The Xbox 360 is the second game console produced by Microsoft Corporation
Overview
The Xbox 360, the second video game console from Microsoft Corporation, was officially unveiled on May 12, 2005 on a special presentation show that aired live on MTV.
Co-Developed with IBM, ATI, and Silicon Integrated Systems, the Xbox 360 uses the triple-core IBM designed Xenon as its CPU, ATI Xenos which has 10 MB of embedded eDRAM as the graphics processor and has a main memory pool is 512 MB in size. Development of the Xbox 360 began in early 2003, a year and a half after the original Xbox release.
Following the official unveil on MTV, Microsoft announced launch dates at its 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo press conference. Launching in North America on November 22, 2005, December 2, 2005 in Europe, and December 12 in Japan, the Xbox 360 has gone on to sell more than 19 million units as of April of 2008.
Hardware Configurations 
Which Console is for You?
Which Console is for You?
* The Xbox 360 Arcade
An entry level Xbox 360 that replaced the now discontinued Xbox 360 Core. The Xbox 360 Arcade sports a wireless controller, 256 MB memory unit, composite AV cable, HDMI 1.2 output, and 5 Xbox Live Arcade titles, 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. Officially announce on October 22, 2007, the Xbox 360 Arcade has a MSRP of $279.99 USD.* The Xbox 360
Commonly known as the Premium or Pro bundle, has a MSRP of $299.99 USD. Included in the bundle are all the features found in the Xbox 360 Arcade with an added 20 GB hard drive, hybrid composite and component cable with optional optical out instead of a composite cable and does not ship with HDMI cables. The pre loaded detachable 20GB hard drive comes with game demos, video clips and a free Live Arcade game, Hexic HD. The hard drive allows from the storage of downloaded content, backwards compatibility with original Xbox games in addition to game saves and game data. A new Xbox 360 is to be released in early August 2008, replacing the 20 GB hard drive with a larger capacity 60 GB hard drive. The new 60 GB equipped Xbox 360 bundle comes at an MSRP of $349.99 USD * The Xbox 360 Elite
The Elite is the most expensive Xbox 360 configuration carrying an MSRP of $449.99 USD. It comes with a 120 GB hard drive and all the features found in the Arcade and Premium pack with a matte black finish with matching controller and headset.'New Xbox Experience'
Xbox 360 Dashboard
The New Xbox Experience (NXE) is designed to be more user friendly and to be expandable as new content is added, it takes several design cues from the likes of Apple and Nintendo. and introduces several new features such as Avatars, Live Party and Primetime.
Notable features of the NXE: 
New Xbox Experience
New Xbox Experience
- Avatars: A 3D representation of the user, replaces the current Gamercard; however Microsoft assure gamers they can still use their old Gamercard.
- Live Party: A group of up to 8 people, allows users to voice chat independent of which game they are each playing.
- Primetime: A new game channel, in which players compete in gameshow like contests.
- Netflix: Allows Xbox owner to stream content from Netflix; requires Netflix subscription.
- Play From Drive: Allows players to copy disc content over to the HDD in order to cut down load times and DVD drive noise.
The New Xbox Guide
The NXE update will be distributed initially over Xbox Live starting Fall '08, it will later be included as an update on Xbox 360 game discs; this update will be mandatory.
Criticisms
There are a number of criticism that are often leveraged against the Xbox 360, the main one being unreliable hardware quality, however excessive DVD drive noise and a confusing amount of hardware configurations are also targeted by critics of the system.
'Red Ring of Death'
Red Ring of Death
No official reason has been given my Microsoft as to why this error is so common place, however most speculation points towards insufficient cooling around the GPU leading to a warping of the motherboard. Microsoft has taken steps to solve this problem by adding an additional heat sink to the GPU in later units and units returned from repair. These changes were included in a chipset refresh codenamed 'Falcon' which also includes a 65nm CPU to further reduce heat. An as yet unreleased chipset refresh, codenamed 'Jasper', will introduce a 65nm GPU and is hoped to solve the 'Red Ring of Death' problem.
As well as these hardware revisions Microsoft has increased the Xbox 360 warranty to 3 years, however this is only to cover the 'Red Ring of Death' all other hardware problems are only covered for 1 year; this was reported to have cost Microsoft $1Bn.
DVD Drive Problems
The DVD Drive is often the target of criticism, mostly for the excessive noise produced and an apparent tendency for scratching discs. These issues are less apparent in later models of the 360 as Microsoft have replaced the initial DVD drive with a quieter model from BenQ.
Xbox 360 - Recent Games
Xbox 360 - Upcoming Games
Images
| Platform Name: | Xbox 360 |
| Release Date: | Nov. 22, 2005 |
| Online Support: | True |
| Install Base: | 20,000,000 |
| Original Price: | $399 |
| Producing Company: | Microsoft Game Studios |
| Total Games: | games |
Recurring Appearances
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Space first in Spacewar! |
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Canada first in NHL '94 |
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Achievements first in Kameo: Elements of Power |
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Xbox Live first in Unreal Championship |
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