Microsoft has ended ‘Xbox 360’ production; fare thee well
It is with somber tones, ashen eyes, and a strained sadness that I announce that the Xbox 360 has ceased production. Man, my Xbox 360 and me spent some serious fucking time together. Or rather, my three Xbox 360s and me spent some serious fucking time together. From Gears to the Mass Effect series to Fallout 3, I probably chalked up thousands of hours of my twenty-somethings on Microsoft’s sophomore console.
After a successful ten-and-a-half-year run, the Xbox 360 is officially saying goodbye. One might even say it’s turning around 360 degrees and walking away.
Announcing the news on the Xbox Wire today, Microsoft’s Phil Spencer wrote a few paragraphs about the console’s success. And it has indeed been successful, selling upwards of 78 million units as of 2013. Thanks to strong third-party support and some early stumbling by Sony (“five-hundred-ninety-nine U.S. dollars”), the Xbox 360 came out strong to surpass its predecessor and give Microsoft an edge for most of last console generation.
“Xbox 360 means a lot to everyone in Microsoft,” Spencer wrote. “And 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.”
Xbox Live will remain active, Spencer said, as will the Xbox 360’s various stores and online services. The Xbox One also supports backwards compatibility for some 360 games, and Microsoft has been gradually adding new games to the list over the past weeks and months.
The Xbox 360 leaves behind one hell of legacy, full of memorable gaming moments both good and bad: achievement collecting, Kinect, exclusive DLC, red rings of death, Halo, Gears of War, Mass Effect, Lost Odyssey, and so much more.