5. The 360 Takes a Little Good From Everyone
Call it stealing. Call it perfecting other’s innovation. Whatever you call it, Microsoft is good at it. The Xbox 360 is the perfect example of what happens when a company watches it’s competitors and “borrows” the best of everyone. While Microsoft has brought new stuff of their own to the table, most people will tell you they’ve taken and advanced the ideas of others. And depending on which fan boy you talk to, there’s nothing wrong with that.
4. Aggressively Bringing Big 3rd Party Titles On
One thing that fan boys can’t ignore is the way in which Microsoft has gone after major 3rd party titles. Where once games like Devil May Cry, Grand Theft Auto, and Final Fantasy helped build the foundation of Playstation’s empire, these titles (and others) now appear on the Xbox 360 alongside 1st party juggernauts like Halo and Gears of War. There is no doubt that MS has gain much ground in the world of 3rd party support. But there’s a reason this comes in at number four. Bill Gates and J. Allard’s love child still lacks some of those major 3rd party hits like PS3’s Metal Gear Solid. But without a doubt, Xbox fan boys will be the first to tell you, MS is on the right track in terms of acquiring support.
3. Variety of Hardware
While no one is going to say that the Xbox and Xbox 360 hardware have been flawless since their respective launches, one thing that has helped the Xbox 360 console compete is the different hardware versions offered to consumers. Whether you look at the Arcade which goes straight at casual gamers or the Elite which offered gamers HDMI and expanded storage space; MS had the right idea by offering consumers choices.
2. Achievement System
Quite possibly the most addictive thing introduced into console gaming in recent years, achievements took gamers by storm and has, in many instances, influenced sales of multi-platform titles to shift to the Xbox 360. Many diehard couch jockeys who owned both the PS3 and Xbox 360 would take achievements into account when purchasing a game. Easily the first real innovation brought to the console world by MS, achievements have taken the world by storm and even influenced Sony to create their own trophy system.
1. Xbox LIVE
The number one reason, by a landslide, that gamers love Xbox is the online gaming network known round the world as Xbox LIVE. XBL made it’s debut on the original Xbox and has provided virtual athletes, assassins, and aliens the ability to compete against one another and kill each other with oceans separating them. In typical Microsoft fashion - XBL can be called an improved version of SegaNET (from the Dreamcast). But regardless of the network’s originality, the seamless way it connects friends (and enemies) has made XBL not only the number one online service for console gamers, but the number one reason the world has Xbox fan boys.
