104-1053: (Redirected from Xbox Play Anywhere ) See also: Xbox network § Xbox_Play_Anywhere [REDACTED] This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . ( Learn how and when to remove these messages ) [REDACTED] This article needs to be updated . Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. ( May 2023 ) [REDACTED] This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Play Anywhere" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( September 2012 ) ( Learn how and when to remove this message ) ( Learn how and when to remove this message ) Xbox Play Anywhere , formerly Live Anywhere ,
208-510: A Microsoft Account ) Cross-platform chat, with text, voice, and video Unified friends list and message system Single, worldwide currency for purchasing virtual games, music, videos and content ( Microsoft Points ) Cross-platform multiplayer online gaming, including game invites See also [ edit ] Xbox Network Microsoft Points Microsoft Account External links [ edit ] ExtremeTech article describing Live Anywhere concept Archived 2009-02-28 at
312-561: A Windows 10 PC (running Windows 10 Anniversary Update or later) through Microsoft Store using the same Microsoft account at no additional charge, and vice versa. The scheme also promotes the ability to synchronize save data, achievements, and downloadable content between Windows 10 and Xbox One versions of a game. Microsoft announced in March 2019 that it would be providing Xbox Live SDKs for iOS and Android mobile devices, allowing developers on those platforms to integrate most services of
416-644: A denial-of-service attack . Functionality was restored on December 28, with some users experiencing difficulties in the days that followed. A group called, "The Phantom Squad" has threatened to disrupt the Xbox Live network through a denial-of-service attack on December 25, 2015. In 2019, the Official Xbox Magazine revealed that Xbox Live would be made cross platform, and will serve Android , iOS and Nintendo Switch . Microsoft added Xbox Live Gold to its Xbox Game Pass program as part of
520-588: A dial-up modem while a later-released broadband adapter was neither widely supported nor widely available. Downloadable content was available, though limited in size due to the narrowband connection and the size limitations of a memory card . The PlayStation 2 did not initially ship with built-in networking capabilities. Microsoft, however, hoped that the Xbox would succeed where the Dreamcast had failed. The company determined that intense online gaming required
624-422: A mathematical model of uncertainty to address weaknesses in existing ranking systems such as Elo . For example, a new player joining million-player leagues can be ranked correctly in fewer than 20 games. It can predict the probability of each game outcome, which enhances competitive matchmaking, making it possible to assemble skill-balanced teams from a group of players with different abilities. When matchmaking,
728-6247: A Month with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and EA Play" . Xbox Wire . Retrieved 2023-05-08 . {{ cite web }} : CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list ( link ) ^ "Xbox Play Anywhere | Xbox" . Xbox.com . Archived from the original on 2023-05-08 . Retrieved 2023-05-08 . ^ "Goodbye, Windows 10 Mobile" . CNET . Retrieved 2023-05-08 . v t e Microsoft Gaming A division of Microsoft Xbox series Xbox Controller Games World Collection Technical specifications Xbox 360 Launch Technical problems Applications Controller Accessories HD DVD Player Wireless Headset Wireless Racing Wheel Xbox Live Vision Games Backward compatible Kinect Fun Labs Technical specifications Xbox One Applications Xbox Wireless Controller special editions Accessories Games Best-selling Xbox One X enhanced Backward compatible Xbox Series X/S Applications Xbox Wireless Controller special editions Accessories Games Backward compatible Others System software Kinect Adaptive Controller Xbox app games Platinum Hits Windows Games for Windows games GFWL games Microsoft SideWinder Games included with Windows Other platforms Xbox on Windows Phone Zune games Online services Avatars Games Store Xbox network/Xbox Live Arcade Indie Games Anywhere Xbox Game Pass Xbox Cloud Gaming Windows Games on Demand games Mixer MSN Games Game Room Promotions OurColony Official Xbox Magazine Xbox Exhibition "X" Show Summer of Arcade Developer tools DirectX Xbox Development Kit XNA Game Studio ID@Xbox Games Microsoft Gaming Activision ZeniMax Media Blizzard Entertainment King Xbox Game Studios Developers and publishers Xbox Game Studios The Coalition The Initiative Compulsion Games Double Fine Halo Studios InXile Entertainment Mojang Studios Ninja Theory Obsidian Entertainment Playground Games Rare Turn 10 Studios Undead Labs World's Edge ZeniMax Media Arkane Studios Bethesda Softworks Bethesda Game Studios Austin Dallas id Software MachineGames ZeniMax Online Studios Activision Blizzard Activision Activision Shanghai Studios Beenox Demonware Digital Legends Entertainment Elsewhere Entertainment High Moon Studios Infinity Ward Raven Software Sledgehammer Games Solid State Studios Treyarch Blizzard Entertainment Blizzard Albany Blizzard Boston King Former studios Alpha Dog Games Arkane Austin Tango Gameworks Toys for Bob Roundhouse Studios Unionization efforts Worker organization Microsoft and unions § United States v t e Microsoft Corporation History Outline People Founders Bill Gates Paul Allen Board of directors Satya Nadella (Chairman and CEO) Reid Hoffman Sandi Peterson Penny Pritzker Carlos A. Rodriguez Charles Scharf John W. Stanton John W. Thompson Emma Walmsley Padmasree Warrior Senior leadership team Satya Nadella (CEO) Takeshi Numoto (CMO) Scott Guthrie Carolina Dybeck Happe (COO) Amy Hood (CFO) Kevin Scott (CTO) Brad Smith (CLO) Harry Shum Phil Spencer Kathleen Hogan (CPO) Corporate VPs Joe Belfiore Richard Rashid (SVP) César Cernuda Employee groups Global LGBTQIA+ Employee & Allies at Microsoft Microsoft and unions Products Hardware Azure Kinect HoloLens LifeCam Surface Duo Go Hub Laptop Laptop Go Neo Pro Studio Xbox Software Clipchamp Dynamics 365 Havok Microsoft 365 Office Teams Open source software Power Platform Servers Start Tay Visual Studio Visual Studio Code Windows Xbox OS Programming languages BASIC VB.NET VBA VBScript Visual Basic C# C/AL a.k.a. Navision Attain F# MVPL Power Fx PowerShell Q# Transact-SQL TypeScript Visual J++ Visual J# Web properties Azure Bing Copilot GitHub Learn Channel 9 Developer Network TechNet LinkedIn LinkedIn Learning MSN Outlook.com Store Translator Company Conferences Build Ignite Inspire MIX PDC WinHEC Divisions .NET Foundation Digital Crimes Unit Engineering groups Mobile Skype unit Gaming Activision Blizzard Xbox Game Studios ZeniMax Media Garage Outercurve Foundation Press Research Retail stores Estates Microsoft campus Microsoft Egypt Microsoft India Microsoft Japan Campaigns " Where do you want to go today? " (1994) " Champagne " (2002) " Mojave Experiment " (2006) " I'm
832-2914: A PC " (2008) " Scroogled " (2012) Criticism Bundling of Microsoft Windows Clippy iLoo Internet Explorer Microsoft Bob _NSAKEY Windows XP Vista 10 Litigation Alcatel-Lucent v. Microsoft Apple v. Microsoft Microsoft v. Commission FTC v. Microsoft Microsoft v. Lindows Microsoft v. MikeRoweSoft Microsoft v. Shah United States v. Microsoft (2001 antitrust case) Microsoft v. United States (2018 data privacy case) Acquisitions 6Wunderkinder Access Software Acompli Activision Blizzard acquisition Altamira Software AltspaceVR aQuantive Azyxxi Beam The Blue Ribbon SoundWorks Bungie Clipchamp Colloquis Compulsion Games Connectix Consumers Software Danger Double Fine Farecast FASA Studio Fast Search & Transfer Firefly Forethought GIANT Company Software GitHub Great Plains Software GreenButton Groove Networks Havok Group High Heat Major League Baseball Hotmail inXile Entertainment Jellyfish.com LinkedIn LinkExchange Lionhead Studios Maluuba Massive Incorporated Metaswitch Mobile Data Labs Mojang Studios Ninja Theory Nokia Devices and Services npm Nuance Communications Obsidian Entertainment Onfolio Pando Networks Perceptive Pixel PlaceWare Playground Games Powerset Press Play ProClarity Rare Revolution Analytics RiskIQ ScreenTonic Secure Islands Simplygon Skype Sunrise Atelier SwiftKey TakeLessons Teleo Tellme Networks Twisted Pixel Games Undead Labs Vermeer Technologies Visio Corporation Vivaty VoloMetrix VXtreme WebTV Networks Winternals Software Xamarin Xandr AppNexus Yammer Yupi ZeniMax Media [REDACTED] Category Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Play_Anywhere&oldid=1232776949 " Categories : Games for Windows Xbox network Windows Mobile Hidden categories: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list Misplaced Pages articles in need of updating from May 2023 All Misplaced Pages articles in need of updating Articles needing additional references from September 2012 All articles needing additional references Articles with multiple maintenance issues Webarchive template wayback links Xbox network#Xbox Play Anywhere The Xbox network , formerly known and commonly referred to as Xbox Live ,
936-531: A disc in it, or when the disc tray was ejected, but the user had the option to select what the console does if a game is in the tray on start up, or if inserted when already on. A simplified version of it was also accessible at any time via the Xbox Guide button on the gamepad. This simplified version showed the user's gamercard, Xbox Live messages and friends list. It also allowed for personal and music settings, in addition to voice or video chats, or returning to
1040-537: A flashing power button that alternates between green and red is an indication of a "General Hardware Failure" unlike older models where three of the quadrants would light up red. The Xbox 360 launched with 14 games in North America and 13 in Europe. The console's best-selling game for 2005, Call of Duty 2 , sold over a million copies. Five other games sold over a million copies in the console's first year on
1144-428: A free Xbox Live Arcade game to all Xbox Live users as compensation, in an open letter to all Xbox Live members from Marc Whitten, Xbox LIVE General Manager. Increased demand from Xbox 360 purchasers (the largest number of new user sign-ups in the history of Xbox Live) was given as the reason for the downtime. On January 18, 2008, Microsoft announced Undertow would be offered free to both Gold and Free members for
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#17327805974471248-428: A headset and communication, a feature that was still in its infancy. Leading up to the launch, Microsoft enlisted several waves of beta testers to improve the service and receive feature feedback. The first wave of beta testers were given Re-Volt ! (which was never released officially) and NFL Fever 2003 to beta test. Once beta testing concluded, Microsoft sent these beta testers a translucent orange memory card,
1352-586: A headset carrying case, and a beta tester t-shirt with the slogan "I've got great hands". When the service debuted, it lacked much of the functionality that later titles included, but Xbox Live grew and evolved on the Xbox and many aspects of the service were included with the Xbox 360 console out of the box, rather than through a later update. Microsoft granted Live-related patent that gives Xbox 360 users access to watch other gamers compete against each other over Xbox Live. The packaging for playable Xbox Live titles on
1456-546: A limited form of Xbox Live "awareness". In July 2004, Xbox Live had reached 1 million online users. In July 2005, Xbox Live had reached 2 million online users. On November 15, 2007, Microsoft celebrated Xbox Live's 5th anniversary by offering its then over 8 million subscribers the title Carcassonne free of charge and awarding gamers who had subscribed to Live since its inception 500 free Microsoft Points . Due to intermittent service interruptions during late December 2007 and early January 2008, Microsoft promised to offer
1560-531: A limited-edition bundle which sold out quickly with over 10,000 pre-orders. Blue Dragon is one of three Xbox 360 games to surpass 200,000 units in Japan, along with Tales of Vesperia and Star Ocean: The Last Hope . Mistwalker's second game, Lost Odyssey also sold over 100,000 copies. The 2007 Game Critics Awards honored the Xbox 360 platform with 38 Nominations and 11 Wins. By 2015, game releases started to decline as most publishers instead focused on
1664-478: A long-term project expected to be rolled out over several years". While a concept service for mobile devices was demonstrated at E3 2006 and CES 2006 on a Motorola Q mobile phone, it never released. On February 15, 2010, Microsoft announced its new mobile operating system , Windows Phone . With Windows Phone 7 and Windows Mobile 10, Microsoft integrated full Xbox Live functionality. Windows Phone has since been discontinued. Xbox 360 The Xbox 360
1768-556: A new Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription tier in April 2019. On January 22, 2021, Microsoft planned to increase the prices for the Xbox Live Gold subscriptions, as follows: by $ 1 for the monthly subscription ($ 10.99 from $ 9.99), by $ 5 for the 3-month subscription ($ 29.99 from $ 24.99), by $ 20 for the 6-month subscription ($ 59.99 from $ 39.99), and by $ 60 (double the price) for the 12-month subscription ($ 119.99 from $ 59.99). However,
1872-484: A pilot project, which allows the user to change their region and maintain their Xbox network profile. Subscriptions, such as that for Xbox Music, cannot be transferred with this method. On May 18, 2011, Microsoft announced that it planned to launch Xbox network in the Middle East within the next twelve months, but it never occurred during that time period. However, on October 20, 2012, Microsoft officially announced
1976-676: A proprietary port for use with the Kinect sensor. The Xbox 360 E, a further streamlined variation of the 360 S with a two-tone rectangular case inspired by Xbox One , was released in 2013. In addition to its revised aesthetics, the Xbox 360 E also has one fewer USB port, no AV connector (and thus is HDMI-only), and no longer supports S/PDIF . November 22, 2005 April 29, 2007 August 6, 2007 October 27, 2007 July 13, 2008 August 1, 2008 September 5, 2008 August 28, 2009 June 19, 2010 August 3, 2010 June 10, 2013 April 20, 2016 The original model of
2080-411: A single year. In 2009, IGN named the Xbox 360 the sixth-greatest video game console of all time, out of a field of 25. Although not the best-selling console of the seventh generation, the Xbox 360 was deemed by TechRadar to be the most influential, by emphasizing digital media distribution and online gaming through Xbox Live, and by popularizing game achievement awards . PC Magazine considered
2184-487: A variable number of Achievements, while each Xbox Live Arcade title contained 12 Achievements totaling 200G. On February 1, 2007, Microsoft announced on their Gamerscore Blog some new policies that developers must follow related to Gamerscore and Achievements in future releases. All regular disc-based games must have 1,000 Gamerscore points in the base game; the title can ship with fewer than 1,000 points, but anything added later must be free. Game developers also now have
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#17327805974472288-421: A vision of making premium download content and add-ons that would attract many new customers. Based on this reasoning, the console included a standard Ethernet port (10/100) in order to provide connectivity to common broadband networks , but did not include a modem or any dial-up support, and its online service was designed to support broadband users only. Critics scoffed at it, citing poor broadband adoption at
2392-534: A year ago, during the Dive into Media conference in Southern California. In June 2014, Microsoft retracted the Xbox Live Gold requirements to access streaming media apps (including Netflix , Hulu , YouTube , Internet Explorer, Skype, and others), though various rental or subscription fees may still apply. On December 25, 2014, both PlayStation Network and Xbox Live suffered network disruption after
2496-493: Is a home video game console developed by Microsoft . As the successor to the original Xbox , it is the second console in the Xbox series . It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detailed launch and game information announced later that month at the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). As a seventh-generation console , it primarily competed with Sony 's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo 's Wii . The Xbox 360 features an online service, Xbox Live , which
2600-473: Is an achievements point accumulation system that reflects the number of achievements accumulated by a user on Xbox through the displaying of the number of points accumulated. These Achievement points are awarded for the completion of game-specific challenges, such as beating a level or amassing a specified number of wins against other players in online matches and other various in game challenges. Initially, retail Xbox 360 games offered up to 1,000G spread over
2704-548: Is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Gaming for the Xbox brand. It was first made available to the original Xbox console on November 15, 2002. An updated version of the service, adding the Xbox Live Marketplace , became available with the Xbox 360 console launch in November 2005, and a further enhanced version was released in 2013 with
2808-1311: Is an ongoing initiative by Microsoft Gaming to bring the cross-platform Xbox network (formerly Xbox Live) service to a wide variety of Microsoft platforms and devices, chiefly the Xbox Series X|S , Windows 11 , Xbox One , and Windows 10 . Platforms [ edit ] Platform Service Name Launch Discontinued Windows 11 Xbox Network October 5, 2021 Xbox Series X|S Xbox Network November 10, 2020 Windows 10 Xbox Network July 29, 2015 Xbox One Xbox Live November 22, 2013 Windows 8 and 8.1 Xbox on Windows October 26, 2012 Before May 8, 2023 Windows Phone , 10 Mobile Xbox on Windows Phone October 21, 2010 Before October 8, 2017 Zune Zune Social September 16, 2008 September 4, 2011 Windows XP , Vista , 7 Games for Windows – Live May 22, 2007 Before May 8, 2023 Xbox 360 Xbox Live November 22, 2005 July 29, 2024 Xbox Xbox Live November 15, 2001 April 15, 2010 Features [ edit ] Single identity ( Gamertag ) across all platforms (tied to
2912-439: Is available as both a free service and a subscription-based service known as Xbox Game Pass Core . In 2021, Microsoft renamed Xbox Live as simply the "Xbox network" to cover all of its services related to Xbox, and began slowly phasing out all "Live" branding until it was fully removed in 2023. The Xbox network is available in 42 countries and territories. '*' = Country where Xbox network and Store are officially available, but
3016-540: Is for casual gamers, Family is for family-friendly gamers (without profanity, etc.), Pro is for competitive gamers who enjoy a challenge, and Underground is for no-holds-barred gaming where anything goes (as long as it does not violate the Xbox Live Terms of Use). However, in practice these gamer zones were displayed only on the Gamercard of the player, and did not tend to affect the gameplay experience or
3120-529: Is handled by the ATI Xenos , which has 10 MB of eDRAM . Its main memory pool is 512 MB in size. Originally, the Xbox 360 was equipped with only 256 MB of RAM, but Epic , the Gears of War developer, demonstrated to Microsoft that the console should have 512 MB of RAM to deliver much better performance. When asked about this, Epic Games Executive Vice President Mark Rein said in 2006: "So
3224-612: Is now used to cross over the Xbox ecosystem into PC gaming, in addition to handhelds and mobile phones as part of the Play Anywhere initiative. Microsoft's former mobile operating system , Windows Phone , included full Xbox Live functionality until it was discontinued. The service shut down for the original Xbox on April 15, 2010, and original Xbox Games are now only playable online through Insignia , an unofficial Xbox Live replacement service, or through local area network (LAN) tunneling applications. Xbox network service
Play Anywhere - Misplaced Pages Continue
3328-469: Is offered from MTV , VH1 , Comedy Central , Turner Broadcasting and CBS ; and movie content is Warner Bros. , Paramount and Disney , along with other publishers. Originally called Live Anywhere, Play Anywhere is a cross-platform service allowing owners of Xbox and Windows games the ability to use said games on either operating system. Under the scheme, supported games purchased digitally on Microsoft Store for Xbox One can also be downloaded on
3432-525: Is on the bottom when vertical (right side when horizontal) and requires the opening of a concealed door to access it. (This does not void the warranty.) The Xbox 360 Slim/E hard drives are standard 2.5" SATA laptop drives, but have a custom enclosure and firmware so that the Xbox 360 can recognize it. The Xbox 360 uses the triple-core IBM designed Xenon as its CPU, with each core capable of simultaneously processing two threads , and can therefore operate on up to six threads at once. Graphics processing
3536-514: Is recognized on all models released before the Xbox 360 S by three quadrants of the ring around the power button flashing red. This error is often known as the " Red Ring of Death ". In April 2009, the warranty was extended to also cover failures related to the E74 error code . The warranty extension is not granted for any other types of failures that do not generate these specific error codes. After these problems surfaced, Microsoft attempted to modify
3640-451: The Kinect motion sensing camera. The release of these additional services and peripherals helped the Xbox brand grow from gaming-only to encompassing all multimedia, turning it into a hub for living-room computing entertainment. Launched worldwide across 2005–2006, the Xbox 360 was initially in short supply in many regions, including North America and Europe. The earliest versions of
3744-598: The PS2 and Nintendo DS . Over 1 million units were sold in Spain across the console's lifecycle. The Xbox 360 crossed the 1 million units sold in Japan in March 2009, and the 1.5 million units sold in June 2011. Lifetime sales of the Xbox 360 in Japan stand at 1,616,218 million units. While the Xbox 360 has sold poorly in Japan, it improved upon the sales of the original Xbox , which had total sales of 474,992 units. Furthermore,
3848-562: The United Kingdom would reach 3.2 million units by January 2009, per GfK Chart-Track . The 8 million unit mark was crossed in the UK by February 2013. Sales of the Xbox 360 would overtake the Wii later that year, topping 9 million units, making the Xbox 360 the best-selling 7th-generation console in the UK, as well as making it the third best-selling console of all time in the region, behind
3952-833: The Wayback Machine Video of a Live client running on a mobile device Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine Original Xbox Live To Shut Down References [ edit ] ^ Boddy, Zachary (2021-03-22). "Microsoft officially ends 'Xbox Live' brand, changes to 'Xbox network' " . Windows Central . Retrieved 2023-05-08 . ^ Blog, Windows Experience (2021-08-31). "Windows 11 available on October 5" . Windows Experience Blog . Retrieved 2023-05-08 . ^ Xbox, Phil Spencer, Head of (2020-09-09). "Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X Launch November 10, Starting at $ 24.99
4056-508: The Xbox One . The service is used on the latest Xbox Series X and Series S and, in addition to a Microsoft account , is the account for Xbox ecosystem; accounts can store games and other content. The service was extended in 2007 across the Windows platform, named Games for Windows – Live , now defunct, which made most aspects of the system available on Windows computers. The Xbox app
4160-604: The Xbox One . The last official game released for the system was Just Dance 2019 , released on October 23, 2018, in North America, and October 25 in Europe and Australia. As one of the late updates to the software following its discontinuation, Microsoft will add the ability for Xbox 360 users to use cloud saves even if they do not have Xbox Live Gold prior to the launch of the Xbox Series X and Series S in November 2020. The new consoles will have backward compatibility for all Xbox 360 games that are already backward compatible on
4264-400: The 1993–2013 period, stating "It had its own social network, cross-game chat, new indie games every week, and the best version of just about every multiformat game ... Killzone is no Halo and nowadays Gran Turismo is no Forza , but it's not about the exclusives—there's nothing to trump Naughty Dog 's PS3 output, after all. Rather, it's about the choices Microsoft made back in
Play Anywhere - Misplaced Pages Continue
4368-514: The 6-month and 12-month subscription price increases would not affect existing subscribers when they resubscribed at the same level, nor those already subscribed through the Xbox Games Pass Ultimate program. However, after complaints from the Xbox community, Microsoft made an announcement on the same day that they revoked their decision, and that they would not increase the prices of any of the subscriptions, thus they would remain
4472-511: The Elite was also marked down in price to US$ 299. Two major hardware revisions of the Xbox 360 have succeeded the original models; the Xbox 360 S (also referred to as the "Slim") replaced the original "Elite" and "Arcade" models in 2010. The S model carries a smaller, streamlined appearance with an angular case, and utilizes a redesigned motherboard designed to alleviate the hardware and overheating issues experienced by prior models. It also includes
4576-483: The PlayStation 3's lifespan for its sales and games to reach parity with the Xbox 360. TechRadar proclaimed that "Xbox 360 passes the baton as the king of the hill – a position that puts all the more pressure on its successor, Xbox One". The Xbox 360's advantage over its competitors was due to the release of high-profile games from both first party and third-party developers. The 2007 Game Critics Awards honored
4680-679: The Store is in Global currency USD, not in local currency. Users from other countries are not officially supported, although it is possible for them to access Xbox network if they provide an address located in a country where Xbox network is officially available. The country selected during account creation affects the payment options, content, and services available to the user. Previously, users were unable to change their account region, but in October 2012, Microsoft introduced an account migration tool as
4784-471: The Video Marketplace. They expire in 14 days after download or at the end of the first 24 hours after the movie has begun playing, whichever comes first. Television episodes can be purchased to own, and are transferable to an unlimited number of consoles. Downloaded files use 5.1 surround audio and are encoded using VC-1 for video at 720p, with a bitrate of 6.8 Mbit/s. Television content
4888-441: The Xbox 360 completely. The significance of Japan's poor sales might be overstated in the media in comparison to overall international sales. The Xbox 360 sold much better than its predecessor, and although not the best-selling console of the seventh generation, it is regarded as a success since it strengthened Microsoft as a major force in the console market at the expense of well-established rivals. The inexpensive Wii did sell
4992-409: The Xbox 360 has been subject to a number of technical problems . Since the console's release in 2005, users have reported concerns over its reliability and failure rate . To aid customers with defective consoles, Microsoft extended the Xbox 360's manufacturer's warranty to three years for hardware failure problems that generate a "General Hardware Failure" error report. A "General Hardware Failure"
5096-617: The Xbox 360 managed to outsell both the PlayStation 3 and Wii the week ending September 14, 2008, as well as the week ending February 22, 2009, when the Japanese Xbox 360 exclusives Infinite Undiscovery and Star Ocean: The Last Hope , were released those weeks, respectively. Ultimately, Edge magazine would report that Microsoft had been unable to make serious inroads into the dominance of domestic rivals Sony and Nintendo; adding that lackluster sales in Japan had led to retailers scaling down and in some cases, discontinuing sales of
5200-408: The Xbox 360 the prototype for online gaming as it "proved that online gaming communities could thrive in the console space". Five years after the Xbox 360's debut, the well-received Kinect motion capture camera was released, which set the record of being the fastest selling consumer electronic device in history, and extended the life of the console. Edge ranked Xbox 360 the second-best console of
5304-463: The Xbox 360 version included a cut-down version of the Media Remote as a promotion. The Elite package was launched later at US$ 479. The "Xbox 360 Core" was replaced by the "Xbox 360 Arcade" in October 2007 and a 60 GB version of the Xbox 360 Pro was released on August 1, 2008. The Pro package was discontinued and marked down to US$ 249 on August 28, 2009, to be sold until stock ran out, while
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#17327805974475408-414: The Xbox 360 without a game controller by using gestures, spoken commands and presented objects and images. The Kinect accessory is compatible with all Xbox 360 models, connecting to new models via a custom connector, and to older ones via a USB and mains power adapter. During their CES 2010 keynote speech, Robbie Bach and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer went on to say that Kinect would be released during
5512-514: The Xbox 360. Launched in the United States on November 22, 2006, the first anniversary of the Xbox 360's launch, the service allows users in the United States to download high-definition and standard-definition television shows for purchase and movies for rental onto an Xbox 360 console for viewing. With the exception of short clips, content is not currently available for streaming, and must be downloaded. Movies are available for rental from
5616-515: The Xbox Game Pass subscription). A gamertag is the universal name for a player's username on the Xbox network. A gamertag is a unique identifier, and can include numbers, letters, and spaces. Gamertags can be changed using an Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, or Xbox 360 console (first time is free, all other changes afterwards are charged), while the Xbox 360 supports eight Xbox network-enabled profiles per memory unit and thirty-two profiles on
5720-524: The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 stood at 36.9% and 18.0% market share, respectively. The main unit of the Xbox 360 itself has slight double concavity in matte white or black. The official color of the white model is Arctic Chill. It features a port on the top when vertical (left side when horizontal) to which a custom-housed hard disk drive unit can be attached. On the Slim and E models, the hard drive bay
5824-399: The Xbox One and can use any Xbox 360 game's cloud saves through this update, making the transition to the new consoles easier. The Xbox 360's original graphical user interface was the Xbox 360 Dashboard ; a tabbed interface that featured five "Blades" (formerly four blades), and was designed by AKQA and Audiobrain . It could be launched automatically when the console booted without
5928-401: The Xbox app, subject to Xbox approval. Users were formerly forbidden to use strings such as gay or refer to homosexuality in any way in their gamertag or profile due to it being considered "content of a sexual nature", even if the string occurs in a legitimate surname. Incidents where a woman was suspended from the service for identifying herself as a lesbian , and an incident where a male user
6032-709: The Xbox network into their applications and games. Microsoft also stated that they were looking to bring this functionality to the Nintendo Switch , anticipating this to be a post-launch feature for the Switch port of Cuphead . Play Anywhere was originally released as Live Anywhere as a cross-platform initiative to bring the Xbox network to a wide variety of Microsoft platforms and devices, including Xbox , Xbox 360 , Microsoft Windows ( XP SP2 /SP3, Vista and 7 ), Windows Phone , and Zune . Microsoft's Chris Early said of Live Anywhere in 2006 that "it [was]
6136-633: The Xenon processor were developed using a slightly modified version of the PlayStation 3 's Cell Processor PPE architecture. According to David Shippy and Mickie Phipps, the IBM employees were "hiding" their work from Sony and Toshiba, IBM's partners in developing the Cell Processor . Jeff Minter created the music visualization program Neon which is included with the Xbox 360. The Xbox 360
6240-425: The best-selling console of its generation, the Xbox 360 was deemed by TechRadar to be the most influential through its emphasis on digital media distribution and multiplayer gaming on Xbox Live. The Xbox 360's successor, the Xbox One , was released on November 22, 2013. On April 20, 2016, Microsoft announced that it would end the production of new Xbox 360 hardware, although the company will continue to support
6344-419: The console suffered from a high failure rate , indicated by the so-called " Red Ring of Death ", necessitating an extension of the device's warranty period. Microsoft released two redesigned models of the console: the Xbox 360 S in 2010, and the Xbox 360 E in 2013. Xbox 360 is the ninth-highest-selling home video game console in history , and the highest-selling console made by an American company. Although not
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#17327805974476448-470: The console to improve its reliability. Modifications included a reduction in the number, size, and placement of components, the addition of dabs of epoxy on the corners and edges of the CPU and GPU as glue to prevent movement relative to the board during heat expansion, and a second GPU heatsink to dissipate more heat. With the release of the redesigned Xbox 360 S, the warranty for the newer models does not include
6552-400: The console, including both wired and wireless controllers , faceplates for customization, headsets for chatting, a webcam for video chatting, dance mats and Gamercize for exercise, three sizes of memory units and five sizes of hard drives (20, 60, 120, 250 (initially Japan only, but later also available elsewhere ) and 320 GB), among other items, all of which are styled to match
6656-575: The console. In 2006, Microsoft released the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player . The accessory was discontinued in 2008 after the format war had ended in Blu-ray 's favor. Kinect is a "controller-free gaming and entertainment experience" for the Xbox 360. It was first announced on June 1, 2009, at the Electronic Entertainment Expo , under the codename, Project Natal . The add-on peripheral enables users to control and interact with
6760-472: The day they made the decision, we were apparently the first developer they called; we were at Game Developers Conference, was it two years ago, and then I got a call from the chief financial officer of MGS and he said 'I just want you to know you cost me a billion dollars' and I said, 'we did a favour for a billion gamers'." Various hard disk drives have been produced, including options at 20, 60, 120, 250, 320, or 500 GB. Many accessories are available for
6864-477: The difficulties of programming for the PS3. TechRadar deemed the Xbox 360 as the most influential game system through its emphasis of digital media distribution, Xbox Live online gaming service, and game achievement feature. During the console's lifetime, the Xbox brand has grown from gaming-only to encompassing all multimedia, turning it into a hub for "living-room computing environment". Microsoft announced
6968-464: The end of 2014, Xbox 360 sales had surpassed sales of the Wii, making the Xbox 360 the best-selling 7th-generation console in the US once again. In Canada, the Xbox 360 has sold a total of 870,000 units as of August 1, 2008. In Europe, the Xbox 360 has sold seven million units as of November 20, 2008. The Xbox 360 took 110 weeks to reach 2 million units sold in the UK, generating £507m in revenue. Sales in
7072-627: The end of the year. As well as enjoying exclusives such as additions to the Halo franchise and Gears of War , the Xbox 360 has managed to gain a simultaneous release of games that were initially planned to be PS3 exclusives, including Devil May Cry 4 , Ace Combat 6 , Virtua Fighter 5 , Grand Theft Auto IV , Final Fantasy XIII , Tekken 6 , Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance , and L.A. Noire . In addition, Xbox 360 versions of cross-platform games were generally considered superior to their PS3 counterparts in 2006 and 2007, due in part to
7176-650: The first player in history to reach 1 million Gamerscore. The Gamecard is an information panel used to summarize one's user profile on Microsoft's Xbox network. The pieces of information on a Gamercard include: A player's Gamercard can be viewed via the guide, the Xbox app, or online through Xbox.com. Similarly, Mac OS X users were able to download widgets that display their Xbox Live Gamercard within Mac OS X 's Dashboard . These can be downloaded onto any Mac with OS X 10.4 or higher via Apple's widget download page . On Xbox 360, there were four Gamer Zones; Recreation
7280-542: The first time since its inception. The basic service was also renamed. Prior to October 2010, the free service was known as Xbox Live Silver . It was announced on June 10, 2011, that the service is going to be fully integrated into Microsoft's Windows 8 . In October 2011, Microsoft announced live streaming cable television with various providers. In February 2013, Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business, shared that Xbox Live members now number 46 million, up 15 percent from
7384-406: The graphics processing unit for the new console, a deal that was publicly announced two days later. Before the launch of the Xbox 360, several Alpha development kits were spotted using Apple's Power Mac G5 hardware. This was because the system's PowerPC 970 processor was running the same PowerPC architecture that the Xbox 360 would eventually run under IBM 's Xenon processor. The cores of
7488-467: The hard drive. A player's Gamertag account status can be checked using a variety of online tools, which is useful especially when looking for a new gamertag, or confirming that a gamertag exists. Using a valid gamertag, any player can be found and messaged from within the network. There are also several websites which allow users of gamertags to upload photos and information about themselves. Gamertags also contain avatar images (or "gamer pictures"), with
7592-504: The holiday period (November–January) and work with every Xbox 360 console. It was released on November 4, 2010. Built-in Through AV connector (excluding E models which have no AV connector) At launch, the Xbox 360 was available in two configurations: the "Xbox 360" package (unofficially known as the 20 GB Pro or Premium), priced at US$ 399 or £ 279.99, and the "Xbox 360 Core", priced at US$ 299 and £209.99. The original shipment of
7696-464: The market: Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter , The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion , Dead or Alive 4 , Saints Row , and Gears of War . Gears of War would become the best-selling game on the console with 3 million copies in 2006, before being surpassed in 2007 by Halo 3 with over 8 million copies. Six games were initially available in Japan, while eagerly anticipated games such as Dead or Alive 4 and Enchanted Arms were released in
7800-517: The matching of players in online games . TrueSkill is a ranking and matchmaking system which was first implemented as part of the Xbox 360's Live service. Developed at Microsoft Research Cambridge ( United Kingdom ), the TrueSkill ranking system is now used in over 150 titles for the Xbox 360 and was used in the Games for Windows – Live game Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II . It uses
7904-407: The most console units but eventually saw a collapse of third-party software support in its later years, and it has been viewed by some as a fad since the succeeding Wii U had a poor debut in 2012. The PlayStation 3 struggled for a time due to being too expensive and initially lacking quality games, making it far less dominant than its predecessor, the PlayStation 2 , and it took until late in
8008-649: The option of adding up to 250 points via downloadable content every quarter after the first year of release (for a total of 1,750 points). Xbox Live Arcade titles also allowed players to obtain Gamerscore, initially up to 200 Gamerscore with additional points up to 50 Gamerscore via downloadable content (for a total of 250 points), but some XBLA games now contain up to 400 Gamerscore without DLC. On March 25, 2008, Microsoft cracked down on "Gamerscore cheaters" (those who used external tools to artificially inflate their Gamerscore), and reduced their Gamerscores to zero without
8112-523: The option to recover the scores that had been "earned", and branded the player by denoting on their Gamertag that they were a "Cheater". The development of the Gamerscore system had created a new niche in the internet economy. Many websites have been created to provide gamers with tips and tricks for getting achievement points. Some sites are solely devoted to these achievement guides, and some blogs provide gaming guides in addition to their other content. On March 13, 2014, Ray Cox IV or "Stallion83" became
8216-399: The original Xbox console featured a trademark luminescent orange-gold bar underneath the Xbox header. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell and Brute Force sported a Live "bubble" design, as they only featured downloadable content. It was changed later, wherein all Xbox Live titles included the universal orange-gold Live bar. By the time of the Xbox 360, all titles were required to provide at least
8320-486: The original Xbox's lifetime. The PC-like architecture meant the early EA Sports games ran at 60fps compared to only 30 on PS3, Xbox Live meant every dedicated player had an existing friends list, and Halo meant Microsoft had the killer next-generation exclusive. And when developers demo games on PC now they do it with a 360 pad—another industry benchmark, and a critical one." The Xbox 360 began production only 69 days before launch, on September 14, 2005, and Microsoft
8424-406: The platform with 38 nominations and 12 wins – more than any other platform. By March 2008, the Xbox 360 had reached a software attach rate of 7.5 games per console in the US; the rate was 7.0 in Europe, while its competitors were 3.8 (PS3) and 3.5 (Wii), according to Microsoft. At the 2008 Game Developers Conference , Microsoft announced that it expected over 1,000 games available for Xbox 360 by
8528-406: The platform. On August 17, 2023, Microsoft announced that on July 29, 2024, the Xbox 360 game marketplace would stop offering new purchases and Microsoft Movies & TV app will no longer function (the console will still be able to download previously purchased content, run it, and enter multiplayer sessions). Known during development as Xbox Next, Xenon, Xbox 2, Xbox FS or NextBox, the Xbox 360
8632-561: The same as they were. Microsoft officially announced that they would be branding Xbox Live as "Xbox network" in March 2021 as to cover all the services related to Xbox and not just Xbox Live. Xbox Live Gold would remain the same name and to distinguish the subscription program from the set of services. Microsoft also stated that with this, it will eliminate the requirement to have Xbox Live Gold to play free-to-play games on Xbox consoles. By January 2021, Microsoft reported that there were more than 100 million Xbox users (including those through
8736-399: The same day, Larry Hyrb , Xbox Live's Major Nelson, announced on his blog that Xbox Live support for the original Xbox would be discontinued on April 15, 2010, including online play through backwards compatibility on the Xbox 360 and all downloadable content for original Xbox games. In August 2010, Microsoft announced an increase to the cost of Xbox Live Gold in several countries by 20%, for
8840-645: The service will be launching in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in three days time. On November 4, Microsoft announced that the service would be launched on November 29 in Argentina and Israel . The service also appeared in the following month in Slovakia and Turkey . The service was launched in China in late 2014. As Microsoft developed the original Xbox console, online gaming
8944-472: The stock images sometimes associated with certain games or game characters. On Xbox 360, individual gamerpics are available, but they are usually bundled into packs. It is also possible to take "Public" pictures (which are shown to all that view a profile, unless the user has a different "personal" picture set) which can be taken of avatars while using the avatar editor. On Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, players are able to upload custom images of their choice through
9048-518: The successor to the Xbox 360, the Xbox One , on May 21, 2013. On April 20, 2016, Microsoft announced the end of production of new Xbox 360 hardware, though the company will continue to provide hardware and software support for the platform as selected Xbox 360 games are playable on Xbox One. The Xbox 360 continued to be supported by major publishers with new games well into the Xbox One's lifecycle. New titles were still being released in 2018. The Xbox 360 continues to have an active player base years after
9152-735: The system attempts to match individuals based on their estimated skill level. If two individuals are competing head-to-head and have the same estimated skill level with low estimate uncertainty, they should each have roughly a 50% chance of winning a match. In this way, the system attempts to make every match as competitive as possible. In order to prevent abuse of the system, the majority of ranked games have relatively limited options for matchmaking. By design, players cannot easily play with their friends in ranked games. However, these countermeasures have failed due to techniques such as alternate account(s) and system flaws where each system has its own individual TrueSkill rating. To provide less competitive games,
9256-617: The system supports unranked Player Matches , which allow individuals of any skill level to be paired (often including "guests" on an account). Such matches do not contribute to the TrueSkill rating. The Microsoft Store is the current digital marketplace for the Xbox ecosystem starting in 2017 for the Xbox One. It is available on consoles and on Xbox's website (as well as its own website), offering games from across all of Xbox's generations, in addition to movies, television shows, and multiple apps available as streaming services for music or television. Xbox Games Store (formerly Xbox Live Marketplace)
9360-505: The system's discontinuation. Speaking to Engadget at E3 2019 after the announcement of Project Scarlett , the next-generation of Xbox consoles after the Xbox One, Phil Spencer stated that there were still "millions and millions of players" active on the Xbox 360. After the launch of the Xbox Series X and S by the end of 2020, the Xbox 360 still had a 17.7% market share of all consoles in use in Mexico; comparatively, newer systems like
9464-420: The three-year extended coverage for "General Hardware Failures". The newer Xbox 360 S and E models indicate system overheating when the console's power button begins to flash red, unlike previous models where the first and third quadrant of the ring would light up red around the power button if overheating occurred. The system will then warn the user of imminent system shutdown until the system has cooled, whereas
9568-458: The throughput of a broadband connection and the storage space of a hard disk drive , and thus these features would be vital to the new platform. This would allow not only for significant downloadable content, such as new levels, maps, weapons, challenges and characters, to be downloaded quickly and stored, but also would make it possible to standardize bandwidth intensive features such as voice communication. Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates both had
9672-421: The turn of the century. When the Xbox launched on November 15, 2001, the as-yet unnamed online service was destined for a Summer 2002 deployment. Xbox Live was finally given a name at E3 2002 when the service was unveiled in its entirety. Sound-dampened booths and broadband-connected Xbox consoles—featuring an early version of Unreal Championship —demonstrated the service on the show floor. The Epic title
9776-439: The week starting January 23 through January 27 as compensation. On November 12, 2009, Dennis Durkin, COO of Microsoft's interactive entertainment business, announced that November 10, 2009, the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 marked the busiest day ever on Xbox Live, with over two million active users simultaneously. On February 5, 2010, Marc Whitten announced that Xbox Live had reached 23 million members. On
9880-414: The weeks following the console's launch. Games targeted specifically for the region, such as Chromehounds , Ninety-Nine Nights , and Phantasy Star Universe , were also released in the console's first year. Microsoft also had the support of Japanese developer Mistwalker , founded by Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi . Mistwalker's first game, Blue Dragon , was released in 2006 and had
9984-618: Was a unified storefront for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One which offered both free and premium content for download including Xbox Live Arcade titles, Xbox indie games , original Xbox games , Xbox 360 game demos, game expansion material (e.g. extra maps, vehicles, songs), trailers, gamer pictures and themes, television shows, music videos , movie rentals, Apps and games and more. On November 6, 2006, Microsoft announced Microsoft Movies & TV (Microsoft Films & TV in other supported countries) (formerly Xbox Video Marketplace, Xbox Video and Zune Video), an exclusive video store accessible through
10088-461: Was conceived in early 2003. In February 2003, planning for the Xenon software platform began, and was headed by Microsoft's Vice President 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
10192-538: Was designated as one of the key pillars for the greater Xbox strategy. Sega had made an attempt to capitalize on the ever-growing online gaming scene when it launched the Dreamcast video game console in 1999, including online support as standard, with the SegaNet service in North America and Dreamarena in Europe. Nevertheless, due to lack of widespread broadband adoption at the time, the Dreamcast shipped with only
10296-727: Was expanded from its previous iteration on the original Xbox and received regular updates during the console's lifetime. Available in free and subscription-based varieties, Xbox Live allows users to play games online ; download games (through Xbox Live Arcade ) and game demos; purchase and stream music, television programs, and films through the Xbox Music and Xbox Video portals; and access third-party content services through media streaming applications. In addition to online multimedia features, it allows users to stream media from local PCs. Several peripherals have been released, including wireless controllers , expanded hard drive storage, and
10400-525: Was not able to supply enough systems to meet initial consumer demand in Europe or North America, selling out completely upon release in all regions except in Japan. Forty thousand units were offered for sale on auction site eBay during the initial week of release, 10% of the total supply. By year's end, Microsoft had shipped 1.5 million units, including 900,000 in North America, 500,000 in Europe, and 100,000 in Japan. In May 2008, Microsoft announced that 10 million Xbox 360s had been sold and that it
10504-436: Was one of the flagship titles for the service, which was slated for a debut on November 15, 2002, marking the anniversary of the Xbox launch. Microsoft announced that 50 Xbox Live titles would be available by the end of 2003. Utilizing the required broadband bandwidth, Xbox Live featured a unified gaming "Friends List", as well as a single identity across all titles (regardless of the publisher), and standardized voice chat with
10608-415: 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, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, and Russia. In its first year in the market, the system was launched in 36 countries, more countries than any other console has launched in
10712-609: Was suspended for using his surname "Gaywood" in his username attracted controversy. In February 2009, Xbox Live Lead Program Manager for Enforcement Stephen Toulouse clarified the service's policy on sexual identification, stating that "Expression of any sexual orientation [...] is not allowed in Gamertags" but that the company is "examining how we can provide it in a way that won't get misused". Changes announced in March 2010 permit Xbox Live members to express sexual orientation in their gamertags and profiles. The Gamerscore (G)
10816-456: Was the "first current generation gaming console" to surpass the 10 million figure in the US. In the US, the Xbox 360 was the leader in current-generation home console sales until June 2008, when it was surpassed by the Wii. By the end of March 2011, Xbox 360 sales in the US had reached 25.4 million units. Between January 2011 and October 2013, the Xbox 360 was the best-selling console in the United States for these 32 consecutive months. By
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