The Xbox One and Xbox 360 both celebrate birthdays today. The consoles are Microsoft's most successful home entertainment systems after the original Xbox failed to achieve a significant break into the market.
The Xbox 360, Microsoft's second gaming console, turns 10 today after Microsoft released the console in the United States and Canada on Nov. 22, 2005. Microsoft launched the console a year earlier than the PlayStation 3 to work its way into the market, and so it did.
The console went on to become the most successful video game console for the software giant. Since June 2014, over 84 million units of the consoles were sold to consumers, something the original Xbox failed to achieve in its short time on the market.
Marc Whitten, former chief product officer at Microsoft, who is now the chief product officer at Sonos, took to Twitter to share his feelings for the Xbox 360 and its 10th anniversary.
1/ So proud of the legacy of Xbox 360. The system built with a service inside turns 10. Congrats to the team & the fans that made it.
— Marc Whitten (@notwen) November 21, 2015
He also went on to say the following:
2/ I’m biased, but its one of the most important consoles in history. The road from horse armor to Halo World Championship was bumpy but fun — Marc Whitten (@notwen) November 21, 2015
The Xbox 360 to this day is still viewed as one of the best video game consoles of our time, and rightfully so. The console pioneered online multiplayer among other things.
Apart from the Xbox 360, the Xbox One is also celebrating today. The console launched on Nov. 22, 2013, but unlike the Xbox 360 before it, the Xbox One launched with a lot of negative press.
During the first reveal of the Xbox One, Microsoft focused a lot on the TV entertainment aspect of the console instead of the games. After that, the company made a mess of things due to the console being tied to the Internet in a way that wouldn't allow for regular sharing of games.
It was a complete disaster, especially when it was revealed that the PlayStation 4 was more powerful and cost less. Fortunately, the Xbox One isn't doing so bad anymore.
Photo: Scott Akerman | Flickr
