The Xbox 360 – launched on MTV on May 12, 2005 – is the first console to provide a near simultaneous launch across three major regions with wireless controller support.  The console sold out completely at release and as of September 2007, 13.4 million units have been sold worldwide with a variety of three versions. 

Development:  Xenon, Xbox 2, Xbox FS, Xbox Next or Next Box were the initial names during development of Xbox 360.  Before the advent of Xbox 360 using Apple’s Power Mac G5 hardware, several alpha development kids were spotted. 

Xbox 360 launch:  The Xbox 360 was released on November 22, 2005 in the United States of America and Canada.  Microsoft had officially launched Xbox 360 in thirty six countries in its first year of launch, more countries than any console had launched in a single year and because of its early launch, the Xbox 360 has taken the lead on both of its competitors, Sony’s play station 3 and Nintendo’s Wii.

There are three standard variants in Xbox 360.  Xbox 360 Arcade, the Xbox 360 and the Xbox 360 Elite.

The Xbox 360 Core was an entry level now replaced by Xbox 360 Arcade.  The core system is the bundle of composite video cables, capable of only SDTV resolutions.  The Xbox 360 Core may utilize a separately sold 20 or 120 GB Hard Drive.

The Xbox 360 Arcade is the replacement for Xbox 360 Core.  It includes a wireless controller, 256 MB memory unit, composite AV cable, HDMI 1.2 output, 5 Xbox Live Arcade titles with packaging labeled ‘go play’ and also a ‘welcome video’ and several game trailers/demos. 

The Xbox 360 generally called the ‘premium’ or ‘pro’ has all the features of the Xbox 360 core and has a combination of composite cable and component cable.  The Xbox 360 also has a detachable 20 GB Hard Disc Drive which stores downloaded content, compatible with original Xbox games and store game data. 

The Xbox 360 Elite is the fourth and most expensive variation of the console.  It includes a 120 GB Hard Drive and a Matte black finish.  The Elite was released in August 2007. 

On the day of Xbox 360’s release, Microsoft added a basic non-subscription service – Silver – to its already established premium subscription based service called Gold.  The Xbox Live Marketplace designed to download purchased or promotional content offers movie game trailer and game demos.

The Xbox Video Marketplace is an exclusive Video Store to download high definition and standard definition television store and movie on to Xbox 360 console. 

The Xbox Live Arcade is an on-line service used to distribute downloadable video games to Xbox and Xbox 360 owners operated by Microsoft. 

The Xbox 360’s graphical user interface “GUI” is the Xbox 360 dashboard which features five blades and can be launched automatically when the console boots up without a disc.

A new feature called Xbox Original was launched to download original Xbox games directly to Xbox 360