Xbox 360

References

Images

Xbox 360 at the Tokyo Game Show

Xbox 360

video game console

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 23, 2026

Quick Summary

Xbox 360 at the Tokyo Game Show — Xbox 360 at the Tokyo Game Show Microsoft's next-generation Xbox 360 video game machine, shown here mounted in large demonstration units, drawing visitors at the Tokyo Game Show in 2005.

The Xbox 360 is a video game console developed by Microsoft and released in 2005 as the successor to the original Xbox. It competed directly with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii. The Xbox 360 introduced innovations like the Xbox Live online gaming network, which allowed players to compete over the internet. Despite facing intense competition and struggling with profitability, the Xbox 360 became the most-used game console in American homes by 2010, with over 20 million Xbox Live subscribers. A significant issue with the Xbox 360 was its tendency to overheat, a problem Microsoft addressed with the subsequent release of the Xbox One in 2013.123

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

3 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

electronic fighting game
Home console games
…generation of video consoles, the Xbox 360 (2005) and PlayStation 3 (2006), featured still greater integration of proprietary gaming networks and consoles. Although many of the most popular fighting games, such as Tekken and Mortal Kombat, are available in versions for both platforms, players cannot compete across these networks.
Read More
…generation of video consoles, the Xbox 360 (2005) and PlayStation 3 (2006), featured still greater integration of proprietary gaming networks and consoles. Although many of the most popular fighting games, such as Tekken and Mortal Kombat, are available in versions for both platforms, players cannot compete across these networks.
Read More

IBM
…chips for the Microsoft Corporation Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Company Wii game systems. IBM became the first company to generate more than 3,000 patents in one year (2001) and, later, more than 4,000 patents in one year (2008). The company now holds more than 40,000 active patents, which generate…
Read More
…chips for the Microsoft Corporation Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Company Wii game systems. IBM became the first company to generate more than 3,000 patents in one year (2001) and, later, more than 4,000 patents in one year (2008). The company now holds more than 40,000 active patents, which generate…
Read More

Microsoft Corporation
Entry into the gaming and mobile phone markets
…more powerful gaming console, the Xbox 360, was released in 2005. In an intensely competitive market, where the Xbox faced strong pressure from the Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation, Microsoft struggled through the years to make consistent profits from its console. For example, in 2009, the company cut the price…
Read More
…more powerful gaming console, the Xbox 360, was released in 2005. In an intensely competitive market, where the Xbox faced strong pressure from the Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation, Microsoft struggled through the years to make consistent profits from its console. For example, in 2009, the company cut the price…
Read More

Xbox
…Xbox was replaced by Microsoft’s Xbox 360, but, even with a superior console available, many players continued to use the original Xbox and take advantage of the Xbox Live network. Hardware modification and software piracy remained an issue with the Xbox 360, but Microsoft took the dramatic step of banning…
Read More
…Xbox was replaced by Microsoft’s Xbox 360, but, even with a superior console available, many players continued to use the original Xbox and take advantage of the Xbox Live network. Hardware modification and software piracy remained an issue with the Xbox 360, but Microsoft took the dramatic step of banning…
Read More