The 2005 holiday season ushered in the first of three next generation consoles, the Xbox 360. Microsoft began their second foray into the world of console gaming in late 2001, with the original Xbox. An older system (the MSX) was attempted over a decade ago but sold poorly, leaving Microsoft to rethink their strategy for a few years.

Although PlayStation 2 dominates the market with above 50% of the share, Xbox was a success, relying on its flagship series Halo and its Xbox Live services to carry it.

On November 22, 2005, the next generation Xbox was launched. The Xbox 360 staked on a bold plan, which caused it to be in the media spotlight. Microsoft wanted to release all over the globe in less than a month. The decision crippled the supply and demand factor, with some stores getting only five or so Xbox 360?, and many mainstream stores saying preorders would mean no consoles for sale until as late as March 2006.

Those who were lucky enough to receive an Xbox then had to battle through a problem that many consoles face at launch: defects. Reports varied from old, original Xbox titles functioning horribly on Xbox Live, to extreme disc scratching. Others reported the console overheating and the console going into safe mode, not allowing the system do anything.

The launch, which has been achieved in all three territories (Japan, the U.S. and Europe) gained mixed reactions. There are some extraordinary games out for the system, a lot of them are games ported from the current generation consoles. These ports carry a lot of sub par graphic improvements, sometimes making them worse by having what is known as the ?uddy?textures. Others have many features leaving the game less entertaining than the original. Many of the titles that came under criticism came from the same publisher, superpower EA Games.

This said, the next generation is poised to change the way we think about games with realistic visuals (some comparable to the CG portions of Blockbuster movies such as Spiderman), the ability to have incredibly realistic interaction and more story presentation power. Xbox 360 aims to further its online prowess and features a redesigned controller which has the ability to access online features at any time. The controller is now wireless, on the 360? ?remium?package. HDTV? are being almost forced to necessity status as Xbox 360 outputs at 720p, which is a feature only capable of showing on an HD TV. A standard television will produced a ?umbed?down image. PlayStation 3 will produce an unprecedented 1080p level of high definition, a power most current HDTV? cannot even produce.

The 360 launched with two versions, the ?ore?package and the premium package. The ?ore?package is widely regarded by even dedicated Xbox fans as the foolish package. While it is priced at $299 (instead of the premiums $399) you lose almost everything the 360 offers. You will have no HDD (hard drive), which means no Xbox Live, no wireless controllers, no headset, no previous Xbox games will play on the system and you will need to pay $40 to get the memory unit for the console. Microsoft is aware of how gamers will take offense to such a package even existing, but the casual, uninformed gamer will fall into the trap of buying one, feeling as if they are getting a ?alue.?On that point, the premium package also has a downfall. Not all Xbox games will play on the new 360. Microsoft plans to keep increasing the number of games that will, but with the buggy direction it has taken, so games may never be included.

The non-gamer usually does not realize they have become the minority. Gaming dominates the entertainment industry, with a steep lead. By 2008, analysts have Xbox 360 reigning over the music and movie industry combined.

While some people still dismiss gaming as something for kids, or something with ? story made for five dollars?as Richmond Times-Dispatch veteran movie reviewer Daniel Neman said.

Companies such as the Japanese developer and publisher Square-Enix pour billions of dollars into their game stories and visuals. Many awards globally have been recognizing such talent, proving that gaming will only grow and expand into the future.

Sony plans to release the highly-anticipated PlayStation 3 this year, along with Nintendo releasing the Revolution sometime in the future, meaning the console war will continue on for many years to come.