History of video games/Platforms/Xbox 360

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

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]

edit

Consoles

edit

Controllers & Accessories

edit

Technology

edit

Preservation

edit

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

External Resources

edit

References

edit
  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.