Microsoft have ceased production of Xbox 360 consoles today after ten years and five months of being on the market, according to a blog post by Xbox boss, Phil Spencer earlier today.
In the post, Spencer wrote: “While we’ve had an amazing run, the realities of manufacturing a product over a decade old are starting to creep up on us. Which is why we have made the decision to stop manufacturing new Xbox 360 consoles. We will continue to sell existing inventory of Xbox 360 consoles, with availability varying by country.”
The console, which turned ten years old last November, is widely recognised to have had the best software library of the last console generation, with Spencer referencing the Gears of War franchise and that the Xbox 360 built upon what the original Xbox started with Halo. Spencer also mentioned the Kinect that first featured on the Xbox 360, which he called an “industry-leading technical innovation.”
Whilst the Xbox 360 did not sell as many consoles as the Nintendo Wii, it enjoyed greater longevity thanks to the Xbox Live services. Spencer touted the success of the Xbox 360 and Xbox Live, writing: “Thanks to the Xbox 360, we evolved Xbox Live from the original Xbox into the thriving online gaming community it is today. And the console became a beloved gaming and entertainment hub with over 78 billion gaming hours played, nearly 486 billion Gamerscore on 27 billion achievements and over 25 billion hours spent in apps over its lifetime.”
With the PlayStation 4 dominating the current console market, having sold nearly double the amount of consoles as the Xbox One, it made sense to continue supporting the Xbox 360 for as long as it was feasibly possible, and whilst the Xbox One has not performed badly in terms of sales, it has not been the best seller Microsoft hoped for. The Xbox 360, however, has retained a lot of its audience. Spencer states that although they have ceased console production, they will continue to support the console’s install base. He wrote that:
– Xbox 360 owners will continue to receive Xbox Live services for their console, such as online multiplayer gaming and parties, access to the apps they use today, and Games with Gold and Deals with Gold.
– Xbox Live servers that support Xbox 360 services will also remain online and active. Our Xbox 360 fans can continue to play their favourite games with the full support of Xbox Live.
– 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.
– Any Xbox 360 hardware will still be supported at xbox.com/support.
– And Xbox One owners will be able to continue to enjoy available Xbox 360 games through Xbox One Backward Compatibility – at no additional cost.
With rumours abound that Microsoft are prototyping a variety of Xbox devices, it could be a case that the Xbox One is not long for this world either, especially with the PS4 ‘NEO’ and Nintendo NX rumoured to be around the corner. The move to stop producing Xbox 360 consoles could be interpreted as the diversion of resources to the new project.
In any case, it’s been a wondrous ten years, Xbox 360. Rest easy, old boy.
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