title: Odell Beckham Jr.

text: In Beckham's first game with the Browns, he caught seven passes for 71 yards as the Browns lost at home to the Tennessee Titans 43–13. In Week 2 against the New York Jets, Beckham finished with 161 receiving yards, including a one-handed grab for 33 yards and later, an 89-yard touchdown as the Browns won 23–3 in his first game back at MetLife Stadium since being traded.


title: Odell Beckham Jr.

text: In Week 4 against the Baltimore Ravens, Beckham was limited to only two receptions for 20 yards in the 40–25 win. Late in the third quarter, Beckham threw a punch at Ravens' cornerback Marlon Humphrey who then responded by choking Beckham. After the game, Browns' head coach Freddie Kitchens was displeased with the fact that Humphrey was not ejected for choking Beckham and said that "they get away with it because it's Odell." On October 5, 2019, Beckham was fined $14,037, as was Humphrey.


title: Odell Beckham Jr.

text: In Week 6 against the Seattle Seahawks, Beckham caught six passes for 101 yards in the 32–28 loss. Days after the game, he was fined $14,037 by the NFL for uniform violation.


title: Odell Beckham Jr.

text: In Week 9, Beckham wore Joker-inspired cleats against the Denver Broncos, which violated the NFL's policy on cleat colors. He was required to change the cleats during halftime. In Week 12 against the Miami Dolphins, Beckham caught six passes for 84 yards and his second touchdown of the season in the 41–24 win. On December 8, it was revealed that Beckham was battling with a sports hernia. In Week 17 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Beckham caught three passes for 81 yards and a touchdown in the 33–23 loss. During the game, Beckham surpassed 1,000 receiving yards on the season for the fifth time in his career. On January 21, 2020, Beckham underwent core muscle surgery.


title: Odell Beckham Jr.

text: In Week 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Beckham caught four passes for 74 yards and his first receiving touchdown of the season during the 35–30 win. In Week 4, against the Dallas Cowboys, he had five receptions for 81 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns to go along with 73 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the 49–38 victory, amassing 154 total yards and 3 touchdowns on the day. The rushing touchdown occurred late in the fourth quarter as the Browns were trying to stop a furious comeback attempt by the Cowboys. The touchdown helped put the Browns up by 11, effectively sealing the game. In Week 7 against the Bengals, Beckham left the game in the first quarter with a knee injury and did not return after trying to tackle Darius Phillips following an interception. The next day, it was revealed that Beckham suffered a torn ACL, prematurely ending his season. He was placed on injured reserve on October 27, 2020. Beckham finished the 2020 season with 23 catches for 319 yards and three receiving touchdowns plus three rushes for 72 yards and a rushing touchdown in seven games played.


title: Odell Beckham Jr.

text: After being excused from two practices earlier in the week following outrage on social media by Beckham's father over the way Beckham was being used in the Browns offense, the Browns released a statement on November 5, 2021, saying that they would be releasing Beckham. He was waived on November 8.


title: Odell Beckham Jr.

text: Beckham played in eight regular season games for the Rams in 2021. He scored a touchdown in five of the games. He finished the season with 44 receptions for 537 receiving yards to go along with the five touchdowns.


title: Odell Beckham Jr.

text: Beckham scored his first career playoff touchdown on January 17, 2022, in the against the Arizona Cardinals. In the , Beckham caught nine passes for 113 yards in the 20–17 win against the San Francisco 49ers, helping the Rams advance to Super Bowl LVI. Beckham had a key reception for a first down on the fourth quarter drive to help set up the Rams' game-tying field goal.


title: Odell Beckham Jr.

text: In the Super Bowl against the Cincinnati Bengals, Beckham scored the game's first touchdown, a 17-yard reception. However, Beckham left the game in the second quarter with a knee injury and did not return. The Rams would hang on to win 23–20, earning Beckham his first career Super Bowl championship. The next day, it was revealed that Beckham suffered a torn ACL, less than a year and a half since he first tore it with Cleveland in October 2020, coincidentally also against the Bengals.


title: Odell Beckham Jr.

text: Beckham spent the off-season recovering from his ACL injury, and there was significant speculation about whether he would re-sign with Los Angeles or sign with another team. Despite still being unsigned by a team, Beckham participated in the Rams' championship banner ceremony before their opening night game against the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium on September 8, 2022.


title: Odell Beckham Jr.

text: Beckham has a younger brother, Kordell, and a younger sister, Jasmine. Beckham's father, Odell Beckham Sr., was a standout running back at Marshall High School in Marshall, Texas, and played running back at LSU from 1989 to 1992. Beckham Sr. was also mentioned in Buzz Bissinger's 1990 book "". Beckham's mother, Heather Van Norman, also attended LSU as a track runner. In 1993, she ran for three national championship relay teams, winning the events of indoor and outdoor 4 × 400 m and the outdoor 4 × 100 m relay. When Van Norman found out she was pregnant with Beckham in 1992, she was in the midst of training for the Olympic trials. She later became the coach of the Nicholls State University track and field team. She resigned from this position on June 1, 2017. After the NFL Combine, Beckham planned on challenging Van Norman to a race in the 40-yard dash. Beckham is or has been friends with many celebrities, including David Beckham (no relation), James Corden, Beyoncé, LeBron James, Drake, and David Alaba, who is also his favorite soccer player.


title: Odell Beckham Jr.

text: On January 29, 2015, during a live ESPN broadcast from Glendale, Arizona, Beckham partnered with New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees to establish a new world record for the most one-handed catches made in a minute. He shattered the previous record of 10 as he caught 33 passes. However, this achievement was short lived as CFL wide receiver Andy Fantuz recorded 50 one-handed catches in a minute to set the new world record.


title: Odell Beckham Jr.

text: In November 2021, Beckham and his partner Lauren Wood announced they are expecting their first child. On February 23, 2022, Beckham posted to his Instagram that their son, Zydn, was born on February 17, 2022.


title: Odell Beckham Jr.

text: On November 27, 2022, Beckham was escorted off an American Airlines flight, before it left Miami bound for Los Angeles, for refusing to put on a seat belt. The crew tried to wake him up, but said that he was unresponsive, and "appeared to be coming in and out of consciousness". The plane returned to the gate where he was escorted off the plane by Miami-Dade Police.


title: Odell Beckham Jr.

text: Beckham has raised money and awareness for several topics, including cancer research, feeding hungry Americans, damage done by Hurricane Harvey and severe floods, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.


title: Odell Beckham Jr.

text: In May 2017, Beckham and Nike signed the largest endorsement contract in NFL history worth $25 million over five years. The contract includes incentives allowing Beckham to extend it to eight years and $48 million.


title: Odell Beckham Jr.

text: Beckham also has sponsorship deals with Head & Shoulders, Foot Locker, Lenovo, and Daniel Wellington.


title: Odell Beckham Jr.

text: Beckham has invested in a number of startups, including in the esports and fintech industries. In March 2021, Beckham became a strategic advisor to a SPAC sponsored by Tribe Capital.


title: Odell Beckham Jr.

text: Beckham has been involved with a number of television productions. In 2015, he was part of "Catching Odell", which was a TV movie that gave a behind-the-scenes point of view at his preparations and training for the upcoming season. In 2016, he made his television debut in "Code Black." In 2018, alongside his then-Giants teammate Brad Wing, he appeared in the music video for the Nicki Minaj and Ariana Grande song "Bed".


title: Michael Bay

text: Michael Benjamin Bay (born February 17, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is best known for making big-budget, high-concept action films characterized by fast cutting, stylistic cinematography and visuals, and extensive use of special effects, including frequent depictions of explosions. The films he has produced and directed, which include "Armageddon" (1998), "Pearl Harbor" (2001) and the "Transformers" film series (2007–present), have grossed over worldwide, making him one of the most commercially successful directors in history.


title: Michael Bay

text: He is co-founder of commercial production house The Institute, a.k.a. The Institute for the Development of Enhanced Perceptual Awareness. He co-owns Platinum Dunes, a production house which has remade horror films, including "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (2003), "The Amityville Horror" (2005), "The Hitcher" (2007), "Friday the 13th" (2009) and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (2010).


title: Michael Bay

text: Despite his commercial success at the box office, Bay's work is generally held in low esteem by film critics. While "The Rock" (1996), "Transformers" (2007), "" (2016), and "Ambulance" (2022) received moderately positive reviews, most of his other films, particularly the four "Transformers" sequels, have been received negatively by critics.


title: Michael Bay

text: Bay was born in Los Angeles. He was raised by his adoptive parents Harriet, a bookstore owner and child psychiatrist, and Jim, a CPA. He was raised Jewish. His grandfather was from Russia. His cousin, Susan Bay, is the widow of "Star Trek" actor Leonard Nimoy (whom he eventually cast as the voice actor for Sentinel Prime in ""). He attended the exclusive Crossroads School in Santa Monica, California.


title: Michael Bay

text: Bay often traces his interest in action films back to an incident during his childhood. As a boy, he attached some firecrackers to a toy train and filmed the ensuing fiery disaster with his mother's 8 millimeter camera. The fire department was called and he was grounded.


title: Michael Bay

text: Bay got his start in the film industry interning with George Lucas when he was 15, filing the storyboards for "Raiders of the Lost Ark", which he thought was going to be terrible. His opinion changed after seeing it in the theater and he was so impressed by the experience that he decided to become a film director. He graduated from Wesleyan University in 1986, majoring in both English and film. He was a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity and a favorite student of film historian Jeanine Basinger. For his graduate work, he attended Art Center College of Design in Pasadena where he also studied film.


title: Michael Bay

text: Bay began working at Propaganda Films, directing commercials and music videos, two weeks after finishing his postgraduate degree. His 90-second World War II–inspired Coca-Cola advertisement was picked up by Capitol Records. His first national commercial was for the Red Cross, which won a Clio Award in 1992. He directed Goodby, Silverstein & Partners' "Got Milk?" ad campaign for the California Milk Processors Board in 1993, which also won a Grand Prix Clio Award for Commercial of the Year.


title: Michael Bay

text: Bay's success in music videos gained the attention of producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson, who selected him to direct his first feature-length film, "Bad Boys". It was shot in Miami in 1994 and starred Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. The action film was a breakout role for Smith, who was making a transition from television at the time. Shooting in Miami was a good experience for Bay, who would later own a home in the city and spend a great deal of time there. The film was completed for $19 million and grossed a remarkable $141 million in the summer of 1995. Bay's success led to a strong partnership and friendship with Jerry Bruckheimer.


title: Michael Bay

text: His follow-up film, "The Rock" (1996), an action movie set on Alcatraz Island and in the San Francisco Bay area, starred Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage and Ed Harris. It was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson, the latter of whom died five months before its release. The film is dedicated to him. Connery and Cage won 'Best On-Screen Duo' at the MTV Movie Awards in 1997, and the film was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Achievement in Sound category for the work of Greg P. Russell, Kevin O'Connell and Keith A. Wester. After the success of "The Rock", Bay established his production company Bay Films, with a two-picture deal with Disney.


title: Michael Bay

text: In 1998, Bay again collaborated with Jerry Bruckheimer, this time as a co-producer, as well as directing the action-adventure film "Armageddon". The film, about a group of tough oil drillers who are sent by NASA to deflect an asteroid from a collision course with Earth, starred Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler. It was nominated for four Oscars at the 71st Academy Awards, including Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing and Best Original Song. It earned $9.6 million on its opening day and $36.5 million through the first weekend. Its budget of $140 million was one of the highest of the summer of 1998. It went on to gross over $553 million worldwide, the highest-grossing film of that year.


title: Michael Bay

text: In 2001, Bay directed "Pearl Harbor," starring Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, Kate Beckinsale and Cuba Gooding, Jr. It was released on Memorial Day weekend in 2001, again produced by Bay with Jerry Bruckheimer. It received four Academy Award nominations, including Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing and Best Song. Kevin O'Connell received another nomination for Best Sound, but did not win. "Pearl Harbor" won in the category for Sound Editing, making it Bay's first (and, to date, only) film to win an Oscar. Bay also directed the music video for the nominated track "There You'll Be" by vocal artist Faith Hill.


title: Michael Bay

text: Bay reteamed with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence for "Bad Boys II", a sequel that was Bay's fifth collaboration with Jerry Bruckheimer. It grossed $138 million domestically, enough to cover the production budget, and $273 million worldwide, almost twice as much as the first movie.


title: Michael Bay

text: In 2005, Bay directed "The Island", a science fiction film starring Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson. It was the first film Bay made without Jerry Bruckheimer as a producer. It cost $126 million to produce and earned $36 million domestically and $127 million overseas, for a total of $163 million. Bay said that he was not comfortable with the domestic marketing campaign, as it confused the audience about the film's true subject.


title: Michael Bay

text: In 2007, he teamed up with executive producer Steven Spielberg to direct "Transformers", a live action film based on the "Transformers" franchise. Released in July 2007, by November of that year it had made over $709 million worldwide.


title: Michael Bay

text: Bay returned as director and executive producer for "", which was released on June 24, 2009 and grossed over $832 million worldwide. Although it received mostly negative reviews by critics, including aggressively critical reviews by American film critics such as Roger Ebert, Michael Phillips and David Denby (who referred to Bay as "stunningly, almost viciously, untalented"), the film was well received by its intended audience and one of the highest-grossing of 2009. In 2010, it earned seven Golden Raspberry Award nominations, and won three: Worst Picture, Worst Director and Worst Screenplay. It was also one of the best selling DVD and Blu-ray Discs of 2009, second only to "Twilight" in DVD format, and the #1 of all time in Blu-ray format until it was surpassed by Blu-ray sales of James Cameron's "Avatar" in April 2010.


title: Michael Bay

text: Bay directed "", released on June 29, 2011, which grossed $1.123 billion globally. His next film was a comparatively small one he had been developing for years, called "Pain & Gain". The true crime story, based on events described in a "Miami New Times" article by Pete Collins, concerns a group of bumbling bodybuilders working together to commit a robbery. It starred Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Anthony Mackie, Tony Shalhoub and Ed Harris.


title: Michael Bay

text: Bay produced DreamWorks' "I Am Number Four", based on a series of novels by Pittacus Lore published by HarperCollins Children's Books. D. J. Caruso ("Eagle Eye", "Disturbia") directed.


title: Michael Bay

text: A fourth Bay-directed Transformers movie, "", was released in June 2014. Starring Mark Wahlberg, it earned $1.1 billion at the global box office. On January 12, 2016, Paramount Pictures released "", which Bay produced and directed, based on the 2012 Benghazi attack. While the lowest-grossing film of Bay's career at the box office, it went on to massive DVD sales on its digital release in May 2016, earning over $40 million in home video revenue.


title: Michael Bay

text: On May 23, 2017, Bay was honored with his own hand-and-footprint ceremony at The TCL Chinese Theatre. His English mastiff, Rebel, put her paw in the cement with him.


title: Michael Bay

text: Bay's fifth "Transformers" film as director, "", was released on June 21, 2017. It grossed $68.5 million in its five-day North American opening weekend, the franchise's lowest opening, and $605 million worldwide. In a 2016 interview with "Rolling Stone", Bay said it would be his final "Transformers" film as director.


title: Michael Bay

text: In 2018, it was announced that Bay would direct the Netflix action thriller film "6 Underground", starring Ryan Reynolds, Mélanie Laurent, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Adria Arjona, Corey Hawkins, Ben Hardy and Dave Franco. It was released on December 13, 2019. In August 2019, Bay signed to direct the action film "Black Five" for Sony Pictures. However, the film, which was set to begin production in 2020, was put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Bay subsequently moved on to direct "Ambulance".


title: Michael Bay

text: Bay produced the pandemic-themed thriller "Songbird" starting Demi Moore, Craig Robinson, Paul Walter Hauser and Peter Stormare. He is set to direct the dystopian thriller "Little America," which was scheduled to film in California sometime in 2020.


title: Michael Bay

text: In 2021, it was reported that Bay requested financial compensation from film studio Paramount Pictures for indirectly limiting his income as a result of Paramount cutting the theatrical-only run of "A Quiet Place Part II" from 90 to 45 days due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bay, and other producers as well as actors for the film, as is typically the case, receive payment in part based on box-office performance, and a reduction in the theatrical run's exclusivity affected the pay they received.


title: Michael Bay

text: Bay's next film was 2022's "Ambulance", starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Eiza González. It follows two bank robbers who hijack an ambulance and take two hostages. Shot during the COVID-19 pandemic in Los Angeles, it was released in the US on April 8, 2022 by Universal Pictures.


title: Michael Bay

text: Bay founded production house Platinum Dunes with fellow producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form in 2001.


title: Michael Bay

text: Bay and Wyndcrest Holdings, a Florida-based investment firm, acquired the digital effects company Digital Domain from James Cameron and Stan Winston in 2006, infusing the struggling business with a $50 million investment. Digital Domain considered an initial public offering in 2009 but withdrew the offer due to lack of interest. It was sold to the production group Beijing Galloping Horse in 2012.


title: Michael Bay

text: After leaving Propaganda Films, Bay and producer Scott Gardenhour, also formerly at Propaganda, formed The Institute for the Development of Enhanced Perceptual Awareness (now known as The Institute), to produce commercials and other projects. Through The Institute, Bay has directed and produced spots for Victoria's Secret, Lexus, Budweiser, Reebok, Mercedes-Benz, and Nike. One of his Victoria's Secret ads was for the 2009 "A Thousand Fantasies" holiday campaign.


title: Michael Bay

text: Bay co-founded 451 Media Group with Doug Nunes (who serves as CEO), and with John and Anthony Gentile, who previously marketed brands such as Micronauts, "", Sky Dancers and the Power Glove. In 2015, the company announced an interactive publishing division to offer "augmented reality" content from printed graphic novels with digital video. The graphic novels employ Touchcode technology from T+ink (previously used in the Power Glove), in which ink used in the printing process unlocks access to exclusive content that is housed on the Machinima Network, which is transferred to users' touch-screen-enabled mobile devices when the printed books are touched to those devices. The company's premiere slate of graphic novels was unveiled at the October 2015 New York Comic-Con. The creators involved included Scott Rosenberg, Skip Woods, George Pelecanos, Mark Mallouk, Clay McLeod Chapman and Peter and Paul Williams.


title: Michael Bay

text: In June 2016, Bay joined The Rogue Initiative, a production studio and technology company, as a strategic advisor and stakeholder. The studio merges Hollywood production with interactive talent to generate story-driven content for games, mobile, virtual reality, mixed reality, television and feature film. As part of the partnership, Bay will develop and direct a multiplatform action-adventure game and cinematic VR experiences, based on an original IP conceived by him.


title: Michael Bay

text: Bay lives in Miami with his three English mastiffs, named for characters in his films. As a boy, he donated his Bar Mitzvah money to an animal shelter and often includes his dogs in his films. Bonecrusher appeared as Mikaela's dog "Bones" in "". Mason, his first English mastiff, was named for John Patrick Mason, played by Sean Connery in "The Rock". Mason appeared as Marcus's dog in "Bad Boys II" and as Miles' dog in "Transformers"; he died during production of the latter film in March 2007.


title: Michael Bay

text: In a 2016 "Rolling Stone" interview, Bay said that his net worth was around $500 million. He owned a $50 million Gulfstream G550 jet, as well as a Bentley, a Range Rover, an Escalade, a Ferrari, a Lamborghini, and two Camaros from the "Transformers" franchise.


title: Michael Bay

text: Despite his box office success, Bay's work has been poorly received by film critics, and his name is often used pejoratively in art-house circles. Bay has responded to his critics, saying: "I make movies for teenage boys. Oh, dear, what a crime." Besides accusing him of making films that pander to a young demographic, critics and audiences have been critical of elements of Bay's filmmaking style such as the overuse of Dutch angles, extreme patriotism, juvenile humor, excessive product placement, oversaturated orange and teal color grading, reusing footage from his previous films, and his preference of action and spectacle over story and characters. Another point of contention with Bay's films is his portrayal and use of offensive racial stereotypes as comedic relief; a notable alleged example being the characters Skids and Mudflap in "".


title: Michael Bay

text: Bay has also been accused of heavily objectifying women in his films, with critics describing Bay's manner of filming actresses as "lascivious" and "pornographic". He has faced criticism for routinely making sexist remarks and showing female characters in a stereotypical light. He came under scrutiny for firing Megan Fox in retaliation after she made comments about him mistreating her on the set of the "Transformers" films and compared him to Hitler and Napoleon. Bay published an open letter written by three anonymous members of the crew of "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" that referred to Fox as, among other things, "Ms. Sourpants", "porn star", "unfriendly bitch", and "dumb-as-a-rock".


title: Michael Bay

text: In 2009, it was reported that Fox, at the age of 15, was made to wash Bay's car while auditioning for "Transformers". In 2020, Fox revisited the incident and denied that she was underaged (for "Transformers") or "made to 'wash' or work on someone's cars in a way that was extraneous from the materials in the actual script." Fox was 15 when she first appeared as a bikini-clad extra in the Bay film "Bad Boys II".


title: Michael Bay

text: Actress Kate Beckinsale also spoke out publicly by reporting that she was body-shamed and regularly criticized for her appearance by Bay during the making of "Pearl Harbor".


title: Michael Bay

text: Six of Bay's films have been nominated for the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture and Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director ("Armageddon", "Pearl Harbor", "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen", "Transformers: Dark of the Moon", "Transformers: Age of Extinction" and "Transformers: The Last Knight"), with "Revenge of the Fallen" and "Age of Extinction" winning the award for "Worst Director". "Revenge of the Fallen" also became the first film by Bay and also the highest-grossing film to be awarded "Worst Picture".


title: Michael Bay

text: Conversely, some critics and actors have praised Bay's films and style. Film historian Jeanine Basinger has described him as "the most cinematic and fluid and unafraid director", while Scott Foundas of "Variety" has lauded his "grand, epic vision" and positively compared him to William Wyler. Actress Scarlett Johansson wrote that Bay is "a truly ambitious storyteller who celebrates characters actors and leading men and women alike."


title: Xochitl Gomez

text: Xochitl Gomez ( ) (born April 29, 2006) is an American actress. She is known for playing America Chavez in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" (2022). She has also played Dawn Schafer in the first season of the Netflix series "The Baby-Sitters Club" (2020).


title: Xochitl Gomez

text: Gomez began acting at age five in local musicals. Before appearing in "The Baby-Sitters Club", Gomez had roles in the television series "Gentefied", "Raven's Home", and "You're the Worst". In 2020, Gomez won a Young Artist Award for Supporting Teen Artist for her work in the 2019 film, "Shadow Wolves". In October that year, it was announced that Gomez, 14 years old at that point, would play America Chavez in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness". In March 2021, Netflix recast the role of Dawn Schafer in season 2 of "The Baby-Sitters Club" due to scheduling conflicts with Gomez filming "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness".


title: Xbox 360

text: The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detailed launch and game information announced later that month at the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).


title: Xbox 360

text: The Xbox 360 features an online service, Xbox Live, which was expanded from its previous iteration on the original Xbox and received regular updates during the console's lifetime. Available in free and subscription-based varieties, Xbox Live allows users to: play games online; download games (through Xbox Live Arcade) and game demos; purchase and stream music, television programs, and films through the Xbox Music and Xbox Video portals; and access third-party content services through media streaming applications. In addition to online multimedia features, it allows users to stream media from local PCs. Several peripherals have been released, including wireless controllers, expanded hard drive storage, and the Kinect motion sensing camera. The release of these additional services and peripherals helped the Xbox brand grow from gaming-only to encompassing all multimedia, turning it into a hub for living-room computing entertainment.


title: Xbox 360

text: Launched worldwide across 2005–2006, the Xbox 360 was initially in short supply in many regions, including North America and Europe. The earliest versions of the console suffered from a high failure rate, indicated by the so-called "Red Ring of Death", necessitating an extension of the device's warranty period. Microsoft released two redesigned models of the console: the Xbox 360 S in 2010, and the Xbox 360 E in 2013. Xbox 360 is the sixth-highest-selling home video game console in history, and the highest-selling console made by an American company. Although not the best-selling console of its generation, the Xbox 360 was deemed by "TechRadar" to be the most influential through its emphasis on digital media distribution and multiplayer gaming on Xbox Live.


title: Xbox 360

text: The Xbox 360's successor, the Xbox One, was released on November 22, 2013. On April 20, 2016, Microsoft announced that it would end the production of new Xbox 360 hardware, although the company will continue to support the platform.


title: Xbox 360

text: Known during development as Xbox Next, Xenon, Xbox 2, Xbox FS or NextBox, the Xbox 360 was conceived in early 2003. In February 2003, planning for the Xenon software platform began, and was headed by Microsoft's Vice President J Allard. That month, Microsoft held an event for 400 developers in Bellevue, Washington to recruit support for the system. Also that month, Peter Moore, former president of Sega of America, joined Microsoft. On August 12, 2003, ATI signed on to produce the graphic processing unit for the new console, a deal that was publicly announced two days later. Before the launch of the Xbox 360, several Alpha development kits were spotted using Apple's Power Mac G5 hardware. This was because the system's PowerPC 970 processor was running the same PowerPC architecture that the Xbox 360 would eventually run under IBM's Xenon processor. The cores of the Xenon processor were developed using a slightly modified version of the PlayStation 3's Cell Processor PPE architecture. According to David Shippy and Mickie Phipps, the IBM employees were "hiding" their work from Sony and Toshiba, IBM's partners in developing the Cell Processor. Jeff Minter created the music visualization program Neon which is included with the Xbox 360.


title: Xbox 360

text: The Xbox 360 was released on November 22, 2005, in the United States and Canada; December 2, 2005, in Europe and December 10, 2005, in Japan. It was later launched in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, and Russia. In its first year in the market, the system was launched in 36 countries, more countries than any other console has launched in a single year.


title: Xbox 360

text: In 2009, IGN named the Xbox 360 the sixth-greatest video game console of all time, out of a field of 25. Although not the best-selling console of the seventh generation, the Xbox 360 was deemed by TechRadar to be the most influential, by emphasizing digital media distribution and online gaming through Xbox Live, and by popularizing game achievement awards. "PC Magazine" considered the Xbox 360 the prototype for online gaming as it "proved that online gaming communities could thrive in the console space". Five years after the Xbox 360's debut, the well-received Kinect motion capture camera was released, which set the record of being the fastest selling consumer electronic device in history, and extended the life of the console. "Edge" ranked Xbox 360 the second-best console of the 1993–2013 period, stating "It had its own social network, cross-game chat, new indie games every week, and the best version of just about every multiformat game ... "Killzone" is no "Halo" and nowadays "Gran Turismo" is no "Forza", but it's not about the exclusives—there's nothing to trump Naughty Dog's PS3 output, after all. Rather, it's about the choices Microsoft made back in the original Xbox's lifetime. The PC-like architecture meant the early EA Sports games ran at 60fps compared to only 30 on PS3, Xbox Live meant every dedicated player had an existing friends list, and "Halo" meant Microsoft had the killer next-generation exclusive. And when developers demo games on PC now they do it with a 360 pad—another industry benchmark, and a critical one."


title: Xbox 360

text: The Xbox 360 began production only 69 days before launch, and Microsoft was not able to supply enough systems to meet initial consumer demand in Europe or North America, selling out completely upon release in all regions except in Japan. Forty thousand units were offered for sale on auction site eBay during the initial week of release, 10% of the total supply. By year's end, Microsoft had shipped 1.5 million units, including 900,000 in North America, 500,000 in Europe, and 100,000 in Japan.


title: Xbox 360

text: In May 2008, Microsoft announced that 10 million Xbox 360s had been sold and that it was the "first current generation gaming console" to surpass the 10 million figure in the US. In the US, the Xbox 360 was the leader in current-generation home console sales until June 2008, when it was surpassed by the Wii. By the end of March 2011, Xbox 360 sales in the US had reached 25.4 million units. Between January 2011 and October 2013, the Xbox 360 was the best-selling console in the United States for these 32 consecutive months. By the end of 2014, Xbox 360 sales had surpassed sales of the Wii, making the Xbox 360 the best-selling 7th-generation console in the US once again. In Canada, the Xbox 360 has sold a total of 870,000 units as of August 1, 2008.


title: Xbox 360

text: In Europe, the Xbox 360 has sold seven million units as of November 20, 2008. The Xbox 360 took 110 weeks to reach 2 million units sold in the UK, generating £507m in revenue. Uk sales would reach 3.2 million units by January 2009, per GfK Chart-Track. The 8 million unit mark was crossed in the UK by February 2013. Sales of the Xbox 360 would overtake the Wii later that year, topping 9 million units, making the Xbox 360 the best-selling 7th-generation console in the UK, as well as making it the third best-selling console of all time in the region, behing the PS2 and Nintendo DS. Over 1 million units were sold in Spain across the console's lifecycle.


title: Xbox 360

text: The Xbox 360 crossed the 1 million units sold in Japan in March 2009, and the 1.5 million units sold in June 2011. Lifetime sales of the Xbox 360 in Japan stand at 1,616,218 million units. While the Xbox 360 has sold poorly in Japan, it improved upon the sales of the original Xbox, which had total sales of 474,992 units. Furthermore, the Xbox 360 managed to outsell both the PlayStation 3 and Wii the week ending September 14, 2008, as well as the week ending February 22, 2009, when the Japanese Xbox 360 exclusives "Infinite Undiscovery" and "", were released those weeks, respectively. Ultimately, "Edge" magazine would report that Microsoft had been unable to make serious inroads into the dominance of domestic rivals Sony and Nintendo; adding that lackluster sales in Japan had led to retailers scaling down and in some cases, discontinuing sales of the Xbox 360 completely. The significance of Japan's poor sales might be overstated in the media in comparison to overall international sales.


title: Xbox 360

text: The Xbox 360 sold much better than its predecessor, and although not the best-selling console of the seventh generation, it is regarded as a success since it strengthened Microsoft as a major force in the console market at the expense of well-established rivals. The inexpensive Wii did sell the most console units but eventually saw a collapse of third-party software support in its later years, and it has been viewed by some as a fad since the succeeding Wii U had a poor debut in 2012. The PlayStation 3 struggled for a time due to being too expensive and initially lacking quality games, making it far less dominant than its predecessor, the PlayStation 2, and it took until late in the PlayStation 3's lifespan for its sales and games to reach parity with the Xbox 360. "TechRadar" proclaimed that "Xbox 360 passes the baton as the king of the hill – a position that puts all the more pressure on its successor, Xbox One".


title: Xbox 360

text: The Xbox 360's advantage over its competitors was due to the release of high-profile games from both first party and third-party developers. The 2007 Game Critics Awards honored the platform with 38 nominations and 12 wins – more than any other platform. By March 2008, the Xbox 360 had reached a software attach rate of 7.5 games per console in the US; the rate was 7.0 in Europe, while its competitors were 3.8 (PS3) and 3.5 (Wii), according to Microsoft. At the 2008 Game Developers Conference, Microsoft announced that it expected over 1,000 games available for Xbox 360 by the end of the year. As well as enjoying exclusives such as additions to the Halo franchise and "Gears of War", the Xbox 360 has managed to gain a simultaneous release of games that were initially planned to be PS3 exclusives, including "Devil May Cry 4", "Ace Combat 6", "Virtua Fighter 5", "Grand Theft Auto IV", "Final Fantasy XIII", "Tekken 6", "", and "L.A. Noire". In addition, Xbox 360 versions of cross-platform games were generally considered superior to their PS3 counterparts in 2006 and 2007, due in part to the difficulties of programming for the PS3.


title: Xbox 360

text: TechRadar deemed the Xbox 360 as the most influential game system through its emphasis of digital media distribution, Xbox Live online gaming service, and game achievement feature. During the console's lifetime, the Xbox brand has grown from gaming-only to encompassing all multimedia, turning it into a hub for "living-room computing environment".


title: Xbox 360

text: Microsoft announced the successor to the Xbox 360, the Xbox One, on May 21, 2013. On April 20, 2016, Microsoft announced the end of production of new Xbox 360 hardware, though the company will continue to provide hardware and software support for the platform as selected Xbox 360 games are playable on Xbox One. The Xbox 360 continued to be supported by major publishers with new games well into the Xbox One's lifecycle. New titles were still being released in 2018. The Xbox 360 continues to have an active player base years after the system's discontinuation. Speaking to "Engadget" at E3 2019 after the announcement of Project Scarlett, the next-generation of Xbox consoles after the Xbox One, Phil Spencer stated that there were still "millions and millions of players" active on the Xbox 360. After the launch of the Xbox Series X and S by the end of 2020, the Xbox 360 still had a 17.7% market share of all consoles in use in Mexico; comparatively, newer systems like the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 stood at 36.9% and 18.0% market share, respectively.


title: Xbox 360

text: The main unit of the Xbox 360 itself has slight double concavity in matte white or black. The official color of the white model is Arctic Chill. It features a port on the top when vertical (left side when horizontal) to which a custom-housed hard disk drive unit can be attached.


title: Xbox 360

text: On the Slim and E models, the hard drive bay is on the bottom when vertical (right side when horizontal) and requires the opening of a concealed door to access it. (This does not void the warranty.) The Xbox 360 Slim/E hard drives are standard 2.5" SATA laptop drives, but have a custom enclosure and firmware so that the Xbox 360 can recognize it.


title: Xbox 360

text: Various hard disk drives have been produced, including options at 20, 60, 120, 250, 320, or 500 GB. Inside, the Xbox 360 uses the triple-core IBM designed Xenon as its CPU, with each core capable of simultaneously processing two threads, and can therefore operate on up to six threads at once. Graphics processing is handled by the ATI Xenos, which has 10 MB of eDRAM. Its main memory pool is 512 MB in size.


title: Xbox 360

text: Originally, the Xbox 360 was equipped with only 256 MB of RAM, but Epic, the "Gears of War" developer, demonstrated to Microsoft that the console should have 512 MB of RAM to deliver much better performance. Microsoft agreed, saying : "I just want you to know you cost me a billion dollars", to which Epic replied : "We did a favour for a billion gamers."


title: Xbox 360

text: Many accessories are available for the console, including both wired and wireless controllers, faceplates for customization, headsets for chatting, a webcam for video chatting, dance mats and Gamercize for exercise, three sizes of memory units and five sizes of hard drives (20, 60, 120, 250 (initially Japan only, but later also available elsewhere) and 320 GB), among other items, all of which are styled to match the console.


title: Xbox 360

text: In 2006, Microsoft released the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player. The accessory was discontinued in 2008 after the format war had ended in Blu-ray's favor.


title: Xbox 360

text: Kinect is a "controller-free gaming and entertainment experience" for the Xbox 360. It was first announced on June 1, 2009, at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, under the codename, "Project Natal". The add-on peripheral enables users to control and interact with the Xbox 360 without a game controller by using gestures, spoken commands and presented objects and images. The Kinect accessory is compatible with all Xbox 360 models, connecting to new models via a custom connector, and to older ones via a USB and mains power adapter. During their CES 2010 keynote speech, Robbie Bach and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer went on to say that Kinect would be released during the holiday period (November–January) and work with every Xbox 360 console. It was released on November 4, 2010.


title: Xbox 360

text: At launch, the Xbox 360 was available in two configurations: the "Xbox 360" package (unofficially known as the 20 GB Pro or Premium), priced at US$399 or GB£279.99, and the "Xbox 360 Core", priced at US$299 and GB£209.99. The original shipment of the Xbox 360 version included a cut-down version of the Media Remote as a promotion. The Elite package was launched later at US$479. The "Xbox 360 Core" was replaced by the "Xbox 360 Arcade" in October 2007 and a 60 GB version of the Xbox 360 Pro was released on August 1, 2008. The Pro package was discontinued and marked down to US$249 on August 28, 2009, to be sold until stock ran out, while the Elite was also marked down in price to US$299.


title: Xbox 360

text: Two major hardware revisions of the Xbox 360 have succeeded the original models; the Xbox 360 S (also referred to as the "Slim") replaced the original "Elite" and "Arcade" models in 2010. The S model carries a smaller, streamlined appearance with an angular case, and utilizes a redesigned motherboard designed to alleviate the hardware and overheating issues experienced by prior models. It also includes a proprietary port for use with the Kinect sensor. The Xbox 360 E, a further streamlined variation of the 360 S with a two-tone rectangular case inspired by Xbox One, was released in 2013. In addition to its revised aesthetics, the Xbox 360 E also has one fewer USB port, no AV connector (and thus is HDMI-only), and no longer supports S/PDIF.


title: Xbox 360

text: The original model of the Xbox 360 has been subject to a number of technical problems. Since the console's release in 2005, users have reported concerns over its reliability and failure rate.


title: Xbox 360

text: To aid customers with defective consoles, Microsoft extended the Xbox 360's manufacturer's warranty to three years for hardware failure problems that generate a "General Hardware Failure" error report. A "General Hardware Failure" is recognized on all models released before the Xbox 360 S by three quadrants of the ring around the power button flashing red. This error is often known as the "Red Ring of Death". In April 2009, the warranty was extended to also cover failures related to the E74 error code. The warranty extension is not granted for any other types of failures that do not generate these specific error codes.


title: Xbox 360

text: After these problems surfaced, Microsoft attempted to modify the console to improve its reliability. Modifications included a reduction in the number, size, and placement of components, the addition of dabs of epoxy on the corners and edges of the CPU and GPU as glue to prevent movement relative to the board during heat expansion, and a second GPU heatsink to dissipate more heat. With the release of the redesigned Xbox 360 S, the warranty for the newer models does not include the three-year extended coverage for "General Hardware Failures". The newer Xbox 360 S and E models indicate system overheating when the console's power button begins to flash red, unlike previous models where the first and third quadrant of the ring would light up red around the power button if overheating occurred. The system will then warn the user of imminent system shutdown until the system has cooled, whereas a flashing power button that alternates between green and red is an indication of a "General Hardware Failure" unlike older models where three of the quadrants would light up red.


title: Xbox 360

text: The Xbox 360 launched with 14 games in North America and 13 in Europe. The console's best-selling game for 2005, "Call of Duty 2", sold over a million copies. Five other games sold over a million copies in the console's first year on the market: "Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter", "", "Dead or Alive 4", "Saints Row", and "Gears of War". "Gears of War" would become the best-selling game on the console with 3 million copies in 2006, before being surpassed in 2007 by "Halo 3" with over 8 million copies.


title: Xbox 360

text: Six games were initially available in Japan, while eagerly anticipated games such as "Dead or Alive 4" and "Enchanted Arms" were released in the weeks following the console's launch. Games targeted specifically for the region, such as "Chromehounds", "Ninety-Nine Nights", and "Phantasy Star Universe", were also released in the console's first year. Microsoft also had the support of Japanese developer Mistwalker, founded by "Final Fantasy" creator Hironobu Sakaguchi. Mistwalker's first game, "Blue Dragon", was released in 2006 and had a limited-edition bundle which sold out quickly with over 10,000 pre-orders. "Blue Dragon" is one of three Xbox 360 games to surpass 200,000 units in Japan, along with "Tales of Vesperia" and "". Mistwalker's second game, "Lost Odyssey" also sold over 100,000 copies.


title: Xbox 360

text: By 2015, game releases started to decline as most publishers instead focused on the Xbox One. The last official game released for the system was Just Dance 2019, released on October 23, 2018, in North America, and October 25 in Europe and Australia.


title: Xbox 360

text: As one of the late updates to the software following its discontinuation, Microsoft will add the ability for Xbox 360 users to use cloud saves even if they do not have Xbox Live Gold prior to the launch of the Xbox Series X and Series S in November 2020. The new consoles will have backward compatibility for all Xbox 360 games that are already backward compatible on the Xbox One, and can use any Xbox 360 game's cloud saves through this update, making the transition to the new consoles easier.


title: Xbox 360

text: The Xbox 360's original graphical user interface was the "Xbox 360 Dashboard"; a tabbed interface that featured five "Blades" (formerly four blades), and was designed by AKQA and Audiobrain. It could be launched automatically when the console booted without a disc in it, or when the disc tray was ejected, but the user had the option to select what the console does if a game is in the tray on start up, or if inserted when already on. A simplified version of it was also accessible at any time via the Xbox Guide button on the gamepad. This simplified version showed the user's gamercard, Xbox Live messages and friends list. It also allowed for personal and music settings, in addition to voice or video chats, or returning to the Xbox Dashboard from the game.


title: Xbox 360

text: On November 19, 2008, the Xbox 360's dashboard was changed from the "Blade" interface, to a dashboard reminiscent of that present on the Zune and Windows Media Center, known as the "New Xbox Experience" or NXE.


title: Xbox 360

text: Since the console's release, Microsoft has released several updates for the Dashboard software. These updates have included adding new features to the console, enhancing Xbox Live functionality and multimedia playback capabilities, adding compatibility for new accessories, and fixing bugs in the software. Such updates are mandatory for users wishing to use Xbox Live, as access to Xbox Live is disabled until the update is performed.


title: Xbox 360

text: At E3 2008, at Microsoft's Show, Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg and Marc Whitten announced the new Xbox 360 interface called the "New Xbox Experience" (NXE). The update was intended to ease console menu navigation. Its GUI uses the Twist UI, previously used in Windows Media Center and the Zune. Its new Xbox Guide retains all Dashboard functionality (including the Marketplace browser and disk ejection) and the original "Blade" interface (although the color scheme has been changed to match that of the NXE Dashboard).


title: Xbox 360

text: The NXE also provides many new features. Users can now install games from disc to the hard drive to play them with reduced load time and less disc drive noise, but each game's disc must remain in the system in order to run. A new, built-in Community system allows the creation of digitized Avatars that can be used for multiple activities, such as sharing photos or playing Arcade games like "1 vs. 100". The update was released on November 19, 2008.


title: Xbox 360

text: While previous system updates have been stored on internal memory, the NXE update was the first to require a storage device—at least a 128 MB memory card or a hard drive.


title: Xbox 360

text: Microsoft released a further update to the Xbox 360 Dashboard starting on December 6, 2011. It included a completely new user interface which utilizes Microsoft's Metro design language, and added new features such as cloud storage for game saves and profiles, live television, Bing voice search, access to YouTube videos and better support for Kinect voice commands.


title: Xbox 360

text: The Xbox 360 supports videos in Windows Media Video (WMV) format (including high-definition and PlaysForSure videos), as well as H.264 and MPEG-4 media. The December 2007 dashboard update added support for the playback of MPEG-4 ASP format videos. The console can also display pictures and perform slideshows of photo collections with various transition effects, and supports audio playback, with music player controls accessible through the Xbox 360 Guide button. Users may play back their own music while playing games or using the dashboard, and can play music with an interactive visual synthesizer.


title: Xbox 360

text: Music, photos and videos can be played from standard USB mass storage devices, Xbox 360 proprietary storage devices (such as memory cards or Xbox 360 hard drives), and servers or computers with Windows Media Center or Windows XP with Service pack 2 or higher within the local-area network in streaming mode. As the Xbox 360 uses a modified version of the UPnP AV protocol, some alternative UPnP servers such as uShare (part of the GeeXboX project) and MythTV can also stream media to the Xbox 360, allowing for similar functionality from non-Windows servers.


title: Xbox 360

text: This is possible with video files up to HD-resolution and with several codecs (MPEG-2, MPEG-4, WMV) and container formats (WMV, MOV, TS).


title: Xbox 360

text: As of October 27, 2009, UK and Ireland users are also able to access live and on-demand streams of Sky television programming.


title: Xbox 360

text: At the 2007, 2008, and 2009 Consumer Electronics Shows, Microsoft had announced that IPTV services would soon be made available to use through the Xbox 360. In 2007, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates stated that IPTV on Xbox 360 was expected to be available to consumers by the holiday season, using the Microsoft TV IPTV Edition platform. In 2008, Gates and president of Entertainment & Devices Robbie Bach announced a partnership with BT in the United Kingdom, in which the BT Vision advanced TV service, using the newer Microsoft Mediaroom IPTV platform, would be accessible via Xbox 360, planned for the middle of the year. BT Vision's DVR-based features would not be available on Xbox 360 due to limited hard drive capacity. In 2010, while announcing version 2.0 of Microsoft Mediaroom, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer mentioned that AT&T's U-verse IPTV service would enable Xbox 360s to be used as set-top boxes later in the year. As of January 2010, IPTV on Xbox 360 has yet to be deployed beyond limited trials.


title: Xbox 360

text: In 2012, Microsoft released the Live Event Player, allowing for events such as video game shows, beauty pageants, award shows, concerts, news and sporting events to be streamed on the console via Xbox Live. The first live events streamed on Live were the 2012 Revolver Golden Gods, Microsoft's E3 2012 media briefing and the Miss Teen USA 2012 beauty pageant.


title: Xbox 360

text: XNA Community is a feature whereby Xbox 360 owners can receive community-created games, made with Microsoft XNA Game Studio, from the XNA Creators Club. The games are written, published, and distributed through a community managed portal. XNA Community provides a channel for digital videogame delivery over Xbox Live that can be free of royalties, publishers and licenses. XNA game sales, however, did not meet original expectations, though Xbox Live Indie Games (XBLIG) has had some "hits".


title: Xbox 360

text: When the Xbox 360 was released, Microsoft's online gaming service Xbox Live was shut down for 24 hours and underwent a major upgrade, adding a basic non-subscription service called Xbox Live Silver (later renamed Xbox Live Free) to its already established premium subscription-based service (which was renamed Gold). Xbox Live Free is included with all SKUs of the console. It allows users to create a user profile, join on message boards, and access Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade and Marketplace and talk to other members. A Live Free account does not generally support multiplayer gaming; however, some games that have rather limited online functions already (such as "Viva Piñata") and games that feature their own subscription service (e.g. EA Sports games) can be played with a Free account. Xbox Live also supports voice, a feature possible with the Xbox Live Vision.


title: Xbox 360

text: Xbox Live Gold includes the same features as Free and includes integrated online game playing capabilities outside of third-party subscriptions. Microsoft has allowed previous Xbox Live subscribers to maintain their profile information, friends list, and games history when they make the transition to Xbox Live Gold. To transfer an Xbox Live account to the new system, users need to link a Windows Live ID to their gamertag on Xbox.com. When users add an Xbox Live enabled profile to their console, they are required to provide the console with their passport account information and the last four digits of their credit card number, which is used for verification purposes and billing. An Xbox Live Gold account has an annual cost of US$59.99, C$59.99, NZ$90.00, GB£39.99, or €59.99. On January 5, 2011, Xbox Live reached over 30 million subscribers.


title: Xbox 360

text: The Xbox Live Marketplace is a virtual market designed for the console that allows Xbox Live users to download purchased or promotional content. The service offers movie and game trailers, game demos, Xbox Live Arcade games and Xbox 360 Dashboard themes as well as add-on game content (items, costumes, levels etc.). These features are available to both Free and Gold members on Xbox Live. A hard drive or memory unit is required to store products purchased from Xbox Live Marketplace. In order to download priced content, users are required to purchase Microsoft Points for use as scrip; though some products (such as trailers and demos) are free to download. Microsoft Points can be obtained through prepaid cards in 1,600 and 4,000-point denominations. Microsoft Points can also be purchased through Xbox Live with a credit card in 500, 1,000, 2,000 and 5,000-point denominations. Users are able to view items available to download on the service through a PC via the Xbox Live Marketplace website. An estimated 70 percent of Xbox Live users have downloaded items from the Marketplace.


title: Xbox 360

text: Xbox Live Arcade is an online service operated by Microsoft that is used to distribute downloadable video games to Xbox and Xbox 360 owners. In addition to classic arcade games such as "Ms. Pac-Man", the service offers some new original games like "Assault Heroes". The Xbox Live Arcade also features games from other consoles, such as the PlayStation game "" and PC games such as "Zuma". The service was first launched on November 3, 2004, using a DVD to load, and offered games for about US$5 to $15. Items are purchased using Microsoft Points, a proprietary currency used to reduce credit card transaction charges. On November 22, 2005, Xbox Live Arcade was re-launched with the release of the Xbox 360, in which it was now integrated with the Xbox 360's dashboard. The games are generally aimed toward more casual gamers; examples of the more popular games are "Geometry Wars", "", and "Uno". On March 24, 2010, Microsoft introduced the Game Room to Xbox Live. Game Room is a gaming service for Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows that lets players compete in classic arcade and console games in a virtual arcade.


title: Xbox 360

text: On November 6, 2006, Microsoft announced the Xbox Video Marketplace, an exclusive video store accessible through the console. Launched in the United States on November 22, 2006, the first anniversary of the Xbox 360's launch, the service allows users in the United States to download high-definition and standard-definition television shows and movies onto an Xbox 360 console for viewing. With the exception of short clips, content is not currently available for streaming, and must be downloaded. Movies are also available for rental. They expire in 14 days after download or at the end of the first 24 hours after the movie has begun playing, whichever comes first. Television episodes can be purchased to own, and are transferable to an unlimited number of consoles. Downloaded files use 5.1 surround audio and are encoded using VC-1 for video at 720p, with a bitrate of 6.8 Mbit/s. Television content is offered from MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, Turner Broadcasting, and CBS; and movie content is Warner Bros., Paramount, and Disney, along with other publishers.


title: Xbox 360

text: As a late addition to the December Xbox 360 update, 25 movies were added to the European Xbox 360 video market place on the December 11, 2007 and cost 250 Microsoft points for the SD version of the movie and 380 points for the HD version of the movie. Xbox Live members in Canada featured the ability to go on the Xbox Live Marketplace also as of December 11, 2007 with around 30 movies to be downloaded for the same number of Microsoft Points.


title: Xbox 360

text: On May 26, 2009, Microsoft announced it would release the Zune HD (in the fall of 2009), which was then the next addition to the Zune product range. This was of an impact on the Xbox Live Video Store as it was also announced that the Zune Video Marketplace and the Xbox Live Video Store will be merged to form the Zune Marketplace, which will be arriving on Xbox Live in 7 countries initially, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Ireland and Spain. Further details were released at the Microsoft press conference at E3 2009.


title: Xbox 360

text: On October 16, 2012, Xbox Video and Xbox Music were released, replacing the Zune Marketplace. Xbox Video is a digital video service on that offers full HD movies and TV series for purchase or rental on Xbox 360, Windows 8, Windows RT PCs and tablets, and Windows Phones.


title: Xbox 360

text: On August 18, 2015, Microsoft rolled out an update renaming it Movies and TV similar to the Windows 10 App.


title: Xbox 360

text: Xbox Music provides 30 million music tracks available for purchase or access through subscription. It was announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2012 and it integrates with Windows 8 and Windows Phone as well.


title: Xbox 360

text: In August 2015 Microsoft rolled out an update renaming it to Groove Music similar to the Windows 10 App.


title: Xbox 360

text: Xbox SmartGlass allows for integration between the Xbox 360 console and mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones. An app is available on Android, Windows Phone 8 and iOS. Users of the feature can view additional content to accompany the game they are playing, or the TV shows and movies they are watching. They can also use their mobile device as a remote to control the Xbox 360. The SmartGlass functionality can also be found in the Xbox 360's successor, the Xbox One.


title: Xbox 360

text: PartnerNet, the developers-only alternative Xbox Live network used by developers to beta test game content developed for Xbox Live Arcade, runs on Xbox 360 debug kits, which are used both by developers and by the gaming press. In a podcast released on February 12, 2007, a developer breached the PartnerNet non-disclosure agreement (NDA) by commenting that he had found a playable version of "Alien Hominid" and an unplayable version of "Ikaruga" on PartnerNet. A few video game journalists, misconstruing the breach of the NDA as an invalidation of the NDA, immediately began reporting on other games being tested via PartnerNet, including a remake of "Jetpac". ("Alien Hominid" for the Xbox 360 was released on February 28 of that year, and "Ikaruga" was released over a year later on April 9, 2008. "Jetpac" was released for the Xbox 360 on March 28, 2007, as "Jetpac Refuelled".) There have also been numerous video and screenshot leaks of game footage on PartnerNet, as well as a complete version of "", which caused for the whole PartnerNet service to be shut down overnight on April 3, 2010. In the following days, Microsoft reminded developers and journalists that they were in breach of NDA by sharing information about PartnerNet content and asked websites to remove lists of games in development that were discovered on the service. Sega used feedback from fans about the leaked version of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I to refine it before they eventually released it. Additionally, a pair of hackers played their modded Halo 3 games on PartnerNet in addition to using PartnerNet to find unreleased and untested software. The hackers passed this information along to their friends before they were eventually caught by Bungie. Consequently, Bungie left a message for the hackers on PartnerNet which read "Winners Don't Break Into PartnerNet." Other games that were leaked in the PartnerNet fiasco include Shenmue and Shenmue II.


title: Hayley Williams

text: Hayley Nichole Williams (born December 27, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and businesswoman who is best known as the lead vocalist, primary songwriter, and keyboardist of the rock band Paramore.


title: Hayley Williams

text: Born and raised in Mississippi, Williams moved to Franklin, Tennessee, at the age of 13 in 2002 to escape her stepfather at the time. In 2004, she formed Paramore alongside Josh Farro, Zac Farro, and Jeremy Davis. The band currently consists of Hayley Williams, Zac Farro and Taylor York. The band has released five studio albums: "All We Know Is Falling" (2005), "Riot!" (2007), "Brand New Eyes" (2009), "Paramore" (2013), and "After Laughter" (2017).


title: Hayley Williams

text: Williams released her debut solo single, "Simmer", on January 22, 2020, and announced on the same day that her debut studio album, "Petals for Armor", would be released on May 8, 2020. The album was preceded by two EPs entitled "Petals for Armor I" and "II" that make up the first two-thirds of the album. Her second solo record, "Flowers for Vases / Descansos", was released less than a year later on February 5, 2021.


title: Hayley Williams

text: Aside from Paramore and preceding her solo career, Williams recorded the song "Teenagers" for the soundtrack of "Jennifer's Body" (2009) and has collaborated with artists such as October Fall, The Chariot, Set Your Goals, Zedd and New Found Glory. In 2010, she was featured on the single "Airplanes" by B.o.B. It peaked at number two on the U.S. "Billboard" Hot 100. A sequel to the song, "Airplanes, Part II", features new verses from B.o.B. and a verse from Eminem, while Williams' vocals remain the same. This collaboration led to a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.


title: Hayley Williams

text: Other ventures in which Williams has explored include online beauty and music series "Kiss-Off" on Popular TV launched in 2015 and the hair-dye company Good Dye Young, launched in 2016.


title: Hayley Williams

text: Hayley Nichole Williams was born in Meridian, Mississippi, on December 27, 1988, the daughter of Joey and Cristi Williams. She has two younger half-sisters.


title: Hayley Williams

text: After her parents' divorce in 2002, Williams moved with her mother to Franklin, Tennessee. She met future bandmates Josh and Zac Farro at her new school. Shortly after settling in Franklin, she began taking vocal lessons with Brett Manning. While still at school, she tried out for a local funk cover band, The Factory, where she met Jeremy Davis. Williams' childhood neighbor was NBA player Rodney Hood.


title: Hayley Williams

text: Williams was discovered in 2003 by managers Dave Steunebrink and Richard Williams, who signed the 14-year-old to a two-year production deal. At the time she was writing pop songs with songwriters in Nashville. Williams was introduced to Atlantic Records A&R Tom Storms through Richard Williams' attorneys Jim Zumwalt and Kent Marcus, and then signed to the label by Jason Flom. The label's original plan for their new artist was to make her a solo pop artist, but Williams objected to this, saying that she wanted to be part of a band and play pop punk music.


title: Hayley Williams

text: Atlantic decided to go along with her wishes, and she then formed Paramore with Josh Farro, Zac Farro, and Jeremy Davis. The music of Paramore was originally supposed to come out on Atlantic Records, but the label's marketing department decided it would be better for the image of the band to not have them attached to a huge label. They instead released their music through a "cooler" niche label, Fueled by Ramen. According to Williams, the name "Paramore" came from the maiden name of the mother of one of their first bass players. Once the group learned the meaning of the homophone "paramour" ("secret lover"), they decided to adopt the name, using the "Paramore" spelling. The band's debut album, "All We Know Is Falling", was released in 2005 when Hayley was only 16 years old. Paramore has since released four more studio albums, "Riot!" (2007), "Brand New Eyes" (2009), the self-titled "Paramore" (2013) and "After Laughter" (2017). In June 2009, the band welcomed Taylor York (rhythm guitar) as an official member, although he had already been playing as a touring member with the band since 2007. In December 2010, Josh and Zac Farro left the band. The news was posted by Williams on Paramore's website, with Josh later posting a blog post confirming their departure, calling the group "a manufactured product of a major label, riding on the coattails of 'Hayley's dream'".


title: Hayley Williams

text: In 2006, Paramore toured outside of the US for the first time, which included a headline tour of the UK and supporting post-hardcore rock band The Blackout on the Give It A Name Festival in Europe. The following year, she and the rest of Paramore made an appearance in the music video for "Kiss Me" by New Found Glory. In the 2007 "Kerrang!" Readers' Poll, she finished second to Evanescence's Amy Lee in the "Sexiest Female" category, going on to win the first place spot for "Sexiest Female" a year later in the 2008 poll, and again in the 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 poll. She also appears as a playable character in the video game "Guitar Hero World Tour" after completing "Misery Business" in the vocalist campaign.


title: Hayley Williams

text: Williams wrote and recorded the song "Teenagers", which was featured in the soundtrack for the feature film "Jennifer's Body". After the release of "Teenagers", Williams stated that she had no plans to establish herself as a solo artist. In 2010, she appeared on the tracks "Airplanes" and "Airplanes, Part II" from alternative rapper B.o.B's debut album, "". When it was released as a single, "Airplanes" peaked within the top ten in nineteen countries, including the number one position in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.


title: Hayley Williams

text: EDM producer Zedd and Williams collaborated on the track "Stay the Night", from his debut studio album, "Clarity", which was released in 2013. Williams was honored with the "Trailblazer Award" in the 2014 "Billboard"'s Women in Music Awards for making a unique mark in music and paving the way for other artists. In 2015, Williams starred as the 'Crimson Curse' in Taylor Swift's music video for her single, "Bad Blood", alongside sixteen other celebrities. Along with band member and co-writer Taylor York, Williams was nominated for and won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song at the 2015 ceremony for the song "Ain't It Fun". In July 2015, Williams won the APMA for Best Vocalist. In 2019, she collaborated with American Football on the song "Uncomfortably Numb", which appeared on the band's third self-titled studio album.


title: Hayley Williams

text: In a 2019 interview with "l'Odet", Williams was asked 'if she would stay in Paramore for a long time,' and answered: ""In moving forward, if the three of us are happy, then we will just do whatever we want to do. If that means collaborating with each other, bringing other friends in to collaborate — there are seven band members when we tour. We’re all friends and we all make music in different parts, together. So I feel like, yes, I want to be in Paramore...I’ve been in a band with them since I was 12; I don’t think the band is going anywhere. As long as we’re friends, the band just is. It’s just in us.""


title: Hayley Williams

text: In December 2019, on her 31st birthday, Williams announced she would be releasing solo music in 2020, with a "taste" of it to come in January. Flyers consisting of a picture of Williams under the title "Petals for Armor" began appearing in several US cities and abroad. Her debut solo single "Simmer" was released on January 22, 2020, with its accompanying music video. That same day Williams announced that her debut studio album, "Petals for Armor", would be released on May 8, 2020. It was later revealed that she would release an EP, "Petals for Armor I", on February 6, 2020, in an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music. On March 19, she announced that she was postponing the release of the second half of the EP, and instead released the song "Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris" featuring boygenius.


title: Hayley Williams

text: In January 2021, Williams started teasing a project titled "Flowers for Vases / Descansos". She unofficially released the single "My Limb" by giving a CD with the track on it to a dedicated fan. Williams released the album on February 5, 2021.


title: Hayley Williams

text: In March 2013, Williams announced she was partnering with MAC Cosmetics for the release of a new makeup collection on April 9, 2013. The four-piece collection included a bright orange lipstick, an orange nail polish, a shimmery coral eye shadow and a beauty powder. Hayley appeared on the April 2013 cover of "Nylon" magazine to promote Paramore's self-titled album.


title: Hayley Williams

text: In October of that year, Williams partnered with the Hard Rock Café's PINKTOBER charity campaign to raise awareness and funding for breast cancer and its research.


title: Hayley Williams

text: In 2016, after over four years of planning, Williams launched her own hair dye company, Good Dye Young, alongside her hair and makeup artist, Brian O'Connor. The colors offered by the company included an orange, "Riot!"; a pink, Ex-Girl; a blue, Blue Ruin; a yellow, Steal My Sunshine; a red, Rock Lobster; a purple, PPL Eater; a green, Kowabunga; a teal, Narwhal; and a black, None More Black. The dyes are vegan and cruelty-free.


title: Hayley Williams

text: In 2017, Good Dye Young launched a temporary hair dye line, that disappears after one wash, called Poser Paste, and in May 2020, they released Lighter Daze, a range of five semi-permanent pastel colors.


title: Hayley Williams

text: In March 2021, Williams announced her collaboration with Tea Huntress, a tea manufacturer in Nashville. Two new blends are available as part of the collaboration, called Bloom and Alibi. A portion of each sale will be donated to Thistle Farms, an organization that helps women survivors of trafficking, abuse, and addiction.


title: Hayley Williams

text: Throughout much of her life Williams identified as a Christian and regularly discussed her faith in relation to her music, however, in later years she has expressed that her beliefs are not the same as they once were. In the past she has criticized the judgmental nature of some in the Christian community. The Farro brothers cited differing attitudes on faith as contributing to their exit from Paramore.


title: Hayley Williams

text: In late 2007, Williams began dating Chad Gilbert, lead guitarist of New Found Glory. They became engaged on Christmas Day 2014. They were married on February 20, 2016. On July 1, 2017, the couple formally announced that they had separated due to Gilbert's repeated infidelity and their pending divorce was eventually finalized by the end of 2017, during Paramore's touring cycle for "After Laughter". In September 2022, Williams confirmed she and Paramore bandmate Taylor York are dating.


title: Hayley Williams

text: Williams had publicized her decisions against such practices as smoking, drinking, or use of recreational drugs when she was younger; she has revealed that she now drinks alcohol.


title: Hayley Williams

text: Williams has been vocal about her experiences with depression, which caused her to briefly leave Paramore in mid-2015. In a 2019 interview, she openly discussed depression, mental health, and her divorce. In a February 2020 interview, she revealed she had suicidal thoughts, but that she ultimately did not act on them. In a February 2021 interview, she discussed how she had been impacted by generational trauma and revealed that she has been in therapy since the conclusion of Paramore's "After Laughter" tour in 2018.


title: Hayley Williams

text: In 2015, Williams responded to feminist criticism of "Misery Business" – a single from Paramore's album "Riot!" – citing her youth and inexperience as a contributing factor to the song's allegedly misogynistic lyrics. In a blog post addressing the criticism, Williams described herself as "a proud feminist. Just maybe not a perfect one". In June 2020, Williams temporarily handed control of her Instagram account to Nashville-based activist group Teens4Equality to highlight their work in relation to the Black Lives Matter movement.


title: Hayley Williams

text: In October 2021, Williams announced that she would be discontinuing her use of personal social media accounts, citing the need for boundaries between her public and private life and her desire to "spend more time looking up and out, rather than down". She also directed her fans to follow Paramore's social media accounts instead. This choice does not affect Paramore's use of social media.


title: Hayley Williams

text: Williams cites artists and band as main influences such as Björk, NSYNC, Jimmy Eat World, Saves the Day, mewithoutYou, Radiohead, The Cure, Talking Heads, Fleetwood Mac, No Doubt, Slick Shoes, The Chariot, Now, Now, New Found Glory, Fireworks, Set Your Goals, Tegan and Sara, HO, Lemuria and The Swellers. She has noted her admiration for such female singers as Christina Aguilera, Debbie Harry, Emily Haines, Siouxsie Sioux, Gwen Stefani, Beyoncé, and Brody Dalle of The Distillers.


title: Hayley Williams

text: Williams is a soprano with a four-octave range. Emilee Lindner of MTV News has noted her ability to sing in the whistle register, and Maura Johnston of "Rolling Stone" her "acrobatic" singing style. Thrills also notes Williams's slight country twang in some of her songs. "Alternative Press" wrote that Williams "has more charisma than singers twice her age, and her band aren't far behind in their chops, either." Singer-songwriter John Mayer praised Williams's voice in an October 2007 blog post, calling her "The great orange hope" (her hair being orange at the time).


title: Van Halen

text: Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead guitarist, Eddie Van Halen. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.


title: Van Halen

text: From 1974 until 1985, Van Halen consisted of Eddie Van Halen; Eddie's brother, drummer Alex Van Halen; vocalist David Lee Roth; and bassist/vocalist Michael Anthony. Upon its release in 1978, the band's self-titled debut album reached No. 19 on the "Billboard" pop music charts and would sell over 10 million copies in the U.S. By 1982, the band released four more albums ("Van Halen II", "Women and Children First", "Fair Warning", and "Diver Down"), all of which have since been certified multi-platinum. By the early 1980s, Van Halen was one of the most successful rock acts of the day. The album "1984" was a commercial success with U.S. sales of 10 million copies and four hit singles; its lead single, "Jump", was the band's only U.S. number one single.


title: Van Halen

text: In 1985, Roth left the band to embark on a solo career and was replaced by former Montrose lead vocalist Sammy Hagar. With Hagar, the group released four U.S. number-one, multi-platinum albums over the course of 11 years ("5150" in 1986, "OU812" in 1988, "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" in 1991, and "Balance" in 1995). Hagar left the band in 1996 shortly before the release of the band's first greatest hits collection, "Best Of – Volume I". Former Extreme frontman Gary Cherone replaced Hagar and recorded the commercially unsuccessful album "Van Halen III" with the band in 1998, before parting ways in 1999. Van Halen then went on hiatus until reuniting with Hagar in 2003 for a worldwide tour in 2004 and the double-disc greatest hits collection "The Best of Both Worlds". Hagar again left Van Halen in 2005. In 2006 Roth returned, but Anthony was replaced on bass guitar by Eddie's son, Wolfgang Van Halen. In 2012, the band released their final studio album "A Different Kind of Truth", which was commercially and critically successful; it was also Van Halen's first album with Roth in 28 years and the only one to feature Wolfgang.


title: Van Halen

text: , Van Halen is 20th on the RIAA list of best-selling artists in the United States; the band has sold 56 million albums in the States and more than 80 million worldwide, making them one of the best-selling groups of all time. , Van Halen is one of only five rock bands with two studio albums to sell more than 10 million copies in the United States and is tied for the most multi-platinum albums by an American band. Additionally, Van Halen has charted 13 number-one hits on "Billboard"s Mainstream Rock chart. VH1 ranked the band seventh on a list of the top 100 Hard Rock artists of all time.


title: Van Halen

text: Eddie was diagnosed with cancer in 2001, and died of the disease on October 6, 2020. A month after his father's death, Wolfgang confirmed that Van Halen had disbanded.


title: Van Halen

text: The Van Halen brothers were born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Alex Van Halen in 1953 and Eddie Van Halen in 1955, sons to Dutch musician Jan Van Halen and Indonesian-born Indo Eugenia Van Beers. The family moved to Pasadena, California, in 1962. Young Edward soon began learning classical piano by ear, and became so proficient he won an annual piano recital contest 2 or 3 years in a row, despite never mastering the art of sight-reading sheet music. The brothers began playing music together in the 1960s, Eddie on drums and Alex on guitar. However, while Ed was delivering newspapers to payoff his drum set, Alex would secretly develop a passion and proficiency at them. Eventually out of frustration and brotherly competition, Ed told Alex, "OK, you play drums and I'll play your guitar."


title: Van Halen

text: The Van Halen brothers formed their very first band, the Broken Combs, in 1964. As they gained popularity playing backyard parties and local high school functions, they changed their name first to the Trojan Rubber Co, then in 1972 to Genesis, later still to Mammoth when they discovered Genesis was already in use by a major-label British band. At this time Eddie was both vocalist and lead guitarist and friend Mark Stone on bass. They rented a sound-system from Indiana-born, Pasadena transplant David Lee Roth for $10 per night. The loquacious, worldly, energetic son of a local ophthalmologist, Roth fronted a local R & B influenced rock band the Red Ball Jets. Roth's uncle Manny owned NYC's Bleecker street Cafe Wha? until 1968. Partly to save money, they now invited Roth to join as their lead vocalist despite previous unconvincing audition(s). Ultimately Roth's charismatic "Jim Dandy" approach would be both an artistic foil to Eddie's circumspect, guitar prodigy talents as well as allowing Eddie to focus his energies on song composition.


title: Van Halen

text: In 1973, Mammoth officially changed its name to Van Halen. According to Roth, this was his brainchild. He felt it was a name that held long-term identity, artistic and marketing advantages, like Santana. They continued to play Pasadena, San Bernardino, and Venice at clubs, festivals, backyard parties and city parks like Hamilton, drawing up to 2000 people. Traffic jams and noise complaints to the local police often ensued, as far away as San Pedro. Van Halen subsequently played clubs in Los Angeles and West Hollywood to growing audiences, increasing their popularity entirely through self-promotion, passing out flyers at local high schools. This tenacious self-promotion soon built them an auspicious, loyal, area following.


title: Van Halen

text: By 1974, Roth had been in the band for about a year, when they decided to replace the ambivalent Stone, who was unsure about a career in music. Michael Anthony Sobolewski, a Pasadena college music-classmate of Eddie's, joined the group after an all-night jam session. He had sung and played bass in a number of less successful Arcadia backyard-party bands, including "Snake". Although he had some reticence, his own Snake-bandmate encouraged him to seize this golden opportunity.


title: Van Halen

text: Also in 1974, the band got a major break when it was hired to play regularly at the Sunset Strip club Gazzarri's. The Doors had also 'broken' there in the late 60s. Owner, Bill Gazzarri previously claimed VH was "too loud". However, their new managers, Mark Algorri and Mario Miranda, took over the club's hiring and booked them through 1976.


title: Van Halen

text: They had succeeded in becoming a staple of the Los Angeles music scene during the mid-1970s, playing at well-known clubs like the Whisky a Go Go on Sunset Strip.


title: Van Halen

text: All the club gig success led naturally to the need for a demo tape, which was recorded at Cherokee Studios in Northridge where Steely Dan had recently completed an LP. According to a January 4, 1977, "L.A. Times" article by Robert Hilburn, entitled "HOMEGROWN PUNK", Rodney Bingenheimer saw Van Halen at Gazzarri's in the summer of 1976, and enticed Gene Simmons of Kiss to see them. Impressed to action, Simmons produced a 29-track Van Halen demo tape, entitled "Zero" at Village Recorder studios in Los Angeles and with post-production overdubs completed at Electric Lady Studios in New York. Simmons even suggested changing their name to "Daddy Longlegs." However, a very disappointed Simmons could do no more once Kiss management opined that VH "had no chance of making it".


title: Van Halen

text: Doug Messenger, Van Morrison's band leader guitarist, knowing that Ted Templeman was looking for a "guitar hero" act, had seen Van Halen at the Starwood in Hollywood and placed a number of calls to Warner Bros. for Ted to check them out. "I don't know if it was 4 calls or 10, but I knew this was exactly the act Ted wanted. So on a horrendously rainy night in mid-1977", Warner Bros. executive Mo Ostin and producer Ted Templeman saw Van Halen perform at the Starwood in Hollywood. According to a December 1977 story in the "Los Angeles Times", it was Van Halen's first booking at the Starwood and the first time they hired their own roadies. "We wanted to come on with a little class and we couldn't be seen setting up our own stuff in Hollywood," explained Roth. Although the audience was negligible — Messenger claims only a barmaid and himself were there until Ostin and Templeman arrived — the Warner reps were so impressed that they wrote a letter of intent on a napkin, and within a week met at a local diner with the band, their future manager Marshall Berle (nephew of comedian Milton Berle) and Warner touring manager Noel Monk, who had just guided the Sex Pistols across the United States. Warner offered the band a rather basic two album recording contract, one that heavily favored Warner, paying the four young men only $0.70 per unit (album) sold, a deal that would leave the band over $1 million in debt at the conclusion of their first supporting tour as the opening act for Journey and Montrose. The group recorded their debut album at Sunset Sound Recorders studio from mid-September to early October 1977, recording guitar parts for one week and then vocals for two additional. All of the tracks were laid down with little over-dubbing or multi-tracking. Minor mistakes were purposely left on the record and a very rudimentary instrument set-up was used to give the record a live feel. During this time, they continued to play various venues in Southern California, including some notable concerts at the Pasadena Convention Center produced by their promoter and impresario, Steve Tortomasi, himself a fixture in the local rock and roll scene.


title: Van Halen

text: Upon its release, "Van Halen" reached No. 19 on the "Billboard" pop music charts, one of rock's most commercially successful debuts. It was highly regarded as both a heavy metal and hard rock album. The album included songs now regarded as Van Halen classics, like "Runnin' with the Devil" and the guitar solo "Eruption", which showcased Eddie's use of a technique known as "finger-tapping". The band toured for 9 months more, opening for Black Sabbath and establishing a reputation for their performances. The band's chemistry was based on Eddie Van Halen's guitar technique and David Lee Roth's charisma. The band returned to the studio for 2 weeks, in late 1978, to record "Van Halen II", a 1979 LP similar in style to their debut. This record yielded the band's first hit single, "Dance the Night Away", which peaked at 15 on BB Hot 100.


title: Van Halen

text: Over the next four years, the band toured non stop, never taking more than 2 weeks to record an album. Their "Women and Children First" album was released in 1980, and further cemented Van Halen's platinum-selling status to Warner Bros. It yielded two hit singles And the Cradle Will Rock... and Everybody Wants Some!!. For the first time, an amplified Wurlitzer electric piano was used to complement Ed's guitar.


title: Van Halen

text: In 1981, during the recording of the "Fair Warning" album, artistic tensions rose. Eddie's desire for darker, more complex songs in minor keys was at odds with Roth's pop tastes and style. Nonetheless, Roth and veteran Warner Bros rock producer Ted Templeman acquiesced to Eddie's wishes on this album. Doug Messenger recalls how Ed and (engineer) Don Landee rerecorded the Unchained solo hours after Ted "stormed out of" the studio. This darker album only reached platinum status after $250,000 of payola pushed it up nationwide from 400k copies.


title: Van Halen

text: Planning to release a cover single, then take a hiatus, Roth and Ed easily agreed upon a remake of the 1960s Roy Orbison classic Oh, Pretty Woman, which peaked at 12 on BB Top 100. Pretty Woman's comical video helped its immediate success, but was also banned by MTV. However, due to much pressure from Warner Bros. the hiatus was canceled and the "Diver Down" LP was squeezed out, again, within 2 weeks time. Roth's preference for pop covers prevailed this time and with Ed's synthesizer and guitar riffs Diver Down charted much better. The band then earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for the highest-paid single appearance of a band: $1.5 million for a 90-minute set at Steve Wozniak's 1983 US Festival. A show that both Noel Monk and Doug Messenger considered artistically, a performance disaster, Roth being imbibed on cocaine to the point of forgetting lyrics. Despite this return to form, Roth and Eddie's differences continued, and this caused friction with other band members. Billy Sheehan, after his band Talas completed a tour with Van Halen, claims he was approached by Eddie to replace Michael Anthony, the reasons for this were never completely clear to Sheehan as nothing came of it. During this time, Eddie contributed the score and instrumental songs to the movie "The Wild Life", starring Eric Stoltz. The score was laden with drum machine and hinted at sounds and riffs that would come with their next two albums, "1984" and "5150".


title: Van Halen

text: "1984" (released on January 9, 1984) was a commercial success, going five-times platinum after a year of release. Recorded at Eddie's newly built 5150 Studios, the album featured keyboards, which had only been used sporadically on previous albums. The lead single, "Jump", featured a synthesizer hook and anthemic lyrics inspired by news coverage of a suicidal jumper. It became the band's first and only No. 1 pop hit with Roth, garnering them a Grammy nomination.


title: Van Halen

text: Other singles included "Panama" (No. 13 U.S.), "I'll Wait" (also No. 13 U.S.), and "Hot for Teacher". Three of the songs had popular music videos on MTV. "1984" was praised by critics and fans alike, peaking at No. 2 on the "Billboard" charts behind Michael Jackson's "Thriller".


title: Van Halen

text: Following the "1984 Tour," Roth decided to quit and form a new band. Group members have given different reasons for the split, but all were firmly rooted in control of the band's sound, artistic direction, singles released and pace. Roth was concerned about Eddie playing music outside of Van Halen. Roth was also launching a successful solo career with two hit cover songs off his "Crazy from the Heat" EP, a remake of the Beach Boys' classic "California Girls" (#3 U.S.) and a pairing of the classic Al Jolson standard "Just a Gigolo" and "I Ain't Got Nobody"(#12 U.S.), which had previously been paired together by Louis Prima. Roth was also offered a $20-million film deal for a script titled "Crazy from the Heat". Roth hoped Van Halen would contribute the soundtrack; however, the film deal fell through when CBS Pictures was reorganized in 1986.


title: Van Halen

text: Eddie invited Patty Smyth of Scandal to replace Roth but she declined. Eddie was then introduced to Sammy Hagar in 1985, via their mutual Ferrari mechanic. Hagar was the former frontman for the hard rock group Montrose, and now a solo artist coming off a very successful year. His hit single "I Can't Drive 55" came from his 1984 album "VOA", produced by Ted Templeman who had also produced Montrose's first album "Montrose", as well as all of Van Halen's albums up to that point. Hagar agreed to sing as well as play rhythm guitar.


title: Van Halen

text: Daryl Hall was also offered the lead vocal position in 1985, but also declined. Hall verified, to Hagar, his musical guest in the May 2015 season premiere of "Live from Daryl's House" that indeed he was approached after a Hall & Oates concert.


title: Van Halen

text: When Warner Brothers president Mo Ostin came to the band's 5150 Studios to hear the band's progress, Hagar said, the band played "Why Can't This Be Love" live with Eddie on keyboards, after which Ostin proclaimed: "I smell money."


title: Van Halen

text: The 1986 Van Halen album "5150" was a huge hit, becoming the band's first No. 1 album on the "Billboard" charts, driven by the keyboard-dominated singles "Why Can't This Be Love" (#3 U.S.), "Dreams", and "Love Walks In" (Top 30 U.S.). To further introduce the new era for the band, a new Van Halen logo was put on the cover. The new logo retained elements of the original, but now the lines extending from either side of 'VH' wrapped around and formed a ring.


title: Van Halen

text: Following the release of the "5150" album, the "5150 Tour" was launched to support it across North America. Footage was released on VHS and DVD as "Live Without a Net". The band minimized the use of pre-Hagar Van Halen songs in the set, other than the band's best known classics. This was a trend that continued, with the expanding repertoire of Hagar-era songs slowly whittling away at the number of Roth-era songs on the set list.


title: Van Halen

text: All four studio albums produced during this period reached No. 1 on the "Billboard" pop music charts and 17 singles breached the top 12 of the mainstream rock tracks chart. During that era, a single taken from 1988's "OU812", "When It's Love", reached the Top Five, peaking at No. 5. In addition, Van Halen was nominated for two Grammy awards. The band won the 1992 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal for the album "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge". Van Halen continued to enjoy success throughout the mid-1990s. They recorded a live album and concert film at two 1992 F.U.C.K. tour shows in Fresno, California called "." During the F.U.C.K. and the live album supporting Live: Right Here Right Now tour, Night Ranger's Alan Fitzgerald played keyboards offstage every night allowing Eddie to concentrate on guitar. (Fitzgerald would return to play offstage keyboards on the 2004, 2007, and 2012 tours)


title: Van Halen

text: In 1995, Van Halen released the album "Balance" and supported Bon Jovi on their European Summer stadium tour.


title: Van Halen

text: During the recording of songs for the film "Twister", escalating tension between Hagar and the Van Halen brothers boiled over and Hagar departed on Father's Day, 1996. Hagar would later claim he was fired, and Eddie would later claim Hagar quit. The band had recorded "Humans Being", a song for which Eddie, unhappy with Hagar's lyrics, retitled the song and wrote the melody. This upset Hagar, and when they were to record a second song for the soundtrack, Hagar was in Hawaii for the birth of his child. It was not an easy birth as the baby was breech, so it needed to be delivered via C-section. With Hagar back in Hawaii and against the idea of doing the project, but having another song left to contribute, the Van Halen brothers alone recorded the instrumental "Respect the Wind". The performance, which featured Eddie playing guitar and Alex playing keyboards, was nominated for Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the 39th Annual Grammy Awards.


title: Van Halen

text: The band was also working on a compilation album. This led to conflicts with Hagar and the group's new manager, Ray Danniels, (Ed Leffler's replacement and Alex Van Halen's former brother-in-law), even though it was Leffler who had renewed their contract with Warner Bros. Records and had added in the Best Of album option years before. Hagar was reluctant to work on a compilation album before a new album came out, but if the rest of the band and Danniels insisted on going forward with one at that time, his preference was that it should include only Roth-era songs, or as a second choice, that two volumes should be released, one of Roth-era songs and one of Hagar-era songs. During this same period, competing personal priorities and creative differences contributed to increasing interpersonal tensions within the band, particularly between Eddie and Hagar. The relationship between Hagar and Van Halen broke down.


title: Van Halen

text: David Lee Roth called Eddie to discuss what tracks would be included on a planned Van Halen compilation (work on which had actually begun before Hagar's departure). They got along well, and Eddie invited him up to his house/studio. Shortly afterwards, Roth re-entered the studio with the band and producer Glen Ballard. Two songs from those sessions were added to the band's "Best Of – Volume I" album and released as singles to promote it.


title: Van Halen

text: In September, Van Halen was asked to present an award at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards. They agreed, and on September 4, 1996, the four original members of Van Halen made their first public appearance together in over eleven years. This helped to bring the compilation to No. 1 on the U.S. album charts. However, unknown to Roth, Eddie and Alex were still auditioning other singers, including Mitch Malloy. Eddie, Alex and Anthony recorded several Van Halen songs with Mitch on lead vocals during his audition, two of which (Why Can't This Be Love and Panama) later leaked online. Malloy declined Eddie's invitation to join the band after the VMAs publicity stunt with Roth, of which he had no prior knowledge until it aired on TV. As a parting gift, Eddie gave Malloy an instrumental track to which Malloy later wrote lyrics to and released in 2015 with the title "It's The Right Time" (The guitar riff from that instrumental later reemerged in the sessions leading up to Van Halen's 1998 studio album Van Halen III in the song "That's Why I Love You." The song was scrapped from the record in favor of "Josephina.")