The Xbox was a sixth generation video game console produced by Microsoft, and launched in late 2001. It was Microsoft's initial entry into the video gaming business, directly competing against Sony's PlayStation and Ninendo's GameCube that were already ruling the market.

The Xbox was discontinued in late 2006, and it was replaced by a seventh generation video game console by the name of Xbox 360. Originally, Xbox 360 was launched in two versions: Core and Premium.

Xbox Core was discontinued later, and currently the three running versions of Xbox 360 are: Xbox 360 Arcade, Xbox 360 Premium, and Xbox 360 Elite. Depending upon the requirements, the user can choose between these three models that come with varying Hard Disk Drive capacity of 20 GB, 60 GB and 120 GB. Controller Input also comes as Wired or Wireless or a combination of the two. Over 22 million consoles of Xbox have been sold worldwide till 2008.

HOLIDAY BUNDLES

Xbox from its original days has kept up the tradition of being offered with two video game titles each year during the Holiday season. In 2007, the Xbox 360 Premium and Elite models were bundled with Forza 2 and Marve: Ultimate Alliance. For Holiday 2008, the two game titles on offer are Lego Indiana Jones and Kung Fu Panda. Even the Xbox 360 Arcade will come packaged with Sega Superstars Tennis.

XBOX COMPATIBILITY

The Xbox 360 has been designed to be compatible with the Zune media files. It is also compatible with the iPod, by downloading the Optional Media Update from Xbox LIVE. The Xbox 360 uses iPod's database for media information, and the still pictures stored on the iPod can also be downloaded, but not the videos or podcasts.

XBOX HARDWARE

The main unit of the Xbox 360 has a port on the top where an HDD unit is attached. The Xbox 360 uses a triple-core IBM designed CPU called "Xenon". It contains a memory card which comes in 256 MB or 512 MB sizes. The Graphics processing is managed by ATI's "Xenos".

XBOX ACCESSORIES

Xbox 360 offers both wired and wireless controllers, face-plates for customized play, headsets for voice chat and music, a webcam for videochats, DanceMats for exercising, 3 sizes of memory cards and Hard Disks, a variety of cables, and many other accessories to enhance the Xbox gaming experience for the user.

XBOX MULTI-MEDIA

The Xbox 360 is compatible with videos in wmv format, and also with high-resolution wmvs and MPEGs. The gaming console can show pictures and conduct slide-shows, along with a support of playback music and controls. Pictures, Videos and Audio can be played through usual storage devices, or Xbox memory cards and hard disk.

XNA COMMUNITY

It is planned to become an inherent feature of Xbox in the near future where the users can download the user-created games that will made in association with the Microsoft XNA Game Studio.

XBOX GAMES

The Xbox 360 was launched with 14 game titles, and within a short span there are nearly one thousand game titles of Xbox 360 launched in the market till date. The "Game Critics Awards" 2007 awarded the Xbox 360 with 11 awards, which was the maximum number of wins by any gaming platform. Xbox 360 has sold an average of 7.5 games per console, which is by far the largest number for any gaming console in the world.

SUMMARY: Xbox has contributed greatly to the expansion of video gaming industry worldwide. With its constantly improving technology and creative software, Xbox has taken the gaming experience to a new level for its users.