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Xbox 360 is 10 years old, what is its legacy?

M

Majine

Banned
1280px-Xbox_360_full_logo.svg.png
Click to expand...

It's the 10 year anniversary of this console, which sometimes was hated because of its reliability problems (RROD), but I'm pretty sure beloved for its massive catalog of games. It saw Microsoft take a good chunk of the market from Sony, online play finally became an important aspect of a console thanks to Xbox Live and it was also the first console that recieved major software interface updates throughout its lifespan (and it's not quite dead yet it seems).

It has sold 84 million units so far. Not too shabby for a second entry.

So what is your story with the 360? I had the 20 GB white model (which hardware wise I hated. It was ugly and had a jet engine built-in. It never broke though) and eventually the S model (which was quite a lot better). For me it was the console that nailed the basics of the last generation. Most exciting games and best controller.

Timeline with "some" highlights (correct me if I'm wrong somewhere):

2005

November 22 - Worldwide rollout began

Xbox-360-Pro-wController.jpg

"First model of the Xbox 360"

maxresdefault.jpg

"Blades!"
Click to expand...

2006

August 31 - Xbox Live hits 50 million downloads

November 6 - Gears of War launches

2007

April 29 - Elite model launches

41GzyMQ09EL._SX425_.jpg

"The black Elite model"
Click to expand...

May 29 - Forza Motorsport 2 launches

July 5 - Peter Moore publishes letter recognizing Red Ring of Death and extending system warranty

September 25 - Halo 3 launches

2008

October 21 - Fable II launches

November 19 - New Xbox Experience launches

q:80

"NXE and the introduction of avatars"
Click to expand...

2010

June 15 - 360 S model announced

May 18 - Alan Wake launches

November 4th - Kinect for Xbox 360 launches

$(KGrHqJ,!rYFJ,kFk5oHBSYTv9ulGQ~~_32.JPG

"360 S Model and Kinect. Both launched in 2010."
Click to expand...

2011

December 6 - Dashboard redesign, "Metro" launches

xbox-windows-8-metro-ui-5240614.jpg

"Metro"
Click to expand...

2013

May 21 - Successor Xbox One announced

June 10 - 360 E model announced

220px-Microsoft-Xbox-360-E-wController.jpg

"360 E, similar look to Xbox One"
Click to expand...

2015

November 12 - Xbox One Backwards compatiblity with select Xbox 360 titles launches
 
S

ShooterMcGavin

Member
Was my first online gaming console. Spent countless hours with friends using party chat.

Too bad I went through about 3 of these.

EvB said:
Achievements
Built in UI
Party Chat
Online infrastructure

It basically defines what a modern consoles is and does
Click to expand...
Exactly.
 
E

EvB

Member
Achievements
Built in UI
Party Chat
Online infrastructure

It basically defines what a modern consoles is and does
 
entremet

entremet

Member
Massively influential. It basically change the trajectory of console gaming.

The PS4 and SCE at large basically took their cues from the 360--Western software focus, more online features such as streaming, good pricing, focus on indie developers and buying exclusives--remember when Sony said they didn't buy exclusive in their hubris?
 
X

Xone9

Banned
wireless controller, best controller ever, best LE console ever (star wars one), and of course LIVE (friend chat, etc).

miss 1 vs 100
 
E

exmachina64

Banned
Besides achievements, I view the biggest accomplishment of the 360 was the normalization of DLC.

I purchased a 20GB Falcon revision in 2007; my first game was Mass Effect.

Later on, I purchased a 250GB hard drive. Eventually, it RRoDed, and I sent it into Microsoft to be fixed. My time spent on it gradually declined, starting in late 2012, after I had spent several years away from PC gaming.
 
S

soco

Member
Although many of the advancements the 360 did in terms of community and achievements had been done elsewhere first, it united them in a glorious fashion.

Also, things like bringing indie games to the masses (and sadly for setting those 10, then 15$ standards for shit titles).

Though it looks terrible now, I still prefer the general blade navigation (taking off the appearance, it's basically the XMB, which was basically taken from some older Philips UIs).
 
J

Jwebster24

Member
An amazing console.

10 years has gone fast! I can remember getting my console on launch day with Call of duty 2 like it was last week, good times.
 
N

NIGHT-

Member
I think it's pretty close to my favorite gaming library. Hell of a console


Crackdown, gears trilogy, halo 3, Lost Odyssey, and so much more!
 
F

flux1

Member
Best system of the generation imo.

I started with an arcade unit in the summer of 2009 after they had hit $200 and had a couple motherboard revisions to have HDMI and more reliable hardware. I had it for 4 years, never a sign of issues then traded it in a promo to get a 4gb slim that I still have and works fine to this day.

It was where I first started noticing indie games with Braid, and started moving to getting most games through digital download over disc.
 
P

Persona7

Banned
I thought it was so cool on the blades dashboard when you put a game in and the name popped up on the bottom. The early days of the 360 were really cool.
 
R

Rizific

Member
RRoD was it's legacy for me. 5 RRoD total, 4 on xenon units and 1 on an elite plus one elite that decided to murder my collectors edition of halo 3 RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX. The console itself was a piece of shit, but the games were some of the greatest gaming memories I've had for sure. Playing gears 1 on my first HDTV set, seeing cod4 at 60fps and just cod4 in general, had lots on fun in halo 3, fallout 3 as my first fallout game... And then I built a pc.
 
C

Chindogg

Member
I went through three consoles thanks to RRoD but overall it proved that online console gaming could hang with online PC gaming.


I don't understand the best controller opinions though. As a fighting game guy that dpad was fucking atrocious.
 
S

Sakujou

Banned
such a nice console, fuck the RROD, sad that in the end most consumers in europe ignored this wonderful system.
 
B

BLACK AMERICAN PSYCHO

Junior Member
PS4 is basically Xbox 360.5
Crazy how MS dropped the ball with x1(initially) while all Sony did was copy what MS did last gen and boom, nearly 30 million sold. X1 probably isn't past 15 million sold. Crazy.
 
NekoFever

NekoFever

Member
The most influential console of that generation. The Wii was a one off, and later PS3 firmware updates and subsequently the PS4 were just going for parity with what the 360 was doing in terms of community and online play in 2005.
 
Ein Bear

Ein Bear

Member
If the second half of it's lifespan had been as strong as it's first, it would be the best console in history.

The first few years of the 360 were absolutely insane. Oblivion, Gears, Crackdown, Mass Effect, Halo 3, Fable 2, Bioshock... They were just knocking out incredible exclusives one after another. Once their lead was established though, I feel like they rested on their laurels and let their status as the defacto console for multiplatform games pick up the slack. Microsoft's first party output was incredibly weak from 2009ish up until the Xbox One launched.

Still an absolutely incredible console however. The advancements Microsoft made in terms of online infrastructure defined the entire industry.
 
T

To Far Away Times

Member
It introducted hugely improved user interfaces, digital distribution, achievements and friends integration. Even things we take for granted like having a wireless controller out of the box. The system was so far ahead of its time.

Then Gears came out and created the template for so many third person shooters.

The Xbox 360 did a shit ton of stuff to modernize consoles.

It's got a great library too, especially if you dig into some of the Japanese games that never made it over here.
 
B

Baron Von Beans

Member
Like many others, Gears is my 360 memory. It was the only reason I had it, and some of the only games I played on it. Defibitely some of my favorite games bough, and most memorable.
 
G

GamerJM

Banned
People are going to remember it for basically signaling the beginning of "modern gaming," as an era, in terms of focus on things like DLC and online and the extreme rise of western devs and decline of Japanese ones in terms of popularity. Even though the 360 was still home to lots of great games,like Blue Dragon/Lost Odyssey, the Cave shmups, Halo 3/ODST, and tons of multiplats.

Personally I'm probably going to associate it most with playing Rock Band on lazy high school Summer afternoons with my cousins.
 
M

Madness

Member
EvB said:
Achievements
Built in UI
Party Chat
Online infrastructure

It basically defines what a modern consoles is and does
Click to expand...

Yup. It basically is the template for what the PS4 and Xbox One and pretty much every modern console going forward are. It was hugely successful, outselling the Wii in NA and UK. And it pretty much cemented Call of Duty as THE shooter. Plus it was also influential in probably bringing western development FAR ahead of Japanese development.

It's too bad a lot of the goodwill of the Xbox 360 will be maligned by the early years of RRoD or have its legacy affected by its successor console.
 
B

Bits N Pieces

Member
I was 25 and a bit disinterested in gaming in general, then the 360 came out and I was on Live playing dudes in America.

So many good memories with so many good games.
 
K

KatamariOnTheRocks

Member
pizzacat said:
Thanks for reminding me how superior the blades are to every ui out there :(
Click to expand...

I'll never understand why so many people hated such an awesome UI. I've still never found anything that works as well while looking so clean/simple.

As for what defined the 360 for me, was playing COD 2 on launch and marveling at how great everything looked compared to my really outdated pc I had at the time.

My favorite experience with the system to this day remains the time I spent with Dead Rising. I spent so many hours exploring and soaking up the atmosphere. I really hope to get a definitive Dead Rising collection one day that leads to the first game being ported to PC.
 
I

inoperativ

Member
EvB said:
Achievements
Built in UI
Party Chat
Online infrastructure

It basically defines what a modern consoles is and does
Click to expand...

.

The OG Xbox was much more ambitious -- I'd claim the 360 was only really a gradual improvement on what was already there -- but it was the first console to really nail the integration of social features into every part of the gaming experience.
 
S

SURGEdude

Member
A wonderful box with a split legacy.

Some will remember it for the amazing games from exclusives to multiplats. Others will remember it for RRoD, paid online (even though that was from OG), and the on shift to Kinect trash for a good portion of it's life.

All it all I really enjoyed my time with 360 and was able to forgive it's flaws.

Happy 10th Xbox 360.
 
D

DownGrader

Member
Never owned a 360, but always liked its original revision, despite obvious technical flaws. It's like a bridge between "old school" consoles (memory card, tiny internal memory, Blade UI being heavily focused on games) and the new generation (achievements, online shopping, party chat, "home entertainment" approach), combined with some experimental things which didn't catch on like HD DVD attachment or Xbox Live Vision.

I don't like Microsoft changing everything they can change several times during the device's lifespan, but I really appreciate the effort.

Aztechnology said:
Honestly. Xbox Live is its legacy. The paid subscription for online services model.
Click to expand...

It is more of a legacy of the original Xbox.

KatamariOnTheRocks said:
I'll never understand why so many people hated such an awesome UI. I've still never found anything that works as well while looking so clean/simple.
Click to expand...

The only people who can appreciate how clean the Blade UI really was are PC power users. It's the ideal console UI for tech-savvy people which are used to windows and interfaces with a lot of content and elements, but everyone else might find it too cumbersome for a TV set-top device.
 
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