X-Box 360

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(Texts Copied from the X-Box 360 Wikipedia article)

The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft, and was developed in cooperation with IBM, ATI, and SiS. Its Xbox Live service allows players to compete online and download content such as arcade games, game demos, trailers, TV shows, and movies. The Xbox 360 is the successor to the Xbox, and competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles.

The Xbox 360 was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detailed launch and game information divulged later that month at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). It is the first console to provide a near-simultaneous launch across the three major regions. The console sold out completely at release (with the exception of Japan) and, as of September 30, 2007, 13.4 million units have been sold worldwide.The Xbox 360 is currently avaiable in three different versions, the "Arcade" console, the "Premium" console, and the "Elite" console, each having its own set of included accessories and features.

Overview

Development

Known during development as Xenon, Xbox 2, Xbox FS, Xbox Next or NextBox, the Xbox 360 was conceived in early 2003. In February 2003, planning for the Xenon software platform began, and was headed by Microsoft vice president J Allard. That month, Microsoft held an event for 400 developers in Bellevue, Washington, to recruit support for the system. Also that month, Peter Moore, former president of Sega of America, joined Microsoft. On August 12, 2003, ATI signed on to produce the graphic processing unit for the new console, a deal which was publicly announced two days later. The following month, IBM agreed to develop the triple-core CPU for the console. Before the launch of the Xbox 360, several alpha development kits were spotted using Apple's Power Mac G5 hardware. This was due to the system's PowerPC 970 processor running the same PowerPC architecture that the Xbox 360 would eventually run under IBM's Xenon processor.

Launch

The Xbox 360 was released on November 22, 2005, in the United States and Canada; December 2, 2005, in Europe and December 10, 2005, in Japan. It was later launched in Mexico, Colombia, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile, India, Brazil, Poland, Czech Republic and Russia. Microsoft has additionally announced official launches in: Hungary, Slovakia, and the Philippines. In its first year on the market, the system launched in 36 countries, more countries than any console has launched in a single year. Due to its early launch, the Xbox 360 has a one-year lead on both of its competitors, Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii.