Xbox One, the Future of Gaming or Just Another Console? (Part Two)

Continuing Station 1621's analysis of Microsoft's gaming console history and what it means for their newly announced Xbox One, we arrive to their second console, the Xbox 360.  Competing against Sony's Playstation 3 and, a new competitor, the Nintendo Wii, the Xbox 360 enjoyed historic successes and baffling failures over its ongoing lifespan.  The history and legacy left behind by Microsoft's second generation console (so far) provide an excellent lens in trying to determine the future direction and handling of the Xbox One.

Launched on November 22nd, 2005, the Xbox 360 arrived at the height of popularity of the original Xbox.  This new Xbox would incorporate IBM's specialty made Xenon processor.  Consisting of three independent processing cores, the Xenon processor promised to produce the most powerful console to date and one that could outlast the ever-improving graphical programming found in today's games.  Just ponder for a moment about the graphics in game in 2006 and compare them to say Halo 4 today.  This processor has been able to handle anything thrown at it throughout the years.  In terms of graphics, the Xbox 360 boasts enhanced graphics constructed by ATI and brought Microsoft's gaming console into the High Definition era.  The user interface was also updated and aptly dubbed the "Xbox 360 Dashboard."  Xbox Live saw some upgrades with the addition of the Xbox Live Arcade and Marketplace.  Added emphasis on streaming video and music was brought to the 360 as well, bringing the console up to date in the new age of downloadable music.  The improvements implemented by Microsoft from the Xbox to the Xbox 360 were vast and changed how people used consoles forever.

When sizing up the Xbox 360 to the Playstation 3, both consoles boasted comparable specifications.  For example, the technology used to create their separate processing units stems from the root IBM processor (both the Xenon and Playstation's Cell were stripped down versions of IBM's 970 PowerPC).  The only major difference between the two consoles, in the eyes of the consumer, was the Blu-Ray player incorporated on the Playstation 3.  The Xbox 360 supported high definition but has never been able to read Blu-Ray discs, a serious miscalculation in the eyes of some by Microsoft.

The Dreaded Red Ring of Death

Trying to cope with the high demand for the 360, Microsoft launched the console after only starting mass production 69 days before.  While the 360's launch was a success worldwide, a myriad of technical problems were faced by those who purchased the console early on.  These technical difficulties, now nicknamed "The Red Ring of Death" for the three red rings that would display on the front of the console, were killing consoles left and right.  This man's story entails how he had a total of four different 360's malfunction.  Any person who had the misfortune to see these lights resonate from their console knew their gaming days were over.  In my own personal ownership, my original 360 actually never died.  As my friend's Xbox went down, I took it as a sign (we purchased ours on the same day) and would always be careful when playing it.  I placed a fan on it whenever it was on after reading many of the 360's problems stemmed from a cooling and ventilation problem.  While I was lucky, many more spent hundreds of dollars and countless hours dealing with extremely questionable technical support in order to get back to gaming.  Years later, Microsoft would admit that they knowingly produced Xbox 360 consoles with hardware that was not up to par.  They assumed they could make changes on the fly and the system would work fine.  While this type of business practice can work for operating systems which can be updated quickly, the rushing the Xbox 360 to production and not considering possible technical problems almost killed the console.

Microsoft had a serious problem on their hands.  They knew this setback could push many players over to Sony's Playsation 3.  Fortunately for Microsoft, Sony and their Playstation 3 were busy failing as well.  Launching their PS3 at nearly $500, Sony had effectively miscalculated the demand price of their own product.  While many loyal gamers bought the PS3, the average consumer was more drawn to the cheaper Xbox 360.  Looking back on how Microsoft took advantage of Sony's setbacks, Robbie Bach, ex-president of entertainment and devices at Microsoft stated this about Sony's failures: "The transition to PlayStation 3 was really, really bad. And really hard. They mismanaged their partners, they mismanaged their cost structure. They made their next platform so complicated that developers couldn’t develop for it.”  Take that for what its worth but he does make some good points.  Sony's Playstation 3 was/is much more difficult to make games on than the Xbox 360.  Development for the 360, like the original Xbox, mirrors many of the techniques used to create programming on computers.  Sony's system is not as user friendly and ultimately caused the Playstation 3 to release with three times less games available than the new Xbox.  Sony's botched release of the Playstation 3 indirectly saved the Xbox 360 from the public backlash against its myriad of technical problems.

Left to Right :
My original Xbox 360, Xbox 360 Elite
and Limited Edition Halo 4 Xbox 360 S

The many years after the "Red Ring Crisis," the 360 continued to thrive.  Microsoft constantly introduced new updates, pricing structures and even new console variations to the Xbox 360.  The first of these variations was the Xbox 360 Elite.  The same design, sans a new black color theme, the Xbox 360 included a 120 GB storage system. This new hard drive was the biggest yet for any Xbox 360.  Microsoft's motive for releasing this console was to address the growing demand to store games' downloadable content, music, movies/videos and pictures on one's Xbox.  In addition, the Elite also officially ushered in the "games on demand" era on Xbox Live.  Not only could you download small arcade games but now the Xbox Live Marketplace offered classic full games such as Halo CE and Fable.  This on demand era has become a cornerstone in design for the Xbox One and undoubtedly will play a major role in Microsoft's next-gen console design.

The newest Xbox 360, the Xbox 360 S, (pictured to the far right) underwent cosmetic and some hardware changes.  The console was glossier, smaller and most importantly vented properly.  Microsoft added larger fans and a more breathable construction in order rid the 360 S of any possible overheating issues.  Since the Xbox 360 S's release, I haven't heard of too many red rings appearing on consoles (not positive if that's even still a feature).  In addition to these changes, Microsoft introduced the world to Kinect (pictured to the left).  This motion sensor device aimed to introduce the Xbox 360 into the gaming community created by the Nintendo Wii.

Introduced on November 19th, 2006, the Nintendo Wii discovered a whole new market within the gaming community.  Focusing on casual gamers, even those who had never played a video game, the Nintendo Wii used enhanced motion sensor technology to play games.  The ever popular Wii Sports, which came standard with any Wii console, became a household sensation.  Now a person could stand in their living room and play virtual golf or tennis just by swinging a controller.  Programs such as Wii Fit expanded the scope of gaming consoles as they became a viable option for aerobic exercise and training.  Per the number of consoles in households, the Nintendo Wii leads by a strong margin of 22.4 million consoles, making it the most popular console of this generation.

Microsoft's Kinect seeks to penetrate the market ripped open by the Nintendo Wii.  Utilizing a person's motion without a controller, the Kinect integrates an even greater amount of movement into the gaming sphere.  In addition to movement, the Kinect also allows voice activated commands to open apps and games on the Xbox 360.  While sales of the Kinect and the Xbox 360 S have gone up over time, the Kinect was not a game changer in terms of the number of consoles sold each year.  The creation of the Kinect represents a dedication on Microsoft's part to the casual console owner, a fact that disturbs many hardcore gamers.  It will be interesting to see how Microsoft intends to build off the Kinect sensor with the release of the Xbox One.

Sales throughout each consoles lifespan

Console sales as of 5/31/2013

If the Xbox 360 showed the public anything, its how Microsoft brought mistakes on themselves and how they went about fixing them.  Despite many technical problems, the 360 has actually had the longest successful lifespan of any console.  It was only until this year that Sony's PS3 has rebounded from its lackluster start (See chart to the right).  While there has been some decline in 360's sold this year, this fact mostly stems from Microsoft essentially dedicating all their resources to the Xbox One; much like what we saw when the company moved on from the original Xbox to push forward the 360.  The different variations of the Xbox 360 and the Kinect Sensor show Microsoft trying to stay technologically advanced while trying to keep pace against two very different competitors (the Playstation 3 and the Wii)  In my opinion, these business practices suggest Microsoft is trying to place themselves in between both competitor consoles. Whether this is a good move or not for the Xbox One remains to be seen but it definitely will be interesting to watch if Microsoft mirrors these business practices for their newest console.  The Xbox 360 has a storied history and its success and failures have shaped the next generation of consoles.



This is Part Two of a three part article on the history of Microsoft's console and how the Xbox One will shape the future of gaming and entertainment.  Stay tuned for the final article reviewing everything we know about the Xbox One soon.  More transmissions from Station 1621 will be coming today as well!