First released in 2005, the Xbox 360 from Microsoft has maintained its position as one of the most popular games consoles on the market. Despite turning eight years of age this year, sales of both the console and its range of games show no signs of slowing down just yet. Microsoft is due to announce details of the successor to the Xbox 360 very soon but, despite obvious excitement amongst fans waiting to see how the new console will shape up, game developers are still producing quality titles for the current machine. With Sony and Nintendo ferociously competing with Microsoft for the lion’s share of the market, just what is it about Xbox 360 games that make them so great to play?

Exclusive Xbox Games

Perhaps due to the immense might of the Microsoft company, the Xbox 360 seems to have a higher percentage of exclusive releases on the platform than Sony has on the PlayStation 3 or Nintendo has on the Wii. This is especially true of games in the first and third-person shooter genres. One of the best examples of this is the Halo franchise. The Xbox 360 is the only games console on which you can play the Halo games, although it is also on the PC. Halo is one of the biggest-selling game franchises of all-time and has helped the Xbox 360 tremendously in its ongoing battle with the PS3. Another example of an exclusive franchise, developed by Microsoft Studios themselves, is Gears of War, a fine set of third-person shooter games.

Better Graphics and Smoother Gameplay

There is little doubt that many games released across all console formats look and feel better on the 360. One of the reasons for this is that it is easier to develop games the Xbox than other consoles. Some games developers have found it difficult to program for the PlayStation 3 so multi-platform games are more likely to develop small problems when transferring to the Sony console.

While both machines produce games of the highest quality, the gameplay on the 360 just has the edge when it comes to that smooth, fluid gaming experience. That is great news for people looking to sell Xbox 360 games after they have finished with them because the demand for titles on the Microsoft machine remains strong. Selling your games allows you to invest in new or different titles – and no doubt they will have a resale value in years to come.

For games full of heart-pounding action and a cavalcade of thrills and spills, the Xbox 360 is still pretty tough to beat. It seems that Microsoft has cornered that part of the games market occupied by experienced, hardcore gamers who demand nothing but the best.

Julian Hall is a dedicated gamer who has written on the subject of video games for a wide variety of websites and print publications. He has studied the growth of the second-hand games market, where people can sell xbox 360 games amongst others, with much interest.