Microsoft has announced that it will no longer create new Xbox 360 units, but will continue to sell the existing stock.

Xbox 360 was Microsoft’s breakout hit in the United States, and it provided the market with serious competition that went on to shape what gamers expected from the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Microsoft’s older system also introduced a suite of online features and multimedia support that the industry now considers standard.

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“Xbox 360 means a lot to everyone in Microsoft. And while we’ve had an amazing run, the realities of manufacturing a product over a decade old are starting to creep up on us. Which is why we have made the decision to stop manufacturing new Xbox 360 consoles. We will continue to sell existing inventory of Xbox 360 consoles, with availability varying by country,” wrote Xbox chief Phil Spencer in a company blog post.

Xbox 360 has hosted 78 billion gaming hours, with players racking up nearly 486 billion Gamerscore on 27 billion achievements. In addition, over 25 billion hours have been spent in Xbox apps and it includes streaming video services like Netflix and Hulu. Ending Xbox 360 production will not make a huge impact on the console's more than 4,000 game titles. They will continue to be sold at retail.

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 turned 10 years old on Nov. 22. The old gaming console’s innovations draw a comparison to the Sega Dreamcast, another console that many consider to be ahead of its time. Sega ended Dreamcast production after less than three years.

TagsMicrosoft, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Microsoft stops xbox 360