XBox 360 'Halfway Through' Lifecycle, Say Microsoft

The Xbox 360 is only halfway through its lifecycle, according to a Microsoft Vice President.

Xbox's EMEA VP, Chris Lewis, has claimed that the release of Kinect has provided a "shot of adrenaline" for the six-year-old console, which was rumoured to be replaced as early as next year.

When asked by MCV if the XBox 360 was nearing the end, Lewis replied: "We see it as about halfway through. But yes, Xbox is defying the normal curve you might expect. There's no doubt that Kinect put a huge shot of adrenaline into the business.

"What we are now seeing is massive swathes of families and younger audiences flocking to it. As you saw at the press conference, we are now in line with what we projected at E3 2010."

Lewis explained that the drive to market the Kinect to children and families at first was deliberate, and now that it has become an established piece of equipment, it shall move on to provide "complimentary" experiences for the more hardcore gamer.

He continued: "What you won't see is us contriving that. What you will see is us using Kinect to enhance the experience and not detract from it. I don't think our core gamers will tolerate anything else from us."

Rivals Nintendo have already announced plans to replace their Wii with a new console, the Wii U, in time for Christmas 2012.

Legendary computer football games...