
Microsoft is ending Xbox 360 production more than 10 years after its debut - doppp
http://venturebeat.com/2016/04/20/microsoft-is-ending-xbox-360-production-more-than-10-years-after-its-debut/
======
asimuvPR
IMO, the amazing thing about the 360 was how they were able to successfully
continue selling it in spite of having the ring of death issues[0]. I know
people who would go and buy a new machine when theirs died without thinking
about it twice. One even gave me their 360 when the ONE came out. Microsoft
sure knows how to build brand loyalty.

[0][https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_360_technical_problems](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_360_technical_problems)

~~~
draw_down
Maybe... but I saw recently that the PS4 is outselling the Xbox One two-to-
one. I'm not on top of that world enough to know all the reasons why, but the
"ring of death" could be one.

~~~
Aleman360
That's more likely explained by the fact that PS4 launched $100 cheaper and is
more powerful.

~~~
ekianjo
Its more about brand recognition than anything else. Now they are at parity
pricing and they still dont close the gap.

------
tomyws
I'm suprised the topic of emulation hasn't been raised yet! The Xbox 360
emulator project Xenia[0] has made great progress on perserving a generation
of games[1].

[0][https://github.com/benvanik/xenia](https://github.com/benvanik/xenia)
[1][http://xenia.jp/compatibility/](http://xenia.jp/compatibility/)

~~~
aqzman
I've been following the progress of that project over the past few months, and
it's amazing to see what they've achieved in such a short time-span, given the
difficulty of the task.

Personally the emulator is of no use to me, but like you said, it's all about
the preservation of the generation of games. In 50 years will it even be
possible to find a working Xbox 360? Probably not. That's why projects like
this are needed.

------
buckbova
PS2 went on for 13 years.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_2)

> Sony finally announced that the PlayStation 2 had been discontinued after 13
> years of production – one of the longest runs for a video game console.

~~~
TazeTSchnitzel
Nintendo's Family Computer (aka the Nintendo Entertainment System in the rest
of the world) was released in 1983 and only discontinued in Japan in 2003.
Even after that they still repaired consoles until 2007.

~~~
barbs
Sega's 8-bit Master System console is _still_ being sold in Brazil.

[http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/brazil-is-a-video-
game-...](http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/brazil-is-a-video-game-
alternate-universe-where-sega-beat-nintendo)

~~~
ekianjo
Who makes them now though?

~~~
qbrass
Tectoy

[http://www.tectoy.com.br/master-system-
evolution-132-jogos/p...](http://www.tectoy.com.br/master-system-
evolution-132-jogos/p/995020351822)

~~~
ekianjo
Are they paying a license to Sega then?

------
sremani
I am not a hardware guy, but honestly, they should mini-fy XB360 and make it
appleTV competitor but with a huge game library.

~~~
JohnTHaller
If it wasn't going to eat into Xbox One sales, I'm sure Microsoft would
consider it. The Xbox 360 makes a far better media center than the Xbox One
does. The apps on the 360 crash less then on the One and dealing with crashed
apps on the 360 is much more reliable.

For example, when your YouTube app crashes/hangs on the Xbox One, returning to
the menu does nothing as the app pauses/runs in the background. You can hit
the menu button (akin to a right-click) on the YouTube icon and select Quit.
If you run YouTube again, it'll still be running and crashed. The trick is to
menu button and quit YouTube and then run a couple other video apps (usually
Netflix and Hulu do the trick). This is usually enough to fully offload the
YouTube process and allow it to run again.

This is how Microsoft's flagship entertainment console works. In 2016.
Seriously.

Everytime our cat sitter watches our place, I have the Xbox 360 hooked up for
her to watch videos on. It's easier to use and more reliable.

~~~
daveidol
If you quit the app with the menu button then it is quit completely.
Essentially, the "home" functionality works just like on iOS or Android.
You're right that it is not always intuitive in situations when an app is
hanging/frozen, but I'm not sure why you have to open other apps to get it to
quit - I've never had that problem.

Disclosure: I used to work on the Xbox Live team at MSFT but no longer do.

~~~
JohnTHaller
That may be what's supposed to happen and what does in testing, but that's not
real world behavior.

I had the YouTube app crash on my Xbox One just yesterday. I hit menu and
selected quit. Waited a few seconds. Hit menu again and quit wasn't an
available option which should mean that it's done being force quit. Started
YouTube again and it will still hung playing audio with a frozen picture.
Sometimes I'll start it again and it'll just show the YouTube logo for a few
seconds then return to home. It'll often do this a few times in a row. I have
maybe 6 people in my neighborhood with Xbox Ones that all experience the same
issues.

~~~
arcticfox
I can also confirm this.

------
untog
I bought an Xbox 360 about six months ago to serve as a Windows Media Center
extender - while I was at it I picked up GTA5, too. It's still a very
respectable machine, given that it cost me less than $100.

~~~
ethbro
This is why the XBOX 360 has had fairly long legs.

It's no longer "just a game console" and is really in the first generation of
converged, internet-updatable consoles.

And in that generation? Even if your console doesn't run the latest games,
there's still substantial value delivered for a lot of people through Netflix,
social features, casual games, etc. And MS can continue backporting their UI
updates.

~~~
toxican
Is Netflix, Hulu, etc. still behind the Live Gold paywall?

~~~
cwyers
No.

------
ikeboy
Original:
[http://news.xbox.com/2016/04/20/xbox-360-celebrating-10-year...](http://news.xbox.com/2016/04/20/xbox-360-celebrating-10-years/)

------
waspleg
I never owned an xbox, but for games that require a controller and suck with a
mouse and keyboard, the 360 controller is the best one I've used.

~~~
WorldMaker
The Xbox One controller is a decent incremental upgrade on the 360 controller
when you get a chance or find a cheap one in a store. The port on the back of
every Xbox One controller is bog standard USB micro port (just like mobile
phones, PS3/4 controllers, so many other things) and you can just USB plug it
into your PC with no adapter needed.

------
CodeCube
It's been a heck of a run! Thanks, Xbox 360 :)

------
vancatrabbit
And to some it's still more than is needed in an actual games console. Still
many titles to enjoy as an infrequent older gamer.

------
robbiemitchell
Surprised they continued manufacturing them this long. Why wait until three
years after releasing the Xbox One?

~~~
cc438
Just to add to those two other points, the 360 was Microsoft's leading
platform for developing countries and countries with heavy import
restrictions.

For example, Brazil's incredibly protective trade policies requires
electronics to be made locally if they are to be sold at an affordable price
point. The 360 only went on sale there in 2011 when MS opened up a local
manufacturing facility and it was the last refuge of the PS2 which only went
on sale when local production began in 2009. The Brazilian market isn't large
enough for MS to justify duplicate tooling and other custom production
equipment needed to produce a local version of the Xbox One. However, the
decline in demand for the 360 would have led to excess production capacity,
allowing MS to set up a local plant with the excess equipment from
underulitized original production lines.

Also, the 360-specific tooling and production equipment has long since been
paid off which greatly reduces the cost per unit. The 360 provides MS with a
budget offering capable of accessing developing markets which can't support
the $300 pricepoint of a current gen console.

------
webkike
I purchased a 360 a few days ago so that I could play Street Fighter 3: Third
Strike with my friends from back home. It's a fine console, but I was worried
about the prospects of Microsoft shutting down Xbox Live at some point.

~~~
kbenson
> It's a fine console, but I was worried about the prospects of Microsoft
> shutting down Xbox Live at some point.

Well, as long as they still need to run Xbox Live for the Xbox One, it's
probably in their interest to provide the (relatively) small amount of work to
keep it functioning with the Xbox 360. Plus, they charge for the service, so
as long as Live makes them money (it does![1]), they are likely to keep it
going.

1: [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2015-10-22-xbox-
live-r...](http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2015-10-22-xbox-live-
revenues-up-as-microsofts-overall-revenues-fall)

~~~
cwyers
Especially since they're offering the ability to run Xbox 360 games on Xbox
One, including support for Live. I can't imagine it's any more work at all to
keep Xbox Live running for actual Xbox 360s if they need to keep it running
for 360 games running in emulators.

------
PTRFRLL
> Gamers will also be able to continue to buy over 4,000 Xbox 360 games or
> Xbox 360 accessories at retail and through our Xbox 360 store online, _while
> supplies last._

Guess I need to stock up on 360 controllers

------
Keyframe
84 million worldwide run is respectable! Is there any breakdown per region?
I'm somehow under impression that Xbox360 was, primarily, US hit.

------
vblord
Good job on the awesome product! __insert hand clapping smiley face here __

~~~
Grazester
Which iteration? My roommate went through two of them due to the red ring of
death.

~~~
justinlardinois
The S and E models don't have that problem. I've heard some of the later
chipsets for the original model also fixed the problem.

From what I've heard, the 360 was original designed with an environmentally-
friendly (read: not lead) solder that had never really been used in a major
product. The original design already had heat problems and the solder turned
out to be easily melted.

~~~
vblord
I must have had S or E... because I never had that problem. My kids and I
still play it to this day.

~~~
justinlardinois
The original model is the one with the memory card slots on the front (and the
only one that comes in white). The S came out in ~2010 has an angled, thinner-
in-the-middle design, and the E (came out when the Xbox One was announced)
looks like a smaller Xbox One with rounded corners.

The problems I mentioned weren't universal, but they were about as close to it
as you could be. Maybe you had an S or an original model that was later in its
production.

The 360 has a one year general warranty, but the red ring problems were so
widespread that Microsoft added a three year warranty for red rings
specifically.

------
johnchristopher
But... I haven't had the time to play Fable II yet :(.

