The Xbox 360 is the successor to Microsoft's Xbox video game console, developed in cooperation with IBM, ATI, Samsung and SiS. Information on the console first came through viral marketing campaigns and it was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detailed launch and game information divulged later that month at the Electronic Entertainment Expo. The Xbox 360 is the first console to have a near-simultaneous launch across the three major regions, and the first to provide wireless controller support at launch. The console sold out completely at release and has since sold 6 million consoles worldwide.

The Xbox 360 was the first console to be released in the seventh generation of game consoles and competes against Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii. Its Xbox Live service allows gamers to compete online, download games and additional content.

Development

Known during development as Xenon, Xbox 2, Xbox Next or NextBox, the Xbox 360 was conceived in early 2003. In February of 2003 planning for the Xenon software platform began, and was headed by Microsoft VP J Allard. That month Microsoft held an event for 400 developers in Bellevue, Washington to recruit support for the system. Also that month Peter Moore, former president of Sega of America, joined Microsoft. On August 12, 2003 ATI signed on to produce the graphic processing unit for the new console, a deal which was publicly announced two days later. The following month IBM signed on to develop the Triple-Core CPU for the console. Before the launch of the Xbox 360, several alpha development kits were spotted using Apple Power Mac G5 hardware. Games running on these were reported to be using 25-30 % of the actual system's power. Microsoft chose to use these systems for their PowerPC architecture, which is similar to that of the Xenon CPU used in the system. On October 24, 2005 Microsoft shut down Xbox Live for a day to upgrade it for the Xbox 360.

Launch

The promotional campaign for Xbox 360 began on March 14, 2005 with the opening of an alternate reality game called OurColony. Throughout March and April it offered challenges to its community, rewarding solutions with cropped pictures of the console and game screenshots. The end of OurColony came on May 12, 2005; with the release of a video showing J. Allard of Microsoft showing off the Xbox 360 console. The official unveiling of the Xbox 360 occurred the same day on MTV in a program called MTV Presents: The Next Generation Xbox Revealed. In October of 2005 a similar alternate reality game was created, Hex168, to promote the system before launch.

The Xbox 360 was released on November 22, 2005 in the United States and Canada; December 2, 2005 in Europe and December 10, 2005 in Japan. It was later launched in Mexico, Colombia, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand. At E3 2006, Microsoft announced that the console will be officially launched in eight new countries: South Africa, Chile, India, Brazil, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, and Slovakia. An official launch for the Philippines has been announced. In its first year on the market, the system launched in 36 countries, more countries than any console has launched in a single year. Due to its early launch, the Xbox 360 has a year lead on both of its competitors, Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii.

Software

Dashboard

The console's graphical user interface is the Xbox 360 Dashboard; a tabbed interface that features four "Blades". It can be launched automatically when the console boots up without a disc, or when the disc tray is ejected; or the user may choose to launch a game automatically if a disc is inserted. A simplified version of it can also be accessed at any time via the Xbox Guide button on the gamepad. This simplified version shows the user's gamercard, Xbox Live messages and friends list. It also allows for personal and music settings, in addition to voice or video chats.

The Base Kernel Version of the dashboard is 2.0.1888, the first major update, version, 2.0.2857, was released on June 13, 2006. This version gave users the option to resume DVD playback from where it was last stopped as well as the option to boot to either a disc or the dashboard. New slideshow options were added for Photo Viewing, which can save folder layout between sessions. Xbox Live Marketplace was reorganized and users can now have concurrent downloads, allowing multiple downloads as background tasks.

Dashboard version 2.0.4532.0 was released on October 31, 2006. It allows the Xbox 360 to output video at 1080p and installs support for Zune and the external HD DVD drive attachment. WMV files can be streamed from a computer through the use of Windows Media Connect or connected USB device. Windows Media Player 11 was added as a supported streaming program. Xbox Live Arcade can now be set to automatically download trial versions of any newly released titles. Cosmetic changes to the dashboard were also made.

The current dashboard version, 2.0.4548, was released on November 30, 2006.

Game library

The Xbox 360 launched with a number of games. One such, Call of Duty 2 was the console's best selling game for 2005, selling over a million copies. Only five other games sold this amount in the console's first year in the market; Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Dead or Alive 4, Saints Row  and Gears of War. Second-party developer Rare had two games at launch: Perfect Dark Zero, which was Rare's first major commercial success after Microsoft's acquisition of them and was believed by some to be the console's flagship launch title and Kameo: Elements of Power. Only six games were initially offered in Japan and eagerly anticipated titles like Dead or Alive 4 and [eM] -eNCHANT arM- were not released until several weeks after launch. Games more suitable to the region are planned or have since been release, such as Chromehounds, Ninety-Nine Nights, or Phantasy Star Universe. Microsoft backed Mistwalker currently has three Japanese style games in development, Lost Odyssey, Cry On and Blue Dragon. On October 19, 2006 over 10,000 pre-orders of a limited edition Blue Dragon bundle sold out in Japan on the first day. The pack priced at JP¥29,800 includes the Xbox 360 core system with a copy of Blue Dragon, along with a table calendar, Blue Dragon faceplate, and five miniature character figures.

E3 2006 was the first large scale show after the console's launch and had the first trailer for Halo 3, the sequel to the original Xbox's best selling game. Fable 2, a sequel to the Xbox's best selling RPG was also shown along with Alan Wake, Mass Effect and Too Human. Bill Gates spoke of plans to integrate several Microsoft services into one entity with Live Anywhere. This service will allow multiplayer games and communication possible between Xbox 360 and the upcoming Windows Vista operating system for the PC. Shadowrun was the first game announced to be compatible with Live Anywhere. Several games originally released on PC have also been released on the Xbox 360, such as F.E.A.R. or Quake 4. Grand Theft Auto IV was shown and will be the first title in the series to be released for the Xbox 360 the same day as its PlayStation 3 counterpart. At X06 Microsoft announced new titles, along with information of future releasing titles. Splinter Cell Conviction, set to release after Splinter Cell Double Agent was announced to be exclusive to the Xbox 360, as were Bioshock and Banjo-Kazooie 3. At the event Halo Wars was also announced, along with an Untitled Halo Project. Microsoft is publishing sequels to some of its more successful franchises that were released on the original Xbox, such as Forza Motorsport 2, Project Gotham Racing 3 & 4, and Fuzion Frenzy 2. In addition to sequels, they have published original games based on new IPs such as Viva Piñata and Gears of War.

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