Xbox 360 basic info
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft, and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles.
The Xbox 360 was released on November 22, 2005, in the United States, Mexico and Canada; December 2, 2005, in Europe and December 10, 2005
- The Xbox 360 Arcade is the entry level for the Xbox 360. On October 23, 2007, it replaced the “Xbox 360 Core” and maintained the price of $279.99.[18] It was publicly revealed (though it was available in stores far earlier)[17] by Microsoft’s president of Entertainment Devices division Robbie Bach to the Financial Times on October 18, 2007,[19] and officially announced on October 22, 2007.[12] It includes a wireless controller, composite AV cable, HDMI 1.2 output, an internal 256 MB memory chip [20] (units released prior to fall 2008 included a 256 MB memory unit), and 5 Xbox Live Arcade titles:[21] Boom Boom Rocket, Feeding Frenzy, Luxor 2, Pac-Man Championship Edition, and Uno on a single disk, which also includes a “Welcome Video” and several game trailers/demos.[22] Holiday 2008 consoles were bundled with Sega Superstars Tennis.[23] With the September 4, 2008 price cuts, the Arcade fell from $279 to $199.[24]. In Europe, with the 2009 Elite price drop and discontinuation of the “Premium” Pro bundle, the Arcade price rose to £159.99 from £129.99 [25]
Xbox 360 Pro
- The Xbox 360 Pro (discontinued)[26] (sometimes referred to as Premium and packaged as simply Xbox 360 with the subheading “Go Pro”) includes all the features of the Xbox 360 Arcade and includes a hybrid composite and component cable with optional optical out instead of a composite cable. This model also includes a detachable 60 GB Hard Disk Drive (previously a 20 GB HDD) to store downloaded content, provide compatibility with original Xbox games, and store game data. The included hard drive comes with game demos, video clips and a free Live Arcade game, Hexic HD. In July 2007, this version of the Xbox 360 began appearing with the Zephyr motherboard (the motherboard used in the Elite) which features HDMI 1.2 output and an improved GPU heatsink. Although this package does include an HDMI 1.2 output, it does not come with HDMI 1.2 cables.[27][28] Starting at the end of September 2007, the newest systems were shipped with the new “Falcon” motherboard. This motherboard includes the new 65-nm CPUs, making them quieter and cooler than the older systems.[29] On August 1, 2008, the 20 GB Xbox 360 was discontinued and was replaced by a 60 GB HDD model at the same price. Holiday 2008 consoles were bundled with Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures and Kung Fu Panda.[23] Price cuts that took effect on September 4, 2008 reduced the price from $349 to $299.[24]
Xbox 360 Elite
- The Xbox 360 Elite is the second most expensive variation of the console. It includes a 120 GB hard drive and a matte black finish. The Elite retail package also includes a controller and headset that match the system’s black finish.[30] The initial release price was US$479.99,[31] C$549.99,[31] £299.99, and AU$729.95. The Elite was released in Europe on August 24, 2007, and Australia on August 30, 2007. Early Elite models shipped using the Zephyr motherboard, though later models used the Falcon 65 nm chipset instead. These Elites (and other Xbox 360 models using the Falcon) can be identified from earlier versions by a re-designed power connector and a power supply that runs at 175w. As of 2009 Elite models using the Jasper chipset have become available; these are identified by a 12.1V power supply. Holiday 2008 consoles were bundled with Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures and Kung Fu Panda.The Elite’s price tag was cut from $449 to $399 on September 4, 2008.[13][14]
The Xbox 360 Elite has also been configured with a 250GB hard disk drive and 2 wireless controllers on special limited editions of the console. The 250GB Elite will retail at US$399.99, UK£249.99 and AU$599.00 on 10 November 2009. A Modern Warfare 2 bundle includes a special limited edition console design and a flat black finish. The other bundle will include a standard Elite finish and the game Forza Motorsport 3
Hardware and accessories
Hardware
Xbox 360 Wireless Controller
The main unit of the Xbox 360 itself has slight double concavity in matte white or black. The official color of the white model is Arctic Chill. It features a port on the top when vertical (left side when horizontal) to which a custom-housed hard drive unit can be attached in sizes of either 20, 60 (August 2008 onward) or 120 GB. Inside, the Xbox 360 uses the triple-core IBM designed Xenon as its CPU, with each core capable of simultaneously processing two threads, and can therefore operate on up to six threads at once.[53] Graphics processing is handled by the ATI Xenos, which has 10 MB of eDRAM. Its main memory pool is 512 MB in size.
Accessories
Many accessories are available for the console, including both wired and wireless controllers, faceplates for customization, headsets for chatting, a webcam for video chatting, dance mats and Gamercize for exercise, three sizes of memory cards, and three sizes of hard drives (120GB, 60GB, and 20GB), among other items, all of which are styled to match the console.
Project Natal
The Project Natal sensor device.
Project Natal is the code name for a “controller-free gaming and entertainment experience” for the Xbox 360. It was first announced on June 1, 2009 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo. The add-on peripheral enables users to control and interact with the Xbox 360 without a game controller, but rather through gestures, spoken commands, and/or presented objects and images. Project Natal will be compatible with all existing Xbox 360 models. A release date has yet to be announced, but Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has stated that the technology will be incorporated into a new Xbox 360, due for release in 2010.[54]
Software
Dashboard
The Xbox 360’s original graphical user interface was the Xbox 360 Dashboard; a tabbed interface that featured five “Blades” (formerly four blades), and was designed by AKQA. It could be launched automatically when the console booted without a disc in it, or when the disc tray was ejected, but the user had the option to select what the console does if a game is in the tray on start up, or if inserted when already on. A simplified version of it was also accessible at any time via the Xbox Guide button on the gamepad. This simplified version showed the user’s gamercard, Xbox Live messages and friends list. It also allowed for personal and music settings, in addition to voice or video chats, or returning to the Xbox Dashboard from the game.
On November 19, 2008, the Xbox 360’s dashboard was changed from the “Blade” interface, to a dashboard reminiscent of that present on the Zune and Windows Media Center, known as the “New Xbox Experience” or NXE.
Since the console’s release, Microsoft has released several updates for the Dashboard software. These updates have included adding new features to the console, enhancing Xbox Live functionality and multimedia playback capabilities, adding compatibility for new accessories, and fixing bugs in the software. The latest Dashboard update was made available on September 23, 2009.
New Xbox Experience
At E3 2008, at Microsoft’s Show, Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg and Marc Whitten announced the new Xbox 360 interface called the “New Xbox Experience” (NXE). The update was intended to ease console menu navigation. Its GUI uses the Twist UI, previously used in Windows Media Center and the Zune. Its new Xbox Guide retains all Dashboard functionality (including the Marketplace browser and disk ejection) and the original “Blade” interface.
The NXE also provides many new features. Users can now install games from disc to the hard drive to play them with reduced load time and less disc drive noise, but each game’s disc must remain in the system in order to run. A new, built-in Community system allows the creation of digitized Avatars that can be used for multiple activities, such as sharing photos or playing Arcade games like 1 vs. 100. The update was released on November 19, 2008.[55]
While previous system updates have been stored on internal memory, the NXE was the first to require a storage device—at least a 128 MB memory card or a hard drive.
Multimedia
The Xbox 360 supports videos in Windows Media Video (WMV) format (including high-definition and PlaysForSure videos), as well as H.264 and MPEG-4 media. The December 2007 dashboard update added support for the playback of MPEG-4 ASP format videos.[56] The console can also display pictures and perform slideshows of photo collections with various transition effects, and supports audio playback, with music player controls accessible through the Xbox 360 Guide button. Users may play back their own music while playing games or using the dashboard, and can play music with an interactive visual synthesizer.
Music, photos and videos can be played from standard USB mass storage devices, Xbox 360 proprietary storage devices (such as memory cards or Xbox 360 hard drives), and servers or computers with Windows Media Center or Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or higher within the local-area network in streaming mode.[57][58] As the Xbox 360 uses a modified version of the UPnP AV protocol,[59] some alternative UPnP servers such as uShare (part of the GeeXboX project) and MythTV can also stream media to the Xbox 360, allowing for similar functionality from non-Windows servers. This is possible with video files up to HD-resolution and with several codecs (MPEG-2, MPEG-4, WMV) and container formats (WMV, MOV, TS).[60]
In the UK the Xbox 360 will be enabled to download and display BT Vision video content.[61] From 27 October 2009 [62] , UK and Ireland users will also be able to access live and on-demand streams of Sky television programming.[63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70]
XNA community
XNA Community is a feature whereby Xbox 360 owners can receive community-created games, made with Microsoft XNA Game Studio, from the XNA Creators Club . The games are written, published, and distributed through a community managed portal. XNA Community provides a channel for digital videogame delivery over Xbox Live that can be free of royalties, publishers and licenses.[71][72] XNA game sales, however, did not meet original expectations.[73]
Games
At the 2008 Game Developer Conference, Microsoft announced there would be over 1000 games available for Xbox 360 by the end of the year.[74] The 2007 Game Critics Awards honored the Xbox 360 platform with 38 Nominations and 11 Wins – more than any other platform.[75] By March 2008, the Xbox 360 had reached a software attach rate of 7.5 games per console—a record for any console in history, in EU the rate was 7.0 while its competitors were 3.8 (PS3) and 3.5 (Wii).[76]
The Xbox 360 launched with 14 games in North America and 13 in Europe. The console’s best-selling game for 2005, Call of Duty 2, sold over a million copies.[77] Five other games sold as well in the console’s first year in the market: Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter,[78] The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion,[79] Dead or Alive 4,[80] Saints Row,[81] and Gears of War.[82] Gears of War would become the best-selling game of the console with 3 million units,[83] before being surpassed in 2007 by Halo 3, with 8.1 million units.[84]
Six games were initially offered in Japan, and eagerly anticipated titles such as Dead or Alive 4 and Enchanted Arms were released only a few weeks later.[85] Games more suitable to the region were planned or have since been released, such as Chromehounds, Ninety-Nine Nights, and Phantasy Star Universe.[86] Microsoft also had the support of RPG developer Mistwalker, founded by Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi. Mistwalker’s first game, Blue Dragon, was released in 2006 and had a limited-edition bundle which sold out quickly with over 10,000 pre-orders.[87] Blue Dragon became the best-selling Xbox 360 game in the region, with over 200,000 units. Mistwalker’s second game, Lost Odyssey also sold over 100,000 copies.[88]
At E3 2007, Microsoft announced that Disney movies would be coming to Xbox 360 Live Marketplace. New trailers were shown for Halo 3 and Halo Wars, as well as the announcement of a Halo-themed Xbox 360. Demos were also displayed for BioShock, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Assassin’s Creed. At E3 2008, Microsoft demonstrated a number of titles for their 2008 line-up, including Fallout 3, Gears of War 2, Fable II, and Resident Evil 5, among other games. A television-style gaming feature known as Primetime was shown with a game based on the game show 1 vs. 100 shown as an example, there were also hints at a Big Brother type game and also a Deal or no Deal one. Final Fantasy XIII was also announced to be released for Xbox 360 in Europe and North America. E3 2009 saw the exclusive announcements of Crackdown 2, Left 4 Dead 2 and Halo: Reach, as well as live demos for Halo 3: ODST, Splinter Cell: Conviction and Alan Wake. Metal Gear Solid: Rising was also unveiled, making it the first Metal Gear game to appear on the Xbox 360.
Xbox Live
Xbox Live Dashboard
When the Xbox 360 was released, Microsoft’s online gaming service Xbox Live was shut down for 24 hours and underwent a major upgrade, adding a basic non-subscription service (Silver) to its already established premium subscription-based service (which was renamed Gold). Xbox Live Silver is free of charge and is included with all SKUs of the console. It allows users to create a user profile, join on message boards, and access Microsoft’s Xbox Live Arcade and Marketplace and talk to other members.[89] A Live Silver account does not generally support multiplayer gaming; however, some games that have rather limited online functions already, (such as Viva Pinata) or games that feature their own subscription service (eg. EA Sports games) can be played with a Silver account. Xbox Live also supports voice and video communication, the latter a feature possible with the Xbox Live Vision; an add-on USB web camera designed specifically for the Xbox 360.[90] The Gamercard of a player with a Silver account has a silver trim, rather than gold.
Xbox Live Gold includes the same features as Silver and includes integrated online game playing capabilities outside of third-party subscriptions. Microsoft has allowed previous Xbox Live subscribers to maintain their profile information, friends list, and games history when they make the transition to Xbox Live Gold. To transfer an Xbox Live account to the new system, users need to link a Windows Live ID to their gamertag on Xbox.com.[91] When users add an Xbox Live enabled profile to their console, they are required to provide the console with their passport account information and the last four digits of their credit card number, which is used for verification purposes and billing. An Xbox Live Gold account has an annual cost of US$49.99, C$59.99, NZD 90.00, GB£39.99, or €59.99. As of May 14, 2008, Xbox Live has over 20 million subscribers.[92]
Xbox Live Marketplace
Xbox Live Marketplace
The Xbox Live Marketplace is a virtual market designed for the console that allows Xbox Live users to download purchased or promotional content. The service offers movie and game trailers, game demos, Xbox Live Arcade games, gamertag images, and Xbox 360 Dashboard themes as well as add-on game content (items, costumes, levels etc). These features are available to both silver and gold members on Xbox Live. A hard drive or memory unit is required to store products purchased from Xbox Live Marketplace.[93] In order to download priced content, users are required to purchase Microsoft Points for use as scrip;[94] though some products (such as trailers and demos) are free to download. Microsoft Points can be obtained through prepaid cards in 1,600 and 4,000 point denominations. Microsoft Points can also be purchased through Xbox Live with a credit card in 500, 1,000, 2,000, and 5,000 point denominations. Users are able to view items available to download on the service through a PC via the Xbox Live Pipeline website.[95] An estimated seventy percent of Xbox Live users have downloaded items from the Marketplace.[96]
Video Store
Video Store
On November 6, 2006, Microsoft announced the Xbox Video Marketplace, an exclusive video store accessible through the console. Launched in the United States on November 22, 2006, the first anniversary of the Xbox 360’s launch, the service allows users in the United States to download high-definition and standard-definition television shows and movies onto an Xbox 360 console for viewing. With the exception of short clips, content is not currently available for streaming, and must be downloaded. Microsoft has also announced that its Microsoft TV service will add IPTV functionality to the console, giving users the ability to stream 2 simultaneous HD and 2 simultaneous SD channels.[97] Movies are also available for rental. They expire in 14 days after download or at the end of the first 24 hours after the movie has begun playing, whichever comes first. Television episodes can be purchased to own, and are transferable to an unlimited number of consoles. Downloaded files use 5.1 surround audio and are encoded using VC-1 for video at 720p, with a bitrate of 6.8 Mbit/s.[98] Television content is offered from MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, Turner Broadcasting, and CBS; and movie content is Warner Bros., Paramount, and Disney, along with other publishers.[99]
After the Spring 2007 update, the following video codecs are supported:
- H.264 video support: Up to 15 Mbit/s, Baseline, Main, and High (up to level 4.1) Profiles with 2 channel AAC LC and Main Profiles.
- MPEG-4 Part 2 video support: Up to 8 Mbit/s, Simple Profile with 2 channel AAC LC and Main Profiles.
As a late addition to the December Xbox 360 update, 25 movies were added to the European Xbox 360 video market place on the December 11, 2007 and cost 250 Microsoft points for the SD version on the movie and 380 Microsoft points for the HD version of the movie.[100] Xbox Live members in Canada featured the ability to go on the Xbox Live Marketplace as of December 10, 2007 with around 30 movies to be downloaded for the same amount of Microsoft Points.
On May 26, 2009 Microsoft announced the future release of the Zune HD (in the fall of 2009), the next addition to the Zune product range. This is of an impact on the Xbox Live Video Store as it was also announced that the Zune Video Marketplace and the Xbox Live Video Store will be merged to form the Zune Marketplace, which will be arriving on Xbox Live in 7 countries initially, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Ireland and Spain.[101] Further details will be released at the Microsoft press conference at E3 2009.
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is an online service operated by Microsoft that is used to distribute downloadable video games to Xbox and Xbox 360 owners. In addition to classic arcade games such as Ms. Pac-Man, the service offers some new original games like Assault Heroes. The Xbox Live Arcade also features games from other consoles, such as the PlayStation game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and PC games such as Zuma. The service was first launched on November 3, 2004,[102] using a DVD to load, and offered games for about US$5 to $15. Items are purchased using Microsoft Points, a proprietary currency used to reduce credit card transaction charges. On November 22, 2005, Xbox Live Arcade was re-launched with the release of the Xbox 360, in which it was now integrated with the Xbox 360’s dashboard. The games are generally aimed toward more casual gamers; examples of the more popular titles are Geometry Wars, Street Fighter II’ Hyper Fighting, and Uno.[103]
