History of video games/Platforms/Xbox 360
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An original Xbox 360 Premium. -
An Xbox 360 Arcade, with no Hard Drive. -
An Xbox 360 Elite. -
An Xbox 360 E. The style of this console is very close to it's successor the Xbox One.
History
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Development
[edit | edit source]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 | edit source]The Xbox 360 was launched on November 22nd, 2005.[5]
Prime
[edit | edit source]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 | edit source]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 | edit source]Compute
[edit | edit source]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 | edit source]Most Xbox 360 units have removable hard drives.[19]
Software
[edit | edit source]Xbox Live
[edit | edit source]In 2020 Xbox Live cloud saves were made available to free Xbox Live users on the Xbox 360.[20]
Other system software
[edit | edit source]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 | edit source]Despite using a 64-bit CPU, ExtremeTech suggests that much of the code for the Xbox 360 was 32 bit.[23]
Notable Games
[edit | edit source]2005
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2006
[edit | edit source]- Gears of War
- Viva Piñata
- Blue Dragon - JRPG
2007
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Shadowrun
[edit | edit source]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
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2009
[edit | edit source]-
Forza Motorsport 3 at E3 2009. -
Project Natal at E3 2009 -
Halo Reach trailer at E3 2009.
2010
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2011
[edit | edit source]2012
[edit | edit source]2021
[edit | edit source]Goldeneye 007 Remake
[edit | edit source]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]
Gallery
[edit | edit source]Consoles
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Xbox 360 Pro front -
Xbox 360 Pro rear, with no HDMI. -
Elite front -
Elite rear, with HDMI. -
An Xbox 360 S -
Xbox 360 S rear. Note the new Kinect Port. -
The redesigned 360 E Hard Drive bay. -
360 E front -
360 E IO. Note the new Kinect jack, as well as the new composite and audio minijack.
Controllers & Accessories
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Wired controller. -
The Xbox 360 controller with chatpad attached -
A special edition transforming d-pad controller. -
DJ Hero Turntable -
Xbox 360 Headset -
2nd Gen Headset -
Xbox 360 WiFi Adapter -
The Xbox 360 Kinect -
An Xbox 360 DVD-ROM. -
Xbox accessories at E3 2006 -
The HD DVD add on for the Xbox 360. -
The HD DVD add on rear. -
Xbox 360 HD Transfer Cable -
Xbox 360 Hard Drive -
A 512MB memory card for the Xbox 360. -
Xbox 360 Play & Charge Kit -
Xbox 360 Faceplate
Technology
[edit | edit source]-
The custom ATI Xenos GPU used by the Xbox 260. -
90nm 2005 Engineering Sample of the IBM "Xenon" CPU for the Xbox 360 -
Clearer illustration of the same "Xenon" Engineering sample. -
Illustration of the 90nm 2006 "Zephyr" CPU revision -
Illustration of the 65nm 2007 "Falcon" CPU revision -
Illustration of the 45nm 2010 "XCGPU" which contains the CPU and GPU on the same die, as well as 10Mb of eDRAM in the smaller die. -
Popcorn BGA on an Xbox360 GPU. -
Two Xbox 360 Development Kits. Note the extended tops. -
The infamous Red Ring of Death -
How to read Xbox 360 error codes -
A 1.8 gigahertz Apple Power Macintosh G5, similar to the 2 gigahertz ones that served as the basis for the original Xbox 360 development kits. -
A diagram of how memory works on the Xbox 360. -
Early Xbox 360 DVD drives could scratch disks, as seen here.
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Preservation
[edit | edit source]There is a WikiBook on the Xbox 360, with notes on development, undocumented commands, and motherboard replacement.
External Resources
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- Video Game Console Library - Xbox 360 page with technical info.
References
[edit | edit source] |
Parts of this page are based on materials from: Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. |
- ↑ "The Story Behind the Xbox". PCMAG. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- ↑ "The Mac That Helped Build The Xbox Rides Again". Hackaday. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- ↑ "The SDK "Power Mac G5" for the Xbox 360". Le journal du lapin (in French). 21 January 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- ↑ staff, CNET Australia. "Xbox 360 hardware specs in detail". CNET. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "Engineering Disaster: The Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death". designnews.com. 26 October 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Gilbert, Ben. "How Microsoft spent $1 billion on a simple mistake with its best game console". Business Insider. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ↑ "Microsoft Corp. v. Baker". harvardlawreview.org. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ↑ a b "The Evolution Of Xbox Consoles". GameSpot. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ↑ "Xbox Live Price Increase Coming November 1" (in en-us). Kotaku. https://kotaku.com/xbox-live-price-increase-coming-november-1-5625516.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "The bestselling consoles of all time". www.digitaltrends.com. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- ↑ a b c d "How Xbox 360 Works". HowStuffWorks. 29 November 2006. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ↑ Stokes, Jon (2 June 2005). "Inside the Xbox 360, Part II: the Xenon CPU". Ars Technica. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ↑ "eFuse blown, 360 homebrew now possible". Engadget. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ↑ a b "The Untapped Potential of the PS3's CELL Processor And How Naughty Dog Tamed The Beast". Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ↑ "Xbox Support". support.xbox.com. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ↑ "Xbox 360 Gets New Feature 15 Years Later". GAMING. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ↑ "212 Xbox titles to work on Xbox 360 at launch" (in en). Eurogamer. 14 November 2005. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/news141105xboxback.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "How Microsoft Built Xbox 360, Xbox Compatibility Into the Xbox One - ExtremeTech". www.extremetech.com. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ 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/.
- ↑ "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.