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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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CaptainHenry916629d 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

Jericho1337629d ago

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

JEECE629d ago

Yeah, no one played Halo 2 or Socom II.

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bouzebbal629d 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.

Jericho1337628d ago

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

bouzebbal628d 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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porkChop629d 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.

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porkChop629d ago

@White-Bandit

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

Rude-ro629d 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.

oldenjon628d ago (Edited 628d 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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darthv72629d 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).

Sitdown629d ago

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

kneon629d ago

@Sitdown

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

1Victor628d ago (Edited 628d 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? 😂

SirBruce628d 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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annoyedgamer629d ago

Halo Gears and Forza were actually good back then.

CaptainHenry916629d ago (Edited 629d 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

JackBNimble628d 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-ro629d 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.

porkChop628d ago

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

dmonee628d ago (Edited 628d 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

anubusgold628d ago (Edited 628d 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 .

neutralgamer1992628d 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

JackBNimble628d 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.

neutralgamer1992628d ago (Edited 628d 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

Atom666628d 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.

jeromeface628d ago

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

SyntheticForm628d 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.

darthv72628d 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.

IRetrouk628d ago (Edited 628d 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.

Chevalier628d 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.

FreeckyCake628d 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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Knightofelemia629d ago (Edited 629d 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.

darthv72629d 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.

AmUnRa628d 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.

SyntheticForm628d 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.

sourOG629d ago

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

Eidolon629d ago

Took you 40 times to buy this gem?

sourOG629d ago (Edited 629d 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.

anast629d ago (Edited 629d 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.

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locomorales629d ago ShowReplies(1)
Orchard629d 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.

kneon629d ago (Edited 629d 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

Orchard628d ago (Edited 628d 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 Wood628d ago (Edited 628d 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

Imalwaysright629d ago (Edited 629d 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.

brewin629d 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

anast628d ago

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

SonyStyled628d ago (Edited 628d 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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