How Much Did the Xbox 360 Cost at Launch in 2005?
By the Price Time Machine team · Updated
The Xbox 360 launch price was $299.99 for the basic Core System when it went on sale in North America on November 22, 2005. The full version with a hard drive cost $399.99. Adjusted for inflation, $299.99 is about $511.53 in September 2026 money.
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Xbox 360 at a glance
- US launch price
- $299.99
- In today’s money
- ≈ $511.53November 2005 to September 2026 (CPI-U, BLS)
- US release date
- November 22, 2005
- Where it was designed
- Washington, USADeveloped by Microsoft in Redmond, Washington. It was manufactured in China.
- Category
- Gaming & tech
- Price source
- news.microsoft.com
Today’s price is the US launch price adjusted for US inflation with the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, comparing the launch month with the latest published month. It updates automatically as new figures come out.
Two versions at launch
Microsoft sold two boxes. The $299.99 Core System came with a wired controller and no hard drive. The $399.99 Xbox 360 added a 20 GB hard drive, a wireless controller, a headset and a remote control. Most launch buyers chose the more expensive one.
Microsoft unveiled the console on May 12, 2005 in a half-hour TV special on MTV, presented by the actor Elijah Wood. It was the first time a games console had been revealed that way.
The Xbox 360 launch price in today’s money
Inflation means a dollar buys less today than it did in 2005. Using the US Consumer Price Index, the Xbox 360 launch price of $299.99 works out at about $511.53 in September 2026 money, around 1.7 times the original figure. That is what the same amount of spending power would cost now, not what a Xbox 360 sells for second-hand.
When was the Xbox 360 released?
- North America: November 22, 2005
- Europe: December 2, 2005
- Japan: December 10, 2005
The red ring of death
Many early consoles overheated and stopped working, showing three flashing red lights around the power button. Players called it the “red ring of death”. In July 2007 Microsoft extended the warranty to three years for that fault and set aside more than $1 billion to pay for repairs.
Where was the Xbox 360 designed?
Microsoft designed it in Redmond, Washington. Its main processor was made by IBM and its graphics chip by ATI. Launching a year before the PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii gave it a head start.
Xbox 360 facts you might not know
- It was the first console to launch in North America, Europe and Japan within a month.
- The Kinect motion camera, added in 2010, became one of the fastest-selling electronics devices of its time.
- Microsoft sold about 84 million Xbox 360s before production ended in 2016.
Frequently asked questions
How much was the Xbox 360 at launch?
The Xbox 360 cost $299.99 for the Core System or $399.99 for the version with a 20 GB hard drive when it launched on November 22, 2005.
How much is $299.99 from 2005 worth today?
Adjusted for US inflation, the Xbox 360’s $299.99 launch price is about $511.53 in September 2026 money.
What was the red ring of death?
A hardware fault in early Xbox 360 consoles, shown by three flashing red lights. Microsoft extended the warranty to three years in 2007 to cover it.
When did the Xbox 360 come out in the UK?
It launched in the UK and Europe on December 2, 2005.
Want to compare the Xbox 360 launch price with similar launches? See what the Xbox, the Xbox One, the Nintendo Wii and the PlayStation 4 cost, browse more famous launch prices, or play the Xbox 360 question in Price Time Machine.
Sources
Launch prices and dates are checked against the sources below. Today’s price is calculated from official US inflation data and updates automatically when new figures are published.
- Press release: Microsoft Announces Xbox 360 Price for Europe and North America: Starts at $299.99 (August 17, 2005)
- Press release: Microsoft, The Countdown Begins: Xbox 360 to Hit Store Shelves Nov. 22 in North America (September 14, 2005)
- Wikipedia: Xbox 360
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index (CPI-U)