The Xbox 360 Is Ten Years Old Today

November 23rd, 2015, 22:03 Posted By: wraggster

A decade ago today thousands of people stood outside electronics retailers in the bitter cold, waiting for their chance to sell an Xbox 360 on eBay. I blame those killer faceplates.
I remember the Xbox 360 launch like it was yesterday, because in the grand scheme of things it was. I wasn’t going to get one, and then at the very last minute I scraped together the cash to add Microsoft’s curvy white box to my video game collection. I bought an HDTV specifically to showcase its higher resolution. Not a flat-screen HDTV mind you, but a massive 100 pound box that could display 720P but was still standard 4:3 ratio, so everything was severely letterboxed.
Why did I need an Xbox 360? Obviously it was for the games. I mean check out this launch lineup:

• Amped 3
• Call of Duty 2
• Condemned: Criminal Origins
• FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup
• GUN
• Kameo: Elements of Power
• Madden NFL 06
• NBA 2K6
• NBA Live 06
• Need for Speed: Most Wanted
• NHL 2K6
• Perfect Dark Zero
• Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie
• Project Gotham Racing 3
• Quake 4
• Ridge Racer 6
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06
• Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland

Okay, maybe it wasn’t the launch line-up. Most of those were upscaled ports, and those that weren’t seemed determined to prove just how plastic-y 3D graphics could be.
No, I’d say it was the promise of Xbox Live Arcade. I’m pretty sure I purchased the Xbox 360 for Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

As for those interchangeable faceplates, don’t knock them. One of the things that got me on then Kotaku-boss Brian Crecente’s radar was an entry in a Best Comment contest that scored me a limited edition Xbox 360 launch faceplate.
I’d say share your favourite Xbox 360 memory below, but many of you are still playing it. Maybe share your favourite memory up to this point?.

http://www.kotaku.co.uk/2015/11/22/t...ears-old-today

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