The Xbox 360 is celebrating its 20th birthday. We take a brief look at its successes and failures.
This weekend, a landmark game console celebrates its twentieth birthday. The Xbox 360 turned 20 on November 22. It was released in North America on this day in 2005.
Here in Europe, we still have to wait a little longer for the Xbox 360’s milestone birthday, as it wasn’t released here until December 2.
The console is considered an important milestone and helped shape the era of high-definition (HD) gaming. Even today, the Xbox 360 is remembered fondly, and many think of multiplayer events and weekends spent gaming when they see the console.
An imperfect legend
The Xbox 360 stood out with an impressive lineup of games. These include the following titles and many more:
- Halo 3
- Gears of War
- Fable II
- Left 4 Dead
- Forza Motorsport 3
- Lost Odyssey
- Alan Wake
The Xbox 360 sold around 85 million units. This means it sold three times as many units as the original Xbox. However, it couldn’t quite keep up with the Nintendo Wii, which sold over 101 million units, and the PlayStation 3 (over 87 million sales).
Nevertheless, the Xbox 360 marks an enormous success for Microsoft. It remains the manufacturer’s best-selling console.
One of the most popular controllers of all time
Even today, the controllers are still among the best—despite technical shortcomings. Many people (including myself) kept their Xbox 360 gamepads long after the console had been discarded.
It was only after my old Xbox controller suffered a broken cable that I bought several Xbox Wireless Controllers.
I still occasionally reach for the classic, even though there have been many advances in controllers in recent years.
A GameStar colleague also wrote a passionate column in 2022 to honor the famous gamepad: Xbox 360: Why I’ve remained loyal to an ancient gamepad for 15 years.
The controller with diagonally arranged analog sticks set a new standard and stood out from the Sony PlayStation controllers, primarily due to this feature and its ergonomics.
Criticism from gamers about the Xbox 360
Despite its success, the Xbox 360 was accompanied by considerable controversy and technical problems, especially in its early years.
Red Ring of Death
(RROD): The device struggled with overheating problems. The ring, which normally glowed green during normal operation, would turn red—a warning signal that, in the first generations of the console, eventually became associated with the fatal defect.
Microsoft had to extend the warranty period on the console to three years because of the defect and spend hundreds of millions of US dollars on repairs and replacements. According to estimates, the costs for Microsoft amounted to over a billion US dollars.
Another point of criticism was the enormous noise level of the console, primarily when it generated a lot of heat.
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In addition to these and other technical weaknesses, the Xbox Live fees were also criticized. Microsoft charged an annual fee for the Xbox Live Gold online service, while the PlayStation 3 (PSN) online service was free at the time.
Although such subscription fees are widely accepted today, at the time they led to discussions about the added value compared to the costs.
Nevertheless, the Xbox 360 is a prime example of how companies can avert the failure of a criticized product. Improvements were repeatedly made to the console and the gaming community was listened to to a certain extent.
The Xbox 360 was replaced by the Xbox One in 2013, and its production was completely discontinued in 2016. A revival like the Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) for its 20th birthday has not yet taken place and does not seem to be planned.
But the retro market is booming. Perhaps Microsoft will eventually follow Nintendo’s lead and create a modernized mini reissue of the popular game console. Now it’s your turn: Would you like to see a redesign of the Xbox 360? What memories do you associate with the console? Let us know in the comments.
