft%20has%20said%20it%20is,10%20years%20after%20it%20launched.&text=Mr%20Spencer%20said%20all%20remaining,be%20supported%20for%20existing%20users.. Retrieved 28 October 2020. 
  14. ↑ "The bestselling consoles of all time". www.digitaltrends.com. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  15. ↑ a b c d "How Xbox 360 Works". HowStuffWorks. 29 November 2006. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  16. ↑ Stokes, Jon (2 June 2005). "Inside the Xbox 360, Part II: the Xenon CPU". Ars Technica. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  17. ↑ "eFuse blown, 360 homebrew now possible". Engadget. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  18. ↑ a b "The Untapped Potential of the PS3's CELL Processor And How Naughty Dog Tamed The Beast". Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  19. ↑ "Xbox Support". support.xbox.com. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  20. ↑ "Xbox 360 Gets New Feature 15 Years Later". GAMING. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  21. ↑ "212 Xbox titles to work on Xbox 360 at launch" (in en). Eurogamer. 14 November 2005. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/news141105xboxback. 
  22. ↑ "Jeff Minter vs Xbox 360: how Microsoft bought the light synth vision" (in en). the Guardian. 2005-07-05. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2005/jul/05/jeffmintervs. 
  23. ↑ "How Microsoft Built Xbox 360, Xbox Compatibility Into the Xbox One - ExtremeTech". www.extremetech.com. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  24. ↑ "Why Shadowrun 2007 Featured PC/Xbox Crossplay — IGN Unfiltered - IGN" (in en). https://www.ign.com/articles/2017/12/21/why-shadowrun-2007-featured-pcxbox-crossplay-a-ign-unfiltered. 
  25. ↑ Machkovech, Sam (8 February 2021). "“90 bugs left”: Rare devs talk about the nearly completed Goldeneye 007 remake [Updated"] (in en-us). Ars Technica. https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/02/ex-rare-devs-open-up-about-the-canceled-goldeneye-007-remake-for-xbox-360/. 
  26. ↑ "Canceled Xbox 360 GoldenEye Remaster Is In The Wild" (in en-us). Kotaku. https://kotaku.com/canceled-xbox-360-goldeneye-remake-is-in-the-wild-1846190800. 
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