Xbox 360

Sony PS3’s big rival, the Xbox 360, released in 2005 a year earlier then the PS3 as Microsoft was the first too come out with this next gen gaming console! This console made a big splash, as it was sold in 36 countries in the first year, more than any other console, and completely sold out across the world, except for Japan. At the time, no console compared, it came with a load of new features never seen before, but it was flooded with problems also!

The 360 released with too many new features. A completely redesigned graphic chip card,  the ATI Xenos running at 500 MHz still great all though a bit lower of PS3’s 550MHz graphics card. The console performed amazingly, giving visuals never seen before on video games. Unlike the precedent Xbox, it came with a detachable hard drive (20GB). The software designed for this console was beautiful also; the new Xbox experience really did well. Other then the hardware upgrades in this console, what really thrived was the online game play and design by Microsoft, which really caught the eye of many video gamers across the world. All though there’s a subscription fee needed to play, online really is the selling point for Xbox, as it really is one of the smoothest, simplest, the most fun, and easiest to play. There’s no real hassle, everything is very straight forward, and connecting to friends is the best part. With in-game chats, and private chats, everything seemed and still seems to be good for Microsoft’s Xbox console. The online also brought new features like marketplace. The big name game on this console being evident to almost anyone that has played a video game ever is Halo 3 with 14.5 million copies sold, keep in mind that Halo is an exclusive!

There were a lot of positives that came with the Xbox 360, but many negatives presented themselves soon after. The most common problem, nicknamed the “Red Ring of Death” was eating away at many Xbox’s at the time. The problem was so common that Microsoft later extended the warranty from one year to three, to try to solve the issue with these red ringed Xbox’s.

 

Overall Xbox 360 was and still is a revolutionary gaming console. First to release out of the Xbox 360 vs. PS3 debate, besides the problems, Microsoft did good by releasing a year early, as they had a head start and have established their console perfectly. With millions of subscribed, and many more subscribing and buying the console every day, exclusives that can’t be challenged by PS3, and overall a bunch of new features, the Xbox 360 won’t fall out of its power any time soon! 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_360