Formfactor

Home console · 2005

Xbox 360

Xbox 360 in White, three-quarter view (illustration)
Illustration — archival photograph pending

Microsoft's second console, launched a year ahead of its rivals. Over eleven years it went through three industrial designs and many internal revisions.

6 finishesShowing White

Introduced
22 November 2005
Revision
Original

The launch finish for both the Core and Pro configurations.

Finishes

6 documented

Hardware revisions

4 documented

  1. 22 November 2005

    Original

    The launch design, sold as the Core (no hard drive) and the Pro (20 GB hard drive). Later motherboard revisions reduced heat and power draw and added HDMI.

  2. April 2007

    Elite

    Black finish with a 120 GB hard drive and HDMI output.

  3. June 2010

    Xbox 360 S

    A smaller redesign with built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi, a dedicated Kinect port and touch-sensitive power and eject controls.

  4. June 2013

    Xbox 360 E

    Final redesign, restyled after the Xbox One and with fewer ports than the Xbox 360 S.

Specifications

Record

Manufacturer
Microsoft
Family
Xbox
Category
Home console
Generation
Seventh generation
Announced
12 May 2005
Released
  • 22 November 2005 — North America
  • 2 December 2005 — Europe
  • 10 December 2005 — Japan
Discontinued
20 April 2016

Processors

CPU
IBM Xenon: three PowerPC-based cores at 3.2 GHz, two hardware threads each
Graphics
ATI Xenos at 500 MHz with 10 MB embedded DRAM

Memory

RAM
512 MB GDDR3, shared by CPU and GPU

Media and storage

Optical drive
12× DVD-ROM
HD DVD
External add-on drive (2006)
Hard drive
  • Detachable: 20 GB at launch (Pro)
  • Later 60, 120 and 250 GB
  • Core model shipped without one

Video

Output
Up to 1080p; 1080p support arrived in a 2006 software update
HDMI
From the Elite (2007) onward

Connectivity

Controllers
Up to four wireless
Networking
  • Ethernet
  • Wi-Fi via adapter (original)
  • Built-in 802.11n (Xbox 360 S and E)
Online service
Xbox Live

Physical

Dimensions (original)
309 × 83 × 258 mm
Weight
Not yet documented

History

  1. 12 May 2005

    Unveiled in a television special on MTV rather than at a trade show.

  2. Arrived a year before the Wii and PlayStation 3, making it the first console of its generation.

  3. July 2007

    After widespread failures signaled by three flashing red lights, Microsoft extended the warranty for that fault to three years and took a charge of more than US$1 billion.

  4. November 2010

    The Kinect motion sensor launched; the Xbox 360 S had been designed with a dedicated port for it.

  5. 20 April 2016

    Production ended more than two years after the Xbox One's release.

  1. 2001Xbox (not yet catalogued)
  2. 2005Xbox 360
  3. 2013Xbox One (not yet catalogued)

About this entry

Special editions beyond Halo 3, and the Xbox 360 S in white, have not been catalogued yet.

Sources: Microsoft, Xbox 360 hardware specifications; Microsoft, press release on the extended Xbox 360 warranty (July 2007).