The Xbox 360 opens the high-definition console generation early

What happened

Launching first was a calculated risk. It meant selling hardware before the components were fully mature, and the cost showed up in a widespread failure that owners named after the ring of warning lights on the front of the machine. Microsoft eventually extended warranties and set aside a very large sum to cover repairs and replacements. The head start also worked: by the time rivals arrived the console had a substantial installed base and a year of software.

High-definition televisions were spreading through American homes, and the 360 was built to take advantage of them from the start. Its online service had already been running for three years, so the network features that competitors were still designing arrived complete. An integrated storefront sold full games, add-ons and small downloadable titles, and an achievement system attached a running score to a player's account across everything they owned, a small idea with a surprisingly strong grip.

The console had a long and successful life, particularly in North America and the United Kingdom, and it made online multiplayer the default expectation for large releases. Its download service became the most important outlet for small studios of the period. Partial compatibility with the earlier Xbox library kept a number of older favorites in circulation as well. Hardware reliability remains the blemish on its record, an expensive reminder that shipping early transfers risk from the calendar to the factory floor and then to the customer.

The world at the time

Flat-panel televisions were replacing bulky tubes and high-definition broadcasting was arriving, so a console limited to standard definition would look dated quickly. Sony was preparing an expensive machine around a new disc format, and Nintendo was working on something that ignored the resolution question entirely. Broadband penetration had reached the point where online features could be assumed.

What it changed

Achievements and gamerscore were copied by every platform. The digital marketplace gave independent developers a route to console audiences that had not existed before. Rising development costs for high-definition assets squeezed mid-sized studios out of the market, accelerating a split between very large productions and very small ones that has never closed.