Poll: Which Has Been The Best Generation Of Xbox So Far?

do we really need to vote on this its clearly the xbox 360 era

Didn't even need to think about it, 360 era.

Its when modern games took shape, experimental game design via Arcade, and birthed the indie wave.

Gaming doesn't feel like it's evolved much since then and only now feels like we're starting to see perhaps more evolution.

Xbox 360 by a miles.
Generation defining games
Amazing AAA first party studio games
Amazing second and third party exclusive games.
Amazing third party games performing best on Xbox 360.
Best controller
Best console by form factor and systems for that generation.

The series x is the best console overall for form factor, power and systems.
But it’s not really used at all by Xbox studios.
They have a Lamborghini console but driven by old slow methodical me.

Unless you were there for the original Xbox, playing on Xbox Live, the 360 is the obvious no brainer.

Even despite having the red ring of death the Xbox 360 era is still the best of the bunch, it should have been easier to make one of the newer eras better but sadly the damage done at the start of the Xbox One generation was simply massive.

360 - without a doubt!

It had a massive catalogue of diverse games and competed with Wii and PS3 valiantly.

My heart was set on a PS3, but I bought the 360 at launch on a whim and I ended up waiting a few years until I finally got round to buying a PS3. Why? Because the 360 was enough.

It's no doubt the 360 era. However, the Series consoles with the backwards compatibility that Microsoft has focused on so well is fantastic. What makes the 360 era so much better though, is the simple fact that games had more fresh ideas back then and were far more complete out of the box than they are today, which really has nothing to do with the 360 itself but its still a factor.

My favourite xbox is the OG xbox and OG xbox live, closely followed by 360. But my favourite console of all time is the Dreamcast

The 360. Easily.

Both the original Xbox and the 360 focused on what was important, the game.

The OG Xbox was them getting their foot in the door and the 360 was them really hitting their stride.

It was right toward the tail end of the 360, then continued into the Xbox One, where Microsoft forgot what the Xbox was about a d turned it into the corporate ad box. Ans they've just never turned back.

They need to focus on getting good games out quickly for like 70% of their output and the other 30% on cutting edge AAA graphics. Nintendo just smashed it out of the park with easy to develop games that focus on fixed, colorful and well controlled experiences across a TON of IP. Microsoft had a great time with the 360 because it was easy to develop more and they just banged out so much content in one generation instead of taking the agile approach to launch the game in pieces and charge for DLC and battlepasses. 360 was the best. I love the Series X but there is hardly any first party content from our favorite franchises

the 360 era was 15 to 20 frames per second and rrod. yall can have that junk. series consoles are the best by far.

it will always be the xbox360, that’s without question & everyone knows this. it was the “ps2” of xbox history, and was a better PS3(and i love the ps3 so that took alot to say!).

360 was the best. Microsoft was doing cool stuff and pumping out games or getting top exclusives. They need to focus on getting good games out quickly for like 70% of their output and the other 30% on cutting edge AAA graphics. Nintendo just smashed it out of the park with easy to develop games that focus on fixed, colorful and well controlled experiences across a TON of IP. Microsoft had a great time with the 360 because it was easy to develop more and they just banged out so much content in one generation instead of taking the agile approach to launch the game in pieces and charge for DLC and battlepasses. 360 was the best. I love the Series X but there is hardly any first party content from our favorite franchises like when there was a trilogy completed in a generation. They can take more time with a couple big games but need some filler for us.

@rustyduck i thought we were comparing era by era here , not “present technology compared to past” , of course a series X ***** on the xbox360, but if we compare it fairly by their time periods , then 360 is king!

I only have a Series S and I am not familiar with the backstory but I have played and enjoyed some older games via BC like Peace Walker, Sega Arcade games, the FF13 trilogy and more. On the Series S you can also play new games. So, isn't the current gen by default the best?

There’s no contest here, 360 was the Golden Age of Xbox!

@belmont no because reliving the past is not as good as being there and experiencing it . despite the series x being able to play 360 games , that time period is over & we’re in a new era waiting for that same/or better “high” and experience that the 360 gave us, and unfortunately it hasn’t been brought back or surpassed yet & i don’t think it ever will .

the 360 was more than just a console it was an adventure & xbox at its best with creativity, fun, games and popularity, everyone had a 360 .

Xbox 360 no doubt about that. Looks like it’s won by an absolute landslide here also lol.

The 360 era was by far Xbox's best.

Series X is my 1st Generation

The PS360 is so easily the best era of consoles. Playing Halo 3, Gears & the Force Unleashed games on 360 and nipping over to PS3 for Last of Us, Killzone 2 and Uncharted. Golden age of gaming that I don't think will ever be beaten

360, but with the caveat that I've really got back into gaming, playing different genres because of game pass.

Takes me back to younger days when I would play a good variety of games, depending on whatever random game I got for Christmas!

@rustyduck Yeah, the 360 era arguably saw Xbox at its strongest, but man, that was a rough time for gaming in general, largely because the hardware wasn't suited to delivering those HD graphics that it was supposed to. I stopped buying consoles at that point.

Turns out that many of the games from back then are actually quite good on PC (or XSX), now that they don't have slideshow framerates and long loading screens!

I'm tempted to get a Series X eventually, as it looks like a great way to experience most games, but getting back into consoles is a hurdle I haven't really cleared. For now, I'm voting for the OG Xbox.

In terms of hardware, this gen and the OG xbox are the best. Reliable and powerful both consoles are great.

In terms of content, I think every 5-10 year stretch from here on will be better than the 360 but as we stand now, 360 is the best era of games. Xbox has the IP and and studios now to have an abundence of amazing exclusive content. We have never seen a 1st party have this much dev power and IP, it should be a really good run going forward.

I voted current gen is best mainly due to the red ring of death. It's hard to declare that a system with such a horrible design flaw is better than any of the others. The 360 could have been a great era and would have given any nintendo or playstation consoles a run for their money as best console of all time if it wasn't for that disaster.

It's unfair to judge this Generation yet when it feels like its yet to really get started.

Therefore my vote has to go to the 360 - especially with the great perspective of living through it and all the others thus far, and seeing that 'whole' generation and its impact - there is no Rival.... Yet!!

Although this Generation could be a 'Great' Generation too - this time with a LOT more memorable 1st Party Exclusives than 3rd Party...

360 era is peak Xbox, while it got pretty meh towards the end the years of 2006-2010 were amazing.

Xbox 360 because exclusives were still a thing. In what I consider to be the traditional sense of the word, anyway. Xbox Series X is really good, but the software has taken longer to get going than previous generations (thanks to real world conditions).

Is this a joke?

Phil Spencer began his role as head of xbox gaming in 2014. What happened?

If Phil hadn't pushed the Back Compat program, Xbox Series would probly not even exist. The 360 and even OG gen libraries just destroy anything currently out. Genre defining games. The Killer B's led the pack. Everything Bioware. Everything Bethesda. Everything Bungie.

XSX is the best in terms of hardware and not just from a point-of-view of technical capability but in terms of everything from the controller to the build quality etc

In terms of software, it's the 360 era. So many games and they were simpler back then too with less monetisation, GaaS etc. A lot of new IP came around during the 360 as well as indie games thanks to things like XBLA

I didn’t own an Xbox One but have owned all the other Xbox consoles.

Xbox Series X - BY A COUNTRY MILE

Probably 360 although I have a soft spot for og.recently picked up a very modded 360 of ebay and have been enjoying it all over again (although slightly dodgy I'm sure 😁

Skyrim. Far Cry 3. Fallout 3/NV. Mass Effect. Just Cause 2. Plus Shadow Complex - I mean c’mon.

@rustyduck Maybe you weren't actually there.

No joke I'll be the odd man out and say Xbox One. I honestly think it's the most under-appreciated console I can think of. I always loved the HDMI pass-through capability, the One X was a fantastic upgrade console, and it introduced a lot of great things like the enhanced backwards compatible games. It was also by far the best 4K console in the early days of 4K, and it delivered IMO the best era of Forza games. Basically so many things that I still love about Xbox to this day, and I still have a One X hooked up to my primary gaming TV thanks to it's pass-through and X enhanced games.

@JayJ to be honest I still keep my one x hooked up simply to play rdr in 4k. That was my only reason to buy that console but 100% worth it

@Deljo Yeah that's the way I still play RDR as well, and I heard it's better than the recent remaster on PS4 in many ways.

I say Series X|S era because it incorporates a "best-of" the previous generations (with improved image quality and performance to boot) as well as current generation.

Xbox 360 is the easy answer. But i am not sure yet if it will be the winner by the time the Series console is over. Depends on what else is coming out and of course do they bring WOW to consoles? If so.. that could be the tipping point for me. I have had every Xbox and really liked them all in their own ways. I have had PS and Nintendos as well and only use them for their exclusives. Rarely to never do i buy a 3rd party game on anything but Xbox.

The first xbox was incredible (I had this console day one...).
of course the xbox 360 had a very "rich" database of good games.
Sadly....sadly the first X360 were sh** ! Red ring of death for me.
I had to wait for the slim version in order to have a "stable" console.

The Xbox 360 era. It was made for both hardcore and budget gamers and was a huge commercial success. This is how I became an Xbox fan ever since because of the lighter weight and sleek design.

The Xbox 360 era is second to none in my book. I'm nostalgic for the original "blades" theme, and releases like Dead Rising and Halo 3 getting tons of promotional download trailers, demos, and G4 TV spots was a lot of fun. The red rings were horrible, sure, but the fond memories outweigh that inconvenience.

I went for the original Xbox. So many brilliant exclusive games for that system. Still play it today.

The 360 by far for me. I wish the current generation could recapture the innovation and quality xbox delivered for the 360.

360 for me more great games things just seemed to work better for that console even some of the games towards the end of the cycle looked amazing for the power they had to work with

Never have enjoyed gaming as much as I did in the 360 era. Fable 2, Bioshock, Halo 3 and Assassins Creed 2 were my first games and gosh what a great first experience with Xbox with these games. Fable 2 especially was a favourite that gave me a lot of joy during an otherwise horrible point in my life.

So yeah, 360 gen gets my vote! 🙂

360 will never be beaten was miles ahead party chat dashboard the lot.best days of gaming back then. Best thing since then is gamepass🙂

In terms of the generation that helped shape and move the generation forward the 360 era is by far the best and it isn't even close. Despite the hardware not being the most reliable and towards the end of the generation they ran out of steam it is certainly the one that stands out the most.

Some people seem to think this generation is the best based on a few comments based on more powerful hardware alone if you remove the hardware from the equation then despite all of Microsoft's spending they are still struggling to find an identity for the systems outside it has gampass and as a result it still doesn't get the average person interested and think it is must have like the 360 did for a large period of time.

@TanaDax Fable two was great something about the setting humour in that game made it great looking forward to the new fable get back to my chicken kicking ways

360 in a landslide. Only thing that really damages its reputation is the massive red ring issue having had 2 that did myself. Otherwise, from games hitting platform, online infrastructure, hard drive, storefront it was top of its game

I voted 360 because I can look upon the entirety of its lifetime and make an assessment. However, as we are only 3 years in on this generation, it is not possible to fairly compare the two. The likelihood is that the majority of those voting for the Series X/S were not actually gaming back during the 360 era.

So, @FraserG, please can you make a note in your diary for once this generation has been concluded, so that we can properly make a comparison, because as of right now, it is just too early to say for certain..! 😉

That said, I do think that 2023 has probably been the best year for gaming that there has ever been, and that we are most certainly in a golden period for gaming right now... 😊

The nostalgia is real.

360 was great but I still voted for the current era as this is gathering some great speed. And gamepass is just amazing.

Without question it was the 360 era.

Ive only been a part of this era so this is definetly it. A lot of it is thanks to backward compitability and GPU.

OG/360, I know 360 had more appeal (most 8th/9th gen IP sequels from 7th don't interest me) more people got into it but I admire OG in it's own way the most, it's a gen I care more for, more experimental on all platforms Xbox included not just PS2/Dreamcast/GameCube.

(Indies are fine but eh, take away the nostalgia designed Indies and only look at the unique ones and they are there but they only help so much or appear, the Indies are fine but we lack AA these days compared to the past, AA got bought up to AAA like Ninja Theory or AAs died, so we have whatever Metroidvanias or 2D platformers or Mario/Banjo style 3D platformers (than actually exciting other ones to be inspired by or game mechanics then boring sandbox/open world platformer style quests boring, give me obstacle courses/collectibles), or Outrun clones, only the odd good racing game, eh pass).

So while 360 is good only for the particular games not the direction it set of Xbox One+ gens IPs, the 7th+ sequels I have no interest in and continue to have no interest in, so I jumped genres even because shooters/RPGs/action adventure got more boring/casualified/sanitized, more basic/standardised gameplay and stories, that and they were interesting genres besides them making more interesting ideas in them happen then the rest.

Hence I go retro or only buy particular games and got pickier each generation of gaming that passes. So Xbox OG/parts of 360 for me.

So yeah OG Xbox not because of Xbox Live, never used it, don't care to. I cared for singleplayer games on it still do. So no while family maybe played Halo I didn't I played games for my age on OG Xbox, I had a PS3/360 later for mature games, still don't care about online and I played them offline multiplayer on 360 and mostly the campaigns.

I prefer experimental design, modern design is so standard and boring, so cinematic, Some characters can be hit and miss for writing (cough Biomutant why gameplay wise do you have characters less fun than animals with abilities in platformers 20 years ago, the animal voices sure and narration/translation or our thoughts but why is it only immunity you can customise for of the gases and not swimming/flight/digging?

Why vehicles/glider and more for that why not offer natural abilities to give a head start on some quests and vehicles for animal classes/mutations to use the others to still access those other quests they can't immediately?

Sigh like it's so obvious but so disappointing of modern design yet fair old design of 'exploring for things and less skill trees for abilities' at least) don't have relatability, never cared for relatability, never will. I cared for 'exciting characters' protags, anti-heroes, antags, not generic looking/talking/moveset characters I couldn't care less about.

360 not surprised by poll but Series over OG. Nah. Too recent and what actually came out that was good? I can't barely think of any and that's PS5/Series or Series only games first/third party. Eh to me at least of quality/excitement.

Xbox One sure. I don't take it as that dark but I also barely played it either. Only on and off and while I play it more now still on and off. My favourites sure Sunset Overdrive (after a retry of it).

ReCore I wanted and enjoyed. Rare Replay......... Forza Motorsport 5 or 7...... I hate this era of Forza 5&7 are the least offensive, 6 is just I have so many problems with it) so not very strong support of Xbox One from me really other than wow impulse triggers or oh I can get a third party games on Xbox One then PS4 because I have the console/barely use it/want to use it) are really good I like them a lot for racing games/reloading in Gears.

Oh and I can use any other music app (not Spotify only Sony) I want and have my CDs on my Xbox One (or just put it in my PS2/3/360 instead) thanks to the Xbox/Microsoft/Windows store (whatever it's called nowadays).

I didn't play much of the OG before selling it (not because hated it just had to make way for the Wii or PS3 but I want a OG Xbox for sure when I can get my hands on one and bought games that are360/Xbox One BC list compatible so have to be picky on what OG Xbox games I buy)/did more 360 and still am playing my 360 alongside other platforms and Xbox One.

I prefer the experimental eras, sure old school difficulty can suck but I can get past it, not so much modern difficulty (those that are difficulty not the oh easy now, Ride 4 thanks for the Forza Motorsport 1 & 2 region system expanded upon but your too hard to play, thought I'd say Dark Souls, nope I have no interest in them and know their difficulty anyway or still get by in character action/hack n slashes anyway).

I don't have nostalgia for old games I never played do I? You could say for the era still sure but I mean when gameplay is so eh these days I can't help but not. With story/graphics focus I don't enjoy current gen. We see some on occasion sure but many then the past no.

Blinx, Project Gotham Racing 1-4, Voodoo Vince, Dr Muto, Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy, Forza Motorsport 1-4, Sega GT 2002, Outrun2, Ridge Racer 6, many left behind shooters of 360 era (many of the greats have been remastered/ported anyways), same with racing, the Ace Combat games on 360, Ninja Gaiden, N.U.D.E (the robot life sim game). Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, Eternal Sonata, and many more.

BC for 360 is better also. 360 had some OG game design in it, Xbox One+ most games mechanics aren't compelling just standard to me so the movement and general gameplay of platforming (or not just whatever mountain/ladder climbing) or the weapons/moves/enemies and level design is boring then well the games sucks.

If it's cinematic I don't care I don't give it points.

You can't attach a story to make me not bored of your samey gameplay companies because your story can be anything and if dull enough I don't care what it's about.

Story/visuals aren't engaging enough if I'm doing boring fights, boring 5 minute runs in open worlds (or some even eh linear games for story and it's like just give me something interesting with your pacing for mechanics even if briefly), eh walking/talking, not exciting uses so the Halo Infinite grapple is cool Forza Motorsport 8's position select but compared to prior eras more exciting ideas in games came about to me from past eras and are 'still' fresh. I seek out the interesting linear/open worlds (mostly linear).

Valkyrie Elysium over God of War, don't care less about the Norso setting/graphics between the two the gameplay was more fun in Elysium, the story is basic but didn't bother me. Not even the family message angle even if I don't care about that either, the gameplay still sucked.

Didn't jump on the Xbox bandwagon until summer 2004 when I bought an original Xbox to play Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay. Since then, I've owned every Xbox and the 360 era was easily the best. MS' first party, despite not being as big as it is now, was at its best in terms of creativity and quality output. There were intelligent moves made with which third parties, Western and Japanese, to align with and for the first few years of that gen 360 was the clear choice to play any multiplatform release on as devs took a while to get to grips with PS3. Online gaming? Xbox was where it was at.

I have fond memories of the original Xbox as well, even if I didn't own one until later on I had friends who owned one so I got to experience the best of what it had to offer. PS2 dominated the era but there were a lot of games that wouldn't have been made available outside of PC if not for Xbox and there were also some Japanese companies, mainly Tecmo, that preferred to put its games there because of the more powerful hardware.

The Xbox One era was a dark period for Xbox, a few highlights here and there in the early years but quickly faded, I do think the Series X/S is already better than the One (I game on XSX as much as I do PS5 which is a huge turnaround from last gen) but it's still far from where the brand was at in 2001-2013.

In terms of era, of course 360 is the best era! I am curious who choose Xbox One?

@SuntannedDuck2 vote for longest post ever?

I voted for sandwiches, because sandwiches.

P.S. Xbox 360 was the best.

There is a strong case that the Xbox 360 is the greatest console of all time. It might have piggybacked a few ideas but it not only ushered in the proper modern era of online gaming but it also had the best selection of system exclusives of any Xbox console.

What started with PGR3 was finished with Forza Horizon. Let me.put this another way: if the Series X wasn't backwardly compatible with all my old 360 purchases I would have sold up to PlayStation years ago.

I’ll show my age and vote for original Xbox. I see that period as Microsoft’s peak creative era. They grabbed some really unique and imaginative games as exclusives - Panzer Dragoon Orta, Psychonauts, Blinx The Time Sweeper, Oddworld Stranger’s Wrath, Voodoo Vince, Otogi 1 & 2, and of course it was the origins of the Halo series itself! It’s a level of exuberant experimentation and unrestrained creativity that has never returned to Xbox since (but hopefully will do soon).

I loved my 360, was my first experience of XBOX.

@ZYDIO Vote for shortest but fair comment ever.