Xbox 360 turns five

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Over two weeks after the Kinect launch, Microsoft's second console celebrates half-decade on the market with 42-plus million sold.

Five years ago today, the first Xbox 360s were handed out at Microsoft's Zero-hour event in the Southern California desert. A half-decade later, the console celebrated its fifth birthday with a worldwide sales tally of over 42 million units worldwide and a track record of both highs and lows.

That was then…

On the software side, the Xbox 360 launched with 18 titles, including Call of Duty 2, Condemned: Criminal Origins, Madden NFL 06, and Need for Speed: Most Wanted. It would go on to offer a wide selection of both third party favorites such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Fallout 3, as well as hit first-party exclusives such as Halo 3, Halo: Reach, and, most recently, Fable III.

…this is now.

While the original Xbox's life cycle lasted from 2001 to 2005, the Xbox 360 will likely be around well beyond five years. In June, Microsoft released the new slimline version of the console, which sported a quieter cooling system and new 40nm chipset with a 250GB hard drive for just $300. (A $200 4GB version of the smaller console was introduced in August.) Last month, Microsoft introduced Kinect, the heavily hyped motion-sensing system which is intended to extend the console's life cycle for several more years.

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