Xbox 360 - 6 months in

It didn't help that in marketing speak there wasn't a "killer application" or in our language an "essential game". There was no Master Chief madness as the next Halo instalment is still rumoured to be 12 months away. In fact, it's fair to say, that perhaps it was only the EAs that were in any way over-excited about the first wave of available software. Sure, Project Gotham Racing 3 is a very, very good technical driving game - if you're into technical driving games. Activision, normally a publisher to be relied upon debuted with a few heavyweight titles that received light weight gamer reaction; namely - Quake IV and GUN. Perfect Dark Zero, developed by the team behind Nintendo's classic GoldenEye faired little beter. Claims of repetitive combat and dodgy camera work plagued Kameo and Ridge Racer 6 stalled on the starting grid.

Lazy last-gen conversions, superficial looks lacking in gameplay, a lack of originality and any real identity that said "Look, this is a 360 title". The wider gaming public, those standing outside the resonating enthusiasm of the EAs, were far from convinced to part with over 300.

George Harrison of Nintendo North America was keen to point out the importance of having a strong launch line-up, in a recent dialogue surrounding Nintendo's strategy for its forthcoming Revolution console. "We recognised that you really make your reputation in the first year. You've got to deliver software, not just at launch, but in the first six to nine months after launch. It has to be solid software. In GameCube, we didn't have that, we had kind of a drought for six months after it launched. By that time your reputation starts to solidify and it's hard to reverse that after awhile."

With this in mind, industry veterans were preparing to sharpen a wide assortment of knives for Bill and his expensive, big box of tricks. But then things changed. Crucially, three winds started to fly in Bill's favour. Stock became available, games became good, some even jaw droppingly great, and Xbox Live began to deliver the type of end user experience that it was stuggling with at launch.

Walk into any games store now and you can pick an Xbox 360 off the shleves - with a wide array of different bundle packages, some with the inclusion of top ranked games offering particularly good value. And let's take a walk through the release list over the last couple of months. Fight Night Round 3 has become the new benchmark in boxing games - to the extent that even those not in love with the sport are starting to play the game. Sure, the game looks like a dream, with character modelling we simply haven't seen the likes of before. But it's the way that developers have been able to match the polished graphics with improved gameplay that hasn't happened before. When was the last time you played a fighting game that didn't have health meters? In FNR3 you can "see" how your character is holding-up in the ring.

Similarly, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion has become the closest a game has got to the elusive "killer app" accolade. Bethesda's utterly gorgeous, fully open-ended offline RPG has left critics and gamers stunned at its acheievements. It’s a game that's made people rush out and buy the console - and that is what Bill has been lacking, up to now.

Lara Croft then decides to use her freshly polished grappling hook to scale between the two previously mentioned milestones - with the 360 version standing head and shoulders above rival offerings. And out from the undergrowth Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter delivers the kind of squad shooter action that had been the staple diet for the soon to be forgotten Xbox. Battlefield 2: Modern Combat too, has massive 24 player a-side bullet whizzing warfare. People are really starting to take note of what the 360 can do.

The common theme that ties many of the new and great games together (with the notable exception of Elder Scrolls IV) is the functionality of Xbox Live. There are far fewer tales of connectivity problems as there were with the first machine. Equally, high value downloads (such as multiplayer Battlefield 2) and a more sophisticated interface that allows for even more interactivity with gamer buddies, is all adding up valuable reasons for gamers to invest in a 360.

It was touch and go for a while there, but it looks like the Xbox 360 is weathering the storm - although the Japanese market will predicably be a tougher nut to crack. With a raft of promising titles to on the horizon including such gems as Table Tennis (it's RockStar - don't knock it!), Crack Down (think GTA but with better graphics) and Just Cause (Eidos goes jungle warfare) - the future is looking much rosier than perhaps it did in the depths of winter. Now we just need to see what Sony will do!