Xbox 360 Isn't Dead, It Just Earned A Place in History

When a new console comes out to market, an event that only happens every 6-10 years, the last generation is swiftly forgotten and left to become obsolete. The latest launch of Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation 4 are proof of that. Although Sony has a much larger plan to support PlayStation 3 moving forward, in addition to PSVITA Portable, and the ever-popular PlayStation 4. Microsoft went the way of the Rogue; capitalizing on both to start, until they realized most of their fan base jumped ship. Microsoft was ailing, and decisions were made. The last BIG update for Xbox360 is coming, and I don’t care. After amassing a collection of over 300 Xbox 360 games at one point, it’s no wonder I still have feelings for her. Our dates were glamorous, spending long evening on my Lay-Z-Boy recliner sharing in the madness and fun that was the last generation of gaming.

I however was one of the many when the new console launched, who jumped. I was bored, looking for a different interaction altogether. I had a PlayStation 3 as well, and the PSVITA and 3 PSP consoles. I was already connected with Sony’s Network, and a PS Plus subscriber. The switch made sense. I thought to myself, why pay for two subscriptions when only one is all you need. The Xbox 360 was set aside, and many games from my collection were traded in to get games and accessories for my PlayStation 4. It was nice, life was good. Until IT happened. One of my buddies come over and say, hey let’s play Halo! I fought and argued against it like mad. I wasn’t done enjoying my new generation of machines (it had been 18 months with her by this point) and I didn’t want to go back.

After much excitement in the group of friends, complaining about changes to Madden, NHL, and more on PlayStation 4 as we have played for months. Games like Trials HD, weren’t cutting it either. See, Xbox 360 has one thing PS4 doesn’t; same-screen split-screen. (Unless you own Borderlands: Handsome Jack Collection) There just is no good playable games for same-screen multiplayer on the generation. Companies wanted to get away from that in favor of a more unique tailored experience. Bullshit. People still want to mingle amongst friends, and sports games aren’t all we should have available. This was their argument, me I didn’t care. I liked my shooter-less landscape, rife with unique content that only Sony could deliver through its amazing development program and robust online store. But eventually, the boys won and we dusted the Xbox 360 off, and we started arguing over Halo games. I reminded the guys that Halo 4 will let us take four players online, and the frenzy ensued.

The first match was terrible, my SR130 rank didn’t matter, and I was rusty. But like anything you haven’t done in a while, it all comes back to you. By the third match I was back to my old self. 18 kills, 21 assists, and 3 deaths. Desolate was back baby! And so was the itch for the sci-fi super shooter that is 343 Studio’s Halo. We are now on our third straight night of playing online, and I have already dropped 500 plus Spartans in hours of gameplay. And died handfuls of times comparatively. We started talking about the Clan – OG Wolf Pack (Started very early in Halo 2 days, we are arguably the Original “Wolf Pack”). We discussed our tactics, communication, and strategy, and went to war. It was like a few years ago, all over again. My Xbox 360 wasn’t dead, it was still alive, and being loved. And now, my PS4 sits next to the Xbox 360 on my shelf. I used to have an Xbox One next to it, but that experiment ended in about 3 months when I realized I had the same console as PS4, one with a lesser quality coat of paint, and the other the epitome of gaming nirvana. But that didn’t matter. I’m a fan of retro gaming, which means I believe in games never dying. My friends and I will continue to play Halo 4 when we are all together, and I know I will be playing some other great games still on the shelf. Maybe I’ll finally complete Sonic Generations, and give another run through Project Sylpheed while I’m at it.

Maybe I will go through my collection and write reviews for those games as well! Just because they are old doesn’t mean you should ignore them. But before I do, I may have to go to GameStop thought and get these ratty controllers replaced. Man are they rough… LoL

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