End of an Era: TiCGN reflects on the Great Xbox 360

Microsoft have officially ended production on what may arguably be one of the greatest consoles ever made. The Xbox 360 launched in 2005, and quickly took the world by storm. The underdog that was Microsoft was finally playing with the big boys in the console market, and they took it in their stride. The Xbox 360 sold well over 80 Million consoles in its 10 year lifecycle, and gave each one of those gamers some of the best gaming years of their lives.

Achievement Unlocked: 10 Years – Thank You, Xbox 360 https://t.co/l2hr8q6iJO

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) April 20, 2016

Groundbreaking games such as Halo, Gears of War and Forza took advantage of the powerful hardware and each of those games became the best selling games in each of their respective genre’s. The console wasn’t without fault, as many experienced the much discussed ‘Red Ring of Death’. Microsoft had a rough time to get where they are now, and with the Xbox 360 living on in their current Xbox console, we can only reflect on the days of endless fun we had while we’re playing Gears of War on Backwards Compatibility.

So to commemorate an icon, our writers have shared some of their most fondest memories:

Lenwood (@lenrulesdaworld)

I think my fondest memory on 360 was watching an entire season of Bleach with my best friend using Movie Party on Netflix. It was a feature many glossed over but to this day I miss it. Being from New York my friends and I were all very close. But only one of them was a big anime guy like myself. When I moved to Florida, I missed being able to just watch a show and laugh about it, or even go into detail about why it was so good. So when Movie Party was introduced it blew our minds. It was the closest experience we had to being in the same room and enjoying the Movie and TV series. That memory sticks with me because it’s something I haven’t experience since and I hope they bring it back in the Anniversary Update.

Nick (@nickodemusx)

What can I say about the Xbox 360? There are seasons where a gamer will go through the motions. Times where a gamer will feel disconnected and grow weary with gaming as a whole. That’s where I was before the Xbox 360 touched down and saved my life. She landed at the most critical time, a year after hurricane Katrina. It was literally just me and my Xbox. She not only provided me with hours upon hours of pleasure but she connected me to a world full of gamers just like me. In a time where I didn’t know where I was going or what I was going to become she provided me with an escape from my troubles. She rejuvenated me with her healing powers, reestablishing the hunger for gaming that was deep inside of me. To this day she is in my top 3 favorite gaming consoles of all time and because of what she did for me in that critical period of my life her position is solidified.

R.I.P. to the Xbox that was the Best Box

Brandon (@bmuny101)

The reason I bought a 360 was because Rare was making games for it. I bought my console Day One with Perfect Dark Zero, Kameo and Madden 06. I was unfortunate enough to get one without the hard drive, so I had to pick one of those up as well. It was a great console that I still own with over 130 games in my collection.

David (@davidyerion)

The Xbox 360 was something in your life and ready to work(most of the time) when everything around me started to fall apart. The Xbox 360 acted as my therapist when I wanted to drink my life away. That console kept me going through the dark days of my life. Some people just think gaming is something we do to hide from the world. It’s a way to keep some of use going when everything seems bleak. It ranks right up with the NES as something I will never forget.

Jordan (@spectrejordan)

The Xbox 360 was the console that got me into gaming; I was a very casual gamer beforehand, but when I saw the commercials and hype for Halo 3 something clicked in me and I just HAD to have a 360. The 360 was a huge part of my teenage years; I spent countless nights making friends on Halo or Call of Duty, exploring the rich stories of Mass Effect and Red Dead Redemption and grinding my way for achievements in Minecraft. I’ll never forget the Xbox 360, it started a lifelong passion for me that now goes beyond Xbox and introduced me to many friends, some of which I count as my best friends. Thanks 360, you’ll be missed.

Andre (@kingdreftw)

Me and my 360 were outgoing and met new gamers that turned into online friends. We were lucky to have avoided the RROD (red ring of death) when it was going around. I supported her when she felt she was overweight and I still supported her when she slimmed down. Eventhough she caused this horrible addiction I have with multiplayer she will be deeply missed.

Micheal (@bigmike102477)

The reason I bought a Xbox 360, was when my friend from work brought over his 360 and we played some Gears of War. That’s when I fell in love with the series and with the 360. I rushed to K-mart the next day to put on layaway the Xbox 360 250Gb with Kinect and bought Gears of War 1 and 2.

Mahmood (@wayhik)

The Xbox 360 solidified my affinity to the Xbox brand and truly exposed me to the incremental innovations of gaming. From achievements to formidable online service Xbox Live the 360 for me was the embodiment of innovation, despite the horrid Red Ring of Death.

The console also reflected my personality. I come from a region where not only PlayStation reigns supreme, it was synonymous with gaming, even though a majority of gamers in the Middle East play Fifa and Call of Duty and hardly anything else. The Xbox was opposition and I constantly had to defend my choice of gaming. It was then I realized my developing passion for a console to a level that was new to me. In the end the Xbox 360 reflected my rebellious nature, passion, persistence ( two of my Xbox’s RRoDed on me), and transformed my gaming outlook.

IndieGamersEdge 

I didn’t have an Xbox 360 until 2009. I was at an electronics store that was closing down and came across a display of Xbox 360 consoles. They were the 60GB Pro models bundled with Lego Indiana Jones and Kung-Fu Panda. I also picked up a copy of Spider-Man: Web of Shadows and Dead Rising. Back then you had to use Microsoft points to purchase games from Xbox Live and I remember being confused over how many points I needed to buy Super Street Fighter I HD Remix and A Kingdom for Keflings. Amazon used to sell XBLA game keys and you could get games like TMNT ’89 and Doom for $3 each.

After I figured out the system, how to navigate around Xbox Live send why the hell those achievement things kept popping up on my  screen I began to appreciate just how brilliant the Xbox 360 was. Having Xbox Live integrated into the operating system was a thing of beauty. While other consoles had to connect to their stores you simply moved your cursor over to the Xbox Live Marketplace. And that controller! So comfortable to hold and it allowed me to keep my hands symmetrical while using the face buttons. Yeah, the D-pad was awful. My loss records across all of the fighting games I had were a testament to that.

Years later I own literally hundreds of digital games on Xbox Live. They represent story games, puzzlers, platformers, sports games, RPGs, ravers and even a few shooters. The Xbox 360 brought so much diversity to my gaming tastes that I feel I am a better gamer for all of the time spent with this console.

Brandon T. (@soulwolf2852)

The Reason I bought a Xbox 360 was because I fell in love with Halo 2 on the original Xbox. I only played Single Player on the original, but when I heard of Halo 3 on the 360, I knew I had to get it. I got a Xbox 360 at first with no online but when I got online, that was when I knew I was going to spend more hours on it than I did the previous generation. All my best memories of early online gaming comes from Halo 3. Then Gears of War Co-Op arrived and I fell in love with the series as well.

Dreyer (@dreyer_smit)

As a predominantly PC gamer back in the day, my first experience with the Xbox 360 was when I purchased one in 2012, after I had enough of trying to get my PC to work nice with the TV. I needed an entertainment system that was both smart and easy to use. So when I got the glossy black Xbox 360 250Gb unit with Gears of War 3 bundled I immediately fell in love.

My first experience with online multiplayer came with Gears of War 3 (right after I finished the game). I’ve never experienced an online community that was this awesome. Hoard mode was my favorite of all the modes, and every time I play Gears now, I can’t help but think that this was the game that brought me to the dark side.  It was also the first time I experienced the idea of ‘Indie Games’ with Limbo. I remember (before I had the Xbox 360) when I first saw the game online while it was being shown off at one of the E3 shows, and thinking ‘That is the best game I have ever seen’, and I was right.

When the Xbox 360 launched I was a hardcore PC gamer, scoffing at the thought of playing games on the relatively ‘weak’ Xbox console when you could upgrade your PC and get the same experience but better. Little did I know that a mere 6 years later I was a massive fan of consoles, and would recommend it over a PC any day.

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So what was your fondest Xbox 360 moment. Hit us up in the comments below.