This is easy
1) Console price
2) 1 year head start
3) Great HD Graphics (had better graphics than the PS3 for the first few years, and still holding its own against it today)
4) solid library of games (my opinion the best library of games this gen)
5) Xbox Live
6) Great exclusives (mass effect, halo, gears, Fable)
7) easy to code for
8)X box live arcade what great games are coming out of this
9)Marketing
10) Cater to hardcore fans while trying to reach out to casual
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How isn't it?

It's profiting
It isn't losing.
It's outsold the original Xbox.

1st of all its not VERY successful. it lost over 1 billion on RROD, it lost a lot of money on launch day and god knows how much money MS spend on money hating playstation games. im not saying its not successful but its not VERY successful.

1. 1 year head start
2. money hating playstation games
3.xbox live

*tag

1. 1 year head start: Historically, releasing a capable console before the competition (Nes, Genesis, PS1, PS2) is going to result in a successful console. As long as it can do pretty much what the competition will do.

2. "Affordable" Price: It launched for $300-$400. Not too bad. It offered other features for a fee (Wi-Fi, etc.), but the entry fee wasn't too much to swallow

3. Gears of War: When the competition launched, this game launched, too. It was graphically ahead of anything anybody else was showing.

4. Media Darling: The 360 could do no wrong in the eyes of the video game press. They were too busy hating on the competition.

5. Xbox Live: If you have friends online, this is the most fun you can have with a video console. It really is an online community.

6. Third party support: It seems that every company embraced the console. As a result, it recieved a far more diverse library of games than MS's previous console. Even franchises that historically never came to the Xbox brand came along to make money.

7. Advertisements: As a relative newcomer, Microsoft proved to be remarkably savvy when it came to marketing their product as "cool" and "must have". Perception is everything.

8. Hardware Reliability: Wait. What? Yes. It's true. In the past, Microsoft's Xbox was hailed as an amazingly well designed machine. Compared to the competition, it rarely broke down. Many were unhappy with their console (from the competition) during the 5th and 6th gen. They broke down early and often. With all of the same games (and a few exclusives) on the Xbox 360, for a lower price, AND a reputation for better reliability? Little did we know.......

9. Brand Loyalty (Halo): The franchise was incredibly popular in the 6th gen. While fans of other consoles were jumping ship and trying out the Xbox 360, fans of Halo were loyal to the core. The 360 was the only place to "Finish the Fight" and it seems that they all came along. Halo had a large fanbase on the Xbox. Even though the Xbox didn't sell as much as the competition last gen, the percentage of owners that liked the franchise was incredible.

10. Dumb luck: Issues with the other consoles (graphics, game libraries, ease of programming, pricing, functionality) were beyond Microsoft's control. A lot of things Microsoft did right, other consoles inexplicably did wrong (initially). Once again, a console succeeded by simply doing key things right that other companies didn't.

Good PR guys didn't hurt things, either.

Because it has the best games, best online and the greatest fans.

1. Xbox Live - easily the best online experience on a console.
2. 3rd party support - nobody ever expected Final Fantasy, Tekken, DMC, Resident Evil or GTA to be on the Xbox 360.
3. great new exclusives - Halo was a no brainer, but Mass Effect, Gears of War, Left 4 Dead, Forza Motorsport became very big franchises this gen. Forza was available on the original Xbox as well, but Forza 2 and Forza 3 made a big step forward this gen
4. Xbox Live Arcade - it was soemthing we haven't seen before on a console and it worked out well.
5. Marketing - IMO MS has the best marketing team in this industry. Halo, Gears or Fable ads were amazing.
6. price - actually a fair price for a console like this. The Xbox 360 elite has the same price like the PSP Go.
7. VoD - VoD is becoming more popular every day and the Xbox 360 has the best VoD lineup on the market
8. Controller - the controller is the best I have ever played with
9. Easy to develop for - another reason for great 3rd party support.
10. It is a powerful machine. It is in its fifth year right now and some games still make my jaw drop.

1) The one year head start- This head start is the only reason why the XBOX 360 is outselling the PS3.

2) Popularity in America- The XBOX 360 sales in America alone are very close to exceeding the total sales in all regions that the original XBOX.

3) Popularity of online gaming- Microsoft took advantage of this with the 360, creating a very impressive online community in XBOX Live.

4) Popularity of FPSes- Gears of War, Halo, COD (albeit not exclusive), Left 4 Dead and the Tom Clancy Advanced Warfighter/Vegas series have all had universally acclaimed titles.

5) Strong 2007- MW, Mass Effect, Halo 3, Advanced Warfighter 2, Rock Band, BioShock, Guitar Hero 2 and 3 and the Orange Box were all released on the 360 in this monster year.

6) PS3 Launch Failure- What a terrible launch. At US $599 (or CAN $659) for the 60 GB PS3, consumers were simply not willing to spend that much when they could buy the Wii and a 20 GB 360 for less money. Lack of good games available for the PS3 in November 2006 also helped out the 360. PS3 was predicted to dominate this generation and had it been priced at $300-$400, it probably would be toe-to-toe with the Wii.

7) Pro Spin Doctors- Seriously? Don't laugh. Microsoft averted the massive hardware failure rate by promising to ''fix'' all the consoles that needed aid. It may have cost them one billion dollars, but it did solve a problem that could have led to Dreamcast-like sales. Also, in order to buy a WLAN adapter, XBOX Live Gold for a year, and at the time, an HD DVD player for the 360, consumers would have to pay more (that's right, more!) than the cost to buy a PS3. Their spin? The 360 is cheaper than the PS3. What? But the PS3...is $50 or $100 more expensive than the 360....so I'll buy the 360.

8) Ads- With the exception of the, "It's time to get Pure and Lego Batman and an Elite for $299 commercial, the ads for the 360 have been great. Microsoft knows how to work the consumer, and that is apparent with the XBOX 360.

9) Extra Third Party Support- Wanna play GTA 4? Go ahead by a PS3.....but you won't get the exclusive DLC. Advertising Madden and COD as 360 games also helped.

10) Popularity of the PS2- 2001,2004,2005 were near-perfect years for PS2 owners. By 2005, the XBOX and the GameCube started to grow stale, releasing few AAA titles, pretty much admitting defeat. Microsoft was ready to launch the XBOX 360, while Sony was not ready to launch the PS3 because the PS2 was still selling brand new, AAA titles.

With all that being said, a third place finish is very likely for the XBOX 360.

Another thread for the trolls to live in, guess the mods will conveniently miss this one too...

1. Its the cheapest console avalible
2. It has great games already avalible (gears 1 + 2 , halo series , fable 2 , forza 3 , all games develped by rare)
3. It has great games coming out this year (SC:conviction, mass effect 2 , alan wake , halo reach , fable 3 , natal games , possibly gears 3)
4. Its got exellent online features (partys , free demos , zune marketplace , avatars , achievements , facebook+twitter+msn)
5.Its got great downloadable games from live arcade(trials , geo wars 1+2, castle crashers, shadow complex , splosion man , the maw, alien hominid hd)
6.1 year head start (means it gets more developer support and an extra year of sales)
7. Its the most popular console in the UK ( which is good because i live there and all my friends have 360s)
8.It gets more timed exclusive games and DLC (like the mw2 map packs and most JRPGs)
9. Its got lots of cool features on xbox live like last.fm , indie games and sky tv in the uk (netflix in the US)
10.Its got natal which will bring lots of cool features to the 360 that its competitors dont have
And to all people saying the 360 isnt a success : the 360s sold over 10 mil more than the original xbox , its also sold more than double the original xbox sold in japan , and microsoft also makes profit with every 360 made unlike the original xbox which lost microsoft $4 billion