Microsoft said so long to production for the Xbox 360 video game console this week. Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, announced in a blog post that Microsoft would finally cease production of the video game console.
Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, at Build 2016.
It was a rare sentimental moment in an industry that always looks forward, not back. I was a chronicler of the console’s history, as the author of two books on the making of the original Xbox and the Xbox 360. For me, it gives me a chance to reflect on the history and the changes we’ve seen in what has now become a $99 billion video game business. As the old guy in game journalism, I don’t pass up opportunities to reminisce about the good old days. As time goes on, it’s sometimes hard to retain the milestones that we should remember most.
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Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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