Microsoft has officially announced plans to discontinue the sales of its previous-gen video game console, the Xbox 360, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in November 2015. The company will stop the production of Xbox 360 units, with the stocks in stores the last new ones for the Xbox One predecessor.
"Xbox 360 means a lot to everyone in Microsoft," wrote Head of Xbox Phil Spencer, and its years in the industry has certainly illustrated the history of home entertainment for the past decade.
Upon the Xbox 360's release, the gaming console was not able to access streaming video content, nor did it allow gamers to purchase full games through digital means. The Xbox 360 cannot even connect to smartphones or be controlled by gestures or voice.
All of these features are now standard in the current-gen consoles such as the Xbox One, but it was the Xbox 360 that introduced online functionality in its systems and popularized digital distribution of games. In addition, the Xbox Live Arcade allowed independent developers to showcase their games, which can be purchased online.
Microsoft is not completely dropping the Xbox 360, though. Owners of the gaming console will still receive Xbox Live to access multiplayer apps and games, with the company planning to keep Xbox Live servers to support the Xbox 360. Players can still buy games for the console, because Microsoft has revealed plans to continue hardware support.
The end of production for the Xbox 360 draws a close to an important chapter of Microsoft's history. The company needs to go forward with its Xbox division, but where exactly does it go from here?
There have been reports that the Xbox One's rival, Sony's PlayStation 4, is planning to release an upgraded version of the console, internally codenamed the PlayStation Neo and also known as the PlayStation 4.5 or PlayStation 4K. Will Microsoft replicate such a plan by Sony to keep in step?
Apparently not. Spencer hinted that the company is not interested in releasing an "Xbox One and a half," adding that if the Xbox would move forward, it would do so in big numbers.
However, there have been rumors that Microsoft has been testing several prototype Xbox consoles, with some of them featuring upgraded components.
While Microsoft has not revealed its plans for the future of the Xbox One, fans can be sure that the company is at the very least planning something. What that could be and when Microsoft will reveal it is largely unknown though.
