Xbox is having a tough time with its game output right now. Despite having a whole bunch of studios under its belt, many of its big exclusives are still miles away, with The Elder Scrolls 6, Avowed, and whatever comes next for Fallout far from ready to be shown to the public. Couple that with the disastrous launch of Redfall, and it's clear that Xbox isn't winning the exclusives race this time around.
But back in the Xbox 360 era, this couldn't have been further from the truth. Halo alone gave Microsoft a huge edge over the PlayStation 3, but there was also Fable, BioShock, Gears of War and the Forza series to keep players busy. Looking back on this golden age for Xbox now, fans are debating which exclusive was the best of the bunch - and it isn't just the 360-era hogging all the limelight.
"What is the best Xbox exclusive of all time?", asks Reddit user Emilia67. "For me, I still think Halo 3 is at the top, it was the perfect conclusion to the original trilogy."
Needless to say, there's a whole lot of love for the Halo series in the replies, especially the third game.
"It was the perfect storm of promotional presentation, game quality, and freedom to play I had at the time," says Lessiarty. What a treat Halo 3 was." Many agree, with another user saying it had the "best marketing campaign in gaming history."
But this isn't the only Halo game fondly remembered by fans. "I personally think Halo CE is probably the greatest exclusive of all time," says Shadow_Strike99. "It not only gave the brand new Xbox brand and console a killer app mega hit right out of the gate...but also revolutionized the FPS genre, especially on console."
That was far from the only big sci-fi exclusive Microsoft has under its belt at the time. Mass Effect is getting a lot of praise too, being a limited-time exclusive for the Xbox 360, and revolutionising the 3D RPG genre.
"BioWare games were my favourite when they were exclusive. Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, Mass Effect 1 & 2," says Rdc525.
Unsurprisingly, the original Xbox and the 360 make up most of the votes in this thread. But that doesn't mean there isn't any love for the offerings on the Xbox One.
"Sunset Overdrive. What a masterpiece of fun!" votes islandnstuff. It even manages to nab a few other nominations, with many seeing it as an underrated gem.
Even those that love Halo have to agree. "I would say that Halo 3 is definitely the best, but Sunset Overdrive is the most underrated. I love both of those games so much," says thicc_boi_issues.
There are a bunch of other suggestions, like Oblivion, the Fable games, Alan Wake, and Lost Odyssey. Despite this, it's safe to say that Halo 3 wins, both for the game itself and the culture around it.
It remains to be seen if Microsoft can capture this feeling later on in the Xbox Series X/S's lifecycle. But right now, fans will be clinging to these memories of a better time... and hoping Starfield is halfway decent.