I thought it would be a game that would spell the end of my Xbox 360. And I expected it would come suddenly, in the flash of a red ring. I was wrong.

The day that I had expected to arrive at least a year ago appeared to arrive on Saturday morning. That is when my launch Xbox 360, a 20GB machine that has whirred through my complete play-throughs of "King Kong," "Gears of War," "Mass Effect, chunks of so many other games and dozens of Xbox Live Arcade games -- a machine that has been my primary DVD player since 2005 -- did the game console equivalent of a hacking cough, stumble and cold sweat.

My Xbox 360 did not die, but it appears to be on its way.

Shockingly, my Xbox 360 has not red-ringed. It has suffered a stranger, seemingly fatal malady, one that Google has barely begun to catalogue: Read more...

How well do you know your video game consoles? How much attention have you paid to the boxes they come in?

You see them on store shelves for years. But can you identify which boxes belong to which consoles based on just a tiny detail from each box?

We have put together another little photo quiz to test your gamer skills. Click on each of the thumbnails to see which system came in which box.

Here are a handful of hints to help you on your way:
1. There are both console and handheld hardware boxes.
2. No special editions.
3. Redesigns don't count as special editions.
4. To the best of my knowledge, these are all U.S. editions.

1. 2.

3. 4. Read more...