Back in early 2003, Microsoft came up with the idea of creating the Xbox 360 and it became a reality with the co-operation between them and SIS, IBM and ATI. The 360 is their second games console and allows you to do much more than the fist. For instance with the 360 you can do a whole host of other things such as download games, trailers, demos, movies and even TV shows.

After much development and testing the Xbox 360 was launched in the USA, Europe and Japan on November 2005. There was such a buying frenzy over the release that within a very short space of time the Xbox 360 had completely sold out. If you know anything about games consoles, you will know that the Xbox's main rivals are Sony PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii.

When shopping around for an Xbox 360 you might have noticed that there are three models available to choose from, these are Arcade, Premium and Elite. Each of these systems have their own very special features and accessories such as face plates, wireless controller and re-chargeable battery case. Although they are all very different you will find that each of them have some of the same accessories such as game demos, video clips, cables and hard disc.

When using the Xbox live arcade service you will really enjoy the ability to download video games and you have the ability to play some really cool new and original games. By using the Xbox video market place you can access loads more than just video games; you can watch movies and TV shows. Another great feature for young and old alike is the audio playback where you can actually playback your very own music and there is even a visual synthesizer. This allows you to add slides shows and pictures along with some really groovy effects.

The major problem with the Xbox 360 is that they rushed the system onto the shelves too early simply because they wanted to beat Sony Playstation 3 in their release. This rush has shown to be a rather bad move because there have been a number of faults reported with the system that many people have really got quite angry about. Luckily these problems have been addressed and the warranty period was extended to three years. Newer designs are now on the market which are much better made and there is now a function to reduce possible overheating so that you can continue enjoying the Xbox's gaming capabilities for years to come.