It's not going anywhere, though
Microsoft has stopped manufacturing new Xbox 360 consoles, the company announced today.
"Xbox
360 means a lot to everyone in Microsoft," said Phil Spencer, head of
Xbox. "And while we've had an amazing run, the realities of
manufacturing a product over a decade old are starting to creep up on
us."
Spencer
added that Microsoft "will continue to sell existing inventory of Xbox
360 consoles, with availability varying by country." The Xbox 360's
current retail price is $199.99, in a bundle with a 500 GB system and a
copy of Forza Horizon 2.
Microsoft
launched the Xbox 360 on Nov. 22, 2005, in North America; the console
turned 10 years old last November. That same month, Microsoft added Xbox 360 backward compatibility to the Xbox One, a feature the company had announced at E3 2015.
Spencer
noted that Microsoft will continue to support the Xbox 360 for the
foreseeable future, with full Xbox Live services for apps and online
gaming; free Games With Gold titles; deals for Xbox Live Gold
subscribers; and hardware support. However, Microsoft's third-party
partners have begun to retire Xbox 360 services, such as ESPN, which shut down its app on the console last month.
"The
Xbox 360 helped redefine an entire generation of gaming at Microsoft,"
said Spencer. "I am incredibly proud of all of the work and dedication
that went into development of the Xbox 360 hardware, services and games
portfolio over the last decade. And I'm grateful to the fans for their
continued passion and support."
To take a trip back through time, check out Microsoft's unveiling of the Xbox 360 during "MTV Presents Xbox: The Next Generation Revealed," a half-hour special that aired May 12, 2005, on MTV.
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