Xbox 360 Elite Microsoft Attempt To Grab The Gaming Console Market Sony PS3 Competitor

Microsoft is the market leader in PC Software applications and its Windows operating systems is used by the majority of computer users worldwide. However, it has ruffled the feathers of industry people many times for its tendency to monopolize the software and hardware market. In its bid to grab a market share of the thriving gaming console market, Microsoft launched its much hyped Xbox 360 in 2005.


It was posed as a direct competitor to Sony’s PS3. To counter the competition, Microsoft used the technology of companies like SiS, IBM and ATI during its development. The company has made the console available in 3 versions – Arcade, Premium and Elite. The Xbox 360 Elite in particular has proved to be a runaway hit with the lovers of gaming and it has sold in huge quantities worldwide since its launch.

The Xbox 360 Elite is powered by IBM’s powerful Xenon triple core processor and graphics giant ATI’s imaging technology. It has elegant and sophisticated looks. The hard disk capacity has been kept 120 GB, considering the huge amounts of space the computer games require these days. The Elite can also be used as a sophisticated media playback device. It can read from the USB storage drives. It is also possible to watch still pictures in slideshow mode in the device.

The Xbox 360 Elite supports a wide range of media file formats. The popular video formats like WMV, H.264 and MPEG-4 etc can be played back in this device. Undoubtedly the device is the most highly priced incarnation of the Xbox series. The matte black finish of the device makes it smudge proof and exudes style from every inch. This has an HDMI 1.2 cable with a headset and controller that complements the color scheme of the device. The initial models of Xbox 360 Elite shipped with Zephyr motherboards but in later models it was replaced with Falcon chipset.

Since the debut of the Xbox 360 Elite console, Microsoft has made available a number of patches for Dashboard. The most recent update for the software was released in April. Apart from displaying static pictures, the Elite console is also capable of playing music. The gamers can enjoy music even when they are playing games on the device. To retain the users of first generation Xbox users to its side, Microsoft has taken special care to incorporate backward compatibility in the device. Among the most sought after games of Xbox Elite, ‘Halo’ deserves a mention. Xbox 360 Elite