The Xbox 360

After the original Xbox console, Microsoft needed some new technology to keep entertaining its customer so they introduced a new console, the Xbox 360 which was setup with high definition graphics and sound system for its customers to enjoy. Live entertainment was also provided and at the launch of Xbox 360, games were played at all hours so it felt like one big LAN party.

The official launch date of Xbox 360 was 12 May 2005 on MTV and when it was available for purchase, it was sold everywhere except Japan. There were two different type of Xbox 360, the Arcade and the Elite; both with different demographics. And since the launch of the console, over 39 million consoles were sold worldwide.

Since Microsoft started the production of the console only a few months before the launch of the console so there weren’t many consoles to be shipped initially. There were many disappointed customers and by the end of 2005, 1.5 million consoles were shipped out worldwide and made available.Microsoft wanted steady sales over the Xbox predecessor while taking into consideration steady global sales and they said they will sell over 28.8 million consoles over the span of next four and half years.

As Xbox 360 was released a year before its competition so it had a years jump over its competitors and it promised to have 10 million consoles available for sale by the time its competitors were out on market. Since its launch, the Xbox 360 was the market leader until the release of the Nintendo Wii in 2007 and Xbox 360 lost the lead but with the release of the Halo 3 in October 2007, Xbox 360 quickly took the lead again by selling almost 30,000 more consoles than the Wii.

Xbox 360 has a wide variety of titles which appeal to different kind of gamers with eye-catching graphics and different storyline that immerse the gamers into the story and different difficulty levels that will make the gamer interested in the games and wanting them to play more.

With the release of the original Xbox in 2000, when the new Xbox 360 came out after 5 years, most people had their doubt in the console but once it was launched and they had a chance to try it out, they were won over. 

REFERENCES:

http://ezinearticles.com/?History-of-the-Xbox-360&id=4169217 (accessed on 20/05/2013)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/xbox (accessed on 20/05/2013)
http://www.topnews.in/usa/npd-xbox-360-sales-were-more-faster-original-xbox-2398 (accessed on 24/08/2013)