Microsoft commits to Xbox 360 for three more years

Microsoft said on Wednesday that Xbox One will be released on November 22, exactly eight years after Xbox 360 first hit store shelves, but the firm has no intention of halting support for the older console.

Speaking at the Citi Global Technology Conference this week, Xbox chief marketing and strategy officer Yusuf Mehdi said: "If you look at Xbox 360 that platform [has] lasted for seven to eight years and it's going to go for another three years. It's incredibly profitable now in the tail."

Mehdi also said there’ll be plenty of new games released for the ageing system. "We are going to continue to invest in Xbox 360 and the two devices can work in concert. So it isn't just like the day we ship Xbox One, Xbox 360 won't work, we will continue to support it. In fact, we are going to ship over 100 new games on Xbox 360.”

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Those planning to make the leap from Xbox 360 to Xbox One will be able to upgrade a number of current-gen games to next-gen versions for just $10/£10.

Meanwhile, Microsoft Game Studios vice president Phil Spencer has told Game Informer that Xbox One availability "should feel a lot better than it did for 360" back in 2005. He said: "You want people to be able to walk in the store and buy one on day one, so you're trying to manage the inventory that isn't pre-sold. I want parents who don't think about pre-ordering electronics to be able to walk in and have a chance to find a box. There might be a line, but I don't want it to be that if you didn't pre-order in September, you can't get one. That doesn't feel like a great consumer experience.”