Xbox 360

Manufacturer : Microsoft
Type : Video Game Console
Generation : Seventh Generation
First available : November 22, 2005
System storage : 20 or 120 GB hard drive, 64 or 512 MB memory cards
Controller input : 4 maximum (wired or wireless or combination of either)
Connectivity : 3 × USB 2.0, IR port, 100Mbit Ethernet
Online service : Xbox Live
Units sold : 11.6 million shipped as of July 18, 2007.
Top-selling game : Gears of War
Backward compatibility : 394 original Xbox games
Predecessor : Xbox

The Xbox 360 is a video game console produced by Microsoft, developed in cooperation with IBM, ATI, and SiS. Its Xbox Live service allows players to compete online and download arcade games and content such as game demos, trailers, TV shows, music videos, or rented movies. The Xbox 360 is the successor to the Xbox, and competes with Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii as part of the seventh generation of gaming systems.

The Xbox 360 was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detailed launch and game information divulged later that month at the Electronic Entertainment Expo. It is the first console to provide near-simultaneous launch across the three major regions, and to provide wireless controller support at launch. The console sold out completely at release (with the exception of Japan) and as of Q2 2007, shipped 11.6 million units worldwide. 

Hardware

The main unit of the Xbox 360 itself has slight concavity on both of its longer sides in matte white or black. It features a port on the top (when vertical, left side when horizontal) to which a custom-housed hard drive unit can be attached in sizes of either 20, or 120 GB. Inside, the Xbox 360 uses the triple-core IBM designed Xenon as its CPU. While graphics processing is handled by the ATI Xenos which has 10 MB of embedded eDRAM, its main memory pool is 512 MB in size.