PTE80: Xbox 360 - Nine Years On...

[Neon Ignition]

Yes, it really has been that long. In a few days time the Xbox 360 will officially be nine years old and set to reach the hallowed number of ten by the skin of its teeth before the reaper comes to take it to the Console Mausoleum in the sky. Microsofts second attempt at pushing to the top of the pack after prematurely axing the first Xbox saw them be the first to get to market this gen and what resulted was a system that has been very much at many gamers hearts, some younger players will literally have grown up and it be their only console.

They might not have broken out of third place with the system but it has ultimately led to the company being firmly regarded as a games making corporate player having seen many favourite games come out on the system and having weathered numerous troubles such as the RRoD saga.

As it enters the twilight of its commercial life, what do you think of the MS's second jolly green giant?

[charlesr]

Really enjoyed my 360 games and the media player browser and netflix etc. But many of the games were sequels and have further sequels e.g. Forza, so there are only 6-10 games I'm considering keeping, e.g. Raiden Fighters Aces, Deadly Premonition, Stoked.

[BaronSqwelch]

The console that got me back into games in a big way...after the Saturn died a death I played games less and less.
Saw a Fight Night 3 review in the Metro and bought one later that day...and a new HD TV.

Only problem was the RROD...I had it twice so not as unlucky as some, fixed for free both times though.

[Dogg Thang]

I love some of the games. What is unfortunate for me is that the RRoD overshadowed everything for me. I got hit just as I started GTAIV and I never really forgave the console. Any multi-platform games I bought on the PS3 from then on because I was afraid it would happen again and so I only then played a few exclusives on the 360.

Gears of War is the obvious big name, new IP success story of the 360 and, for me, that was well deserved. I think the two sequels had their strengths and some weaknesses too but, generally, I loved the series. I did enjoy the original more than the sequels but that was because the atmosphere was different and the threat of the enemies was stronger (the Boomers were terrifying in the first one). Early on, Dead Rising was astounding too. I had never ever seen or imagined so many zombies on screen as I saw in that game. And there was so much to play with in the weapons. The game had its weaknesses but it hugely impressed me.

But my first memory of the 360 will always be the RRoD.

[Neil]

Without question the console I have played more than any other in my lifetime has to get some major respect from me.
Hardware reliability wise iffy at best I know but what with the games (Gears and beers! 25,000 kills for me in that ) and Xbox live being so damn good it was perfect for me/my group of friends and pretty much made sure my PS3 hardly ever got switched on. Had three on the go at one point, UK, US and Jap units, the Japanese one for the Cave shooters which were never as good as the kits I had for my Astro but a hell of a lot cheaper! I never actually had one RROD on me either, must have got lucky, so yeah perfect for me which is why I'll probably plump for a One over a PS4 in the new year...

[chipsgravy]

The biggest problem for me was the reliability. Which meant that as soon as I had a PS3 I never really went back to it, I know I probably missed out on a lot of great games but for me the XBox 360 not being turned on is the equivalent of schrodinger's cat.

['Press Start']

My fav console of last gen. I poured so much time into Halo 3 online and it ranks as one of my most memorable gaming experiences of all time. Online gaming was always much better in my experience. Exclusives seemed to have the edge on the 360 and I much preferred the controller for all games bar DMC type stuff.

I purchased one when the Elite versions came out, so a waited a good year like I am this gen. The online infrastructure and store was much better although having streaming services behind the pay wall was a crap move. I am still loving my 360 and cleaning up the last games before moving onto a PS4/Wii U combo.

[Shozuki]

Own one but am indifferent to it

Broke every 5 seconds, rubbish exclusives.

Was the best 3rd party console and best online, but I didn't care too much about that...

[EvilBoris]

My console of that generation, up there with the PS2 and Gamecube for me

[stevie vip 99]

Brilliant.
Had a couple break down but also put 1000's of hours into so had some major use.
Games like gears and halo 3/reach and of course trials HD, more hours into that than any other game in my life.
Xbox live was an outstanding success that changed gaming and so were the achievements, no ones bothered with them now but they were truly addictive.
Made some great gaming friends through live.
Also some stunning arcade games.
My favourite system of all time.

[speedlolita]

Aside from it being glaringly obvious that Xbox Live was a superior online gaming service to PSN, I also found that the controller may be one of the best ever.

Exclusives wise I can't remember too much to my taste, certainly not enough to keep me owning one now. I sure did enjoy Bullet Witch though...

Wasn't an achievement hunter sadly.

[Wools]

Second only to the PlayStation as the greatest console ever made.

It did not have the greatest number of exclusives but Halo, Fable, Gears of War, Project Gotham, Forza were some of the genres best. Xbox Live Arcade was a pioneer, multiform games were best on Xbox 360, it had the best controller, most reasonable price and the expansion nature of the early consoles (Adding Wi-Fi, Hard Drives) were instrumental in the early stages of slowly allowing people to buy the console.

I have my fingers crossed the PS4 & Xbox One match that generation. Despite some people moaning about the Wii, Xbox 360 & PS3 generation, I think we'll look back 10 years from now and begin to realise how class it was. Better than the GC, PS2 & Xbox generation for me.

[DeathAdder]

I much prefer the PS3, but I enjoyed Fable 2 very much.

I never play online. I might see the two differently if I had to compare PSN with XBL, but the better reliability, better exclusives IMO and the region-free games mean PS3 was most-used in my house.

[Yakumo]

The 360 was the console that really got me back in to gaming. After the Dreamcast had died I ended up with a Wii. All of that controller moving crap soon started to piss me off. There were some great games and games that should have been great but we're ultimately ruined by stupid motion controls. About two years later I began to get a little pissed off that all the big names were coming out on the 360 and PS3 so the Wii was sold ( never looked back either ) and a 360 elite was bought. I never had that RROD and still use the same system today, 7 years on. It's a fantastic console full of so many great games. I'm so happy I bought one.

[nakamura]

Probably my least favourite console of all time. Ushered in an era of unfinished games, horrible western design values where we have ended up with ****e like Destiny. Can't stand games like Gears of War, Fable and Gotham never recaptured the brilliant original Xbox game. Not devoid of quality software of course but almost all are not exclusive. Also the much touted JRPGs were pretty much all garbage as the genre descended into nasty clich?s.

The generation itself did improve later on with a few titles living up to their billing but the whole era reeked of disappointment for me.
Oh and reliability stank.

On the flip side, Xbox Live was fantastic and despite the fee was well worth it as party chat was such a superb function. Did have lots of fun on games like Fifa and Lost Planet 2.

Annoyingly though, it does house my favourite realistic style car racer ever in Forza Horizon.