Information in this article is about real-life people, companies, and objects, which do not relate to the in-universe Sonic series. |
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft and is the successor to the Xbox. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles. It hosts a large number of Sonic the Hedgehog titles.
Originally released in 2005, the console sold over 84 million consoles becoming the best selling Xbox to date, the console's successor, the Xbox One was released on November 22, 2013.
Microsoft officially ended the Xbox 360's production in 20 April 2016, where Microsoft announced they will no longer be producing any new hardware, although they will continue to support the platform.[1] with the Xbox 360 Store closing on July 29th 2024[2]
Kinect[]
Kinect is a motion sensor camera created by Microsoft for the Xbox 360 and was released in late 2010. Kinect was released to compete with the Wii Remote's motion controls and the PlayStation Move for the PlayStation 3. Sonic Free Riders was released exclusively for the Kinect and so far it is the only Sonic game to use full functionality of the Kinect. The Kinect for the Xbox 360 is currently incompatible with the Xbox One.
The Xbox 360 S and E models have a dedicated Kinect port on the back of their respective units. The original Xbox 360 requires an additional adapter containing a USB connector and an AC adapter, as the system’s USB ports by themselves do not supply enough power to run the Kinect. These adapters were bundled with the Kinect itself, but are not included in Xbox 360 system bundles containing the Kinect. Microsoft advises consumers to use the USB port on the back of the original Xbox 360 for the Kinect as it has the highest data transfer compared to the front USB ports. Users who own an Xbox 360 Wireless Networking Adaptor had to move the adapter to one of the front USB ports. Alternatively, they can also obtain a USB extension cable to connect the Wireless Networking Adaptor to the front while keeping it mounted to the back of the system.
Sonic games[]
Platinum Hits[]
Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) |
Sonic Unleashed |
Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection |
Sonic Free Riders |
Sonic Generations |
Xbox Live[]
The Xbox 360 also has its integrated Xbox Live, an online service created and operated by Microsoft. Xbox Live allows for online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery, including connectivity with the Xbox Games Store, an online digital distribution network. Here, in the Games Store, players can purchase and download Xbox 360 games and demos, downloadable content and Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) digital-only games which offers ports of classic games and original titles.
Xbox Live is available as a free and a paid-subscription service (known as Xbox Live Free and Xbox Live Gold respectively) where most features such as online multiplayer gaming are restricted to the Gold service. On 20 May 2022, some Sonic the Hedgehog titles such as Sonic the Hedgehog (1991), Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles were been delisted from the service.[3]
Xbox Live Arcade Sonic games[]
Reminder: These titles are no longer purchasable starting July 29th 2024 as the Xbox 360 Store shutdown that day.
Characters introduced[]
- Silver the Hedgehog
- Princess Elise
- Mephiles the Dark
- Iblis
- Solaris
- Chip
- Sonic the Werehog
- Professor Pickle
- Dark Gaia
- SA-55
- E-10000B
- Time Eater
- Honey the Cat
Backward compatibility[]
All Xbox 360 models have backwards compatibility with selected Xbox games via software emulation. Amongst the games in the list, all Sonic games released for the Xbox (Sonic Heroes, Sonic Mega Collection Plus, Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic Riders) will work when the game disc is inserted into the Xbox 360 console. A hard disk drive is required to save any Xbox games' progress; unlike Xbox 360 save data, Xbox save data cannot natively be transferred from one Xbox 360 to another. When played on an Xbox 360, all of the Xbox Sonic games except for Sonic Riders do not have a widescreen display setting (despite that the original Xbox supports this setting with all of its Sonic games) and each game has some additional emulation issues and glitches listed below:[10]
- Sonic Heroes:
- The PAL version of the game will not work if the display refresh rate is set to 50 Hz.
- The in-game text is not sharp and has some graphical errors on it, with lines being displayed under or through letters.
- All CGI cutscenes play at around 15 frames per second but is in sync with the audio. In the opening movie however, the "Sonic Heroes" song has to repeat sections in order to stay in sync.
- In gameplay, any displayed button prompts are not sharp.
- In gameplay, the player can press either or to activate Team Blast, despite the Black Button which is mapped to did not have a function in the game on the original Xbox.
- On the title screen, the logo has notable aliasing issues.
- The CGI cutscenes playing in the credits also playback their audio while they were mute in the game on the original Xbox. Also, the credits scroll slower.
- Sonic Mega Collection Plus: Sound glitches occur in the PAL version when playing the games.
- Shadow the Hedgehog:
- Intro and CGI cutscenes will lag after starting.
- Some sound effects are muffled.
- Small frame rate issues happen when large amounts of gunfire and enemies are on-screen. Freezes occasionally during cutscenes and gameplay.
- Sonic Riders:
- Cinematic cutscenes have grey cylinder guides under the characters.
- The Metal City track has loading problems as the player can see the stage progress as it loads.
Regional lockout[]
Similar to the Xbox, the Xbox 360 supports region locking for its games. However, a select number of games are compatible with consoles from other regions. While the Xbox 360 has a wider range of regional compatibility compared to its predecessor, the compatibility itself still varies on a game-by-game basis.
Note: region locking also applies to the Games on Demand versions of retail games.
Retail games[]
Game Version | NTSC-J (console) | NTSC-U/C (console) | PAL (console) |
---|---|---|---|
NTSC-J | ✔ | ✘ | ✘ |
NTSC-U/C | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
PAL | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
Game Version | NTSC-J (console) | NTSC-U/C (console) | PAL (console) |
---|---|---|---|
NTSC-U/C | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Game Version | NTSC-J (console) | NTSC-U/C (console) | PAL (console) |
---|---|---|---|
NTSC-U/C | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ |
PAL | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ |
Game Version | NTSC-J (console) | NTSC-U/C (console) | PAL (console) |
---|---|---|---|
NTSC-U/C | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Game Version | NTSC-J (console) | NTSC-U/C (console) | PAL (console) |
---|---|---|---|
NTSC-U/C | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Game Version | NTSC-J (console) | NTSC-U/C (console) | PAL (console) |
---|---|---|---|
NTSC-J | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
NTSC-U/C | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
PAL | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Game Version | NTSC-J (console) | NTSC-U/C (console) | PAL (console) |
---|---|---|---|
NTSC-U/C | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Game Version | NTSC-J (console) | NTSC-U/C (console) | PAL (console) |
---|---|---|---|
NTSC-U/C | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Game Version | NTSC-J (console) | NTSC-U/C (console) | PAL (console) |
---|---|---|---|
NTSC-U/C | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
PAL | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Xbox Live Arcade[]
Game Version | NTSC-J (console) | NTSC-U/C (console) | PAL (console) |
---|---|---|---|
NTSC-U/C | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Game Version | NTSC-J (console) | NTSC-U/C (console) | PAL (console) |
---|---|---|---|
NTSC-U/C | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Game Version | NTSC-J (console) | NTSC-U/C (console) | PAL (console) |
---|---|---|---|
NTSC-U/C | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Trivia[]
- This is the first home console to have wireless controller support by default.
- In Holiday 2008, Sega Superstars Tennis (along with Xbox Live Arcade Compilation Disc which came with all Xbox 360 Arcade systems until late 2009) was bundled with Xbox 360 Arcade systems.
- Only two Sonic games were released exclusively for the Xbox 360, those being Sonic Free Riders and Dreamcast Collection (with the latter being a console-exclusive release). The remaining games were also released for the PlayStation 3.
- A Sonic Free Riders skin was sold for the Xbox 360 and the Kinect.
- Since the Xbox 360 version of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed never saw an official Japanese release, this would make Sonic Generations the final retail Xbox 360 Sonic title to be released in Japan.
- The Xbox 360, alongside the PlayStation 3, as well as the three Nintendo consoles at the time, are the only consoles in which all three voice casts are included; the original ones who debuted in the Dreamcast, the ones from 4Kids Entertainment, and the current ones who voice the characters in the recording studio, Studiopolis.
References[]
- ↑ Phil Spencer (20 April 2016). Achievement Unlocked: 10 Years – Thank You, Xbox 360. Xbox Wire. Retrieved on 17 March 2017.
- ↑ [1] The Xbox 360 Store Will Close July 2024, But You Can Keep Playing Your Favorite Games
- ↑ Standalone Sonic titles to be delisted May 20th ahead of Sonic Origins release. Delisted Games (20 May 2022). Archived from the original on 2 August 2022. Retrieved on 2 August 2022.
- ↑ http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/s/sonicxboxlivearcade/default.htm
- ↑ http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/s/sonic2xboxlivearcade/
- ↑ http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/s/sonicth3xboxlivearcade/
- ↑ http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/s/sonicknucklesxbla/
- ↑ Dreamcast Makes a Digital Return (10 June 2010). Archived from the original on 23 March 2016. Retrieved on 8 June 2014.
- ↑ http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/Sonic-Adventure-2/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258411202?cid=search
- ↑ Wikipedia:List of Xbox games compatible with Xbox 360
External links[]
- Official website
- Xbox 360 at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sega | Home consoles | Sega Master System · Sega Mega Drive (Toshokan, Sega CD, Sega 32X, Mini, Mini 2) · Sega Saturn · Dreamcast |
Handheld consoles | Sega Game Gear · Sega Mega Jet · Sega Nomad · Sega Pico · Coleco Sonic · Game Gear Micro | |
Mobile | Sonic Cafe · Sega Mobile · Puyo Puyo! Sega | |
Browser | PlaySega | |
Nintendo | Home consoles | Nintendo GameCube · Wii · Wii U |
Handheld consoles | Game Boy Advance · Nintendo DS · Nintendo 3DS | |
Hybrids | Nintendo Switch | |
Microsoft | Xbox · Xbox 360 · Xbox One · Xbox Series X and Series S | |
Sony | Home consoles | PlayStation 2 · PlayStation 3 · PlayStation 4 · PlayStation 5 |
Handheld consoles | PlayStation Portable · PlayStation Vita | |
Mobile systems | iOS/iPad OS (Apple Arcade) · Android · Windows Phone | |
Other | Arcade · Ouya · PC (Steam, Epic Games) |