The period of console wars appears to be nearing its finish, however one in all its key gamers, Peter Moore, who led the cost throughout the launch of the Xbox 360, is sharing his reminiscences of his time on the gaming frontlines. When it got here to pitting the Xbox 360 towards the PlayStation 3, Moore says 10 million was the magic number–“You’ve got acquired this flywheel impact … of [if] your mate within the faculty yard’s acquired one, you higher get one.”
Talking to Eurogamer, Moore defined that getting the Xbox 360 into the market forward of the PS3 was key to its sturdy efficiency, saying that the primary 10 million gross sales have been important. “I believe it was actually necessary to get it out first,” Moore stated. “Get going, get momentum, and purpose for that 10 million put in base that I felt that might give us an incredible benefit over no matter Sony might do to catch up.”
He defined that having the 10 million set up base creates a community impact the place a way of social stress might drive sales–“Swiftly you are misplaced and also you’re on the surface in the event you’re not coming to high school, or going to class in school the subsequent day, and even coming to work, and saying what an evening we had taking part in Halo, or no matter sport it occurred to be.”
The Xbox 360 did find yourself beating the PS3 to 10 million gross sales, a proven fact that was celebrated in a 2008 press release from Microsoft. Whereas the PS3 ultimately beat the 360’s lifetime gross sales by only a few million, many avid gamers nonetheless think about the Xbox 360 the winner of that specific generation–that is, until you think about the runaway success of the Nintendo Wii.
Moore grew to become one of many key gamers within the early days of the console wars, after he was employed by Microsoft particularly to assist the corporate compete with Sony’s dominance within the console house. Moore has even beforehand stated that he inspired the thought of the console wars amongst his group, saying it helped to advertise wholesome competitors with Sony.
Within the interview, Moore additionally discusses how necessary it was for Microsoft to construct Xbox into a powerful, standalone model in a time the place Microsoft was seen as a “nerdy” firm that belonged within the workplace, not the lounge. Moore was a key determine on this branding shift, turning into infamous for stunts the place he would have sport bulletins actually (*10*), saying a part of his function was to “be slightly irreverent.”
As of 2025, many within the business think about the console wars successfully over, as Microsoft is lastly bringing the final of its previously unique first-party franchises to the PlayStation with Halo: Marketing campaign Advanced. The PS5 lately topped the Xbox 360’s gross sales figures, that means each PlayStation console has formally outsold each Xbox console, however the finish of the console wars continues to be removed from clear-cut. Xbox stays a powerful gaming model and appears to proceed dominating the software program facet of the business, with plenty of the business’s greatest builders now included underneath its banner.