Video:What is an Xbox 360?

Transcript:What is an Xbox 360?

Hi, I'm Nick and today for About.com, I'm going to take a closer look at the Xbox 360.

What is an Xbox-360?

The Xbox 360 is a seventh-generation video game console, developed by Microsoft. As a successor to Microsoft's first attempt, the Xbox, the 360 was first released in 2005 and has gone on to sell over 60 million units worldwide.

Throughout its lifespan, the 360 had two main competitors, the Nintendo Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3. The 360 boasted a 3.2 GHz PowerPC Tri-Core Xenon CPU, 512 MB of GDDR3 RAM and backwards compatibility with certain Xbox games. The 360 also provides premium online features, at a cost, such as Xbox Live, Xbox Live Marketplace and Xbox Live Arcade.

What are Some Xbox-360 Games?

Games for the Xbox 360 come in a variety of genres, although the console is perhaps best known for it's collection of first-person shooters such as the Halo series. That isn't the only string to the 360's bow, however. Dark Souls is an engrossing action game that sees the player take on a hoard of challenging foes. Grand Theft Auto IV is an open world sandbox game set in the Liberty City, a fictional city based on, amongst others, New York City.

Skyrim is an open world role playing game that sees the player tackle dragons and other beasts while either fighting for or leading a rebellion against the empire. The 360 has also developed motion technology, through the use of the Kinect. Players use their bodies as controllers, dancing, jumping and fighting their way through a variety of games.

Now you know all about the Xbox 360. For more information, visit gadgets.about.com.