Yeah Kinect really played a part on that extra longevity. Big time.

It was a smart move for MS to release the 360 first. It soaked up a lot of the playstation fans who were put off by the extra year of waiting and the expensive price tag on the PS3. Not to mention the original Xbox had a very nice following too. Too bad it became a doorstop right as soon as the 360 came out.

Well, seeing how the xbox community has grown so large, I'll give ya that. 360 will probably see some support after the new xbox hits shelves. Not as long as the PS2 but what console will ever amount to that now a days? Not the PS3 and certainly not the Wii. Hell, nintendo fans dont even want to support their new console.

Wait...

PS: 10+ yrs (I don't remember)
PS2: 12+ yrs
PS3: 10+ yrs

X360 is a cool console. I would have bought it long ago if it wasn't for the ridiculous idea of paying for online. I really like every other aspect of it.

The longevity as you call it, or lack of vision from console manufacturers to release next gen consoles earlier has negatively impacted the games industry. The wider gaming audience has lost interest, games have stopped selling, AAA games are losing money bar 2 or 3, developers are struggling as a result.

Consoles hit their peak a couple of years back, longevity is essentially manufacturers trying to milk their product to the last drop.

Microsoft will continue to support the 360 for years to come, why? turning your back on a nearly 80 million user base would be a p.r. disaster, it continues to be the leading seller in the states so people are barely signing up to the ecosystem, but the real reason is microsoft xbox live payment plan, i havent read the terms of service, i remember the fall out when it stated that they couldnt be sued, which is false you can always be sued, its just mean it can be evidence that can be used against your case, anyways as things stand microsoft would be opening themselves to a ton of lawsuits if they terminated their support for the 360 while consumers are still under contract and i think they would win. When microsoft stop offering the deal for the 360 then maybe it is safe to assume the end is near.

The Xbox 360 is a solid piece of hardware and I am very happy with mine.

Speaking of longevity, I still have a first run 20GB pro console and the thing has never had any technical issues.

Sega Dreamcast, still going strong. No successor needed.

Weirdo. XD

Seriously, though, considering all the people I've heard being stuck on their 3rd or 4th Xbox, that's pretty surprising.

But damn...they're set to go 8 years between consoles, and it's still selling relatively well. I expect the 360 and PS3 to remain a factor years after the next gen consoles launch.

Funny, the way I see it - the console is already dead for MS. Last year was so bad, Halo 4 was the last big game it got and they just moved on after it. Well, there still is GoW: Judgement, but it's outsourced, so it really isn't as huge as the previous parts. The X360 support from MS is already gone, MS is not Sony. Better accept it.