Happy Birthday, Xbox!

Greg Tito

PR for Dungeons & Dragons
Sep 29, 2005
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Happy Birthday, Xbox!

Microsoft entered the console war ten years ago today.

It's pretty safe to say that the world was a much different place in late 2001. Many of us were still reeling from the terrorist attacks of September 11th, and Microsoft was making more headlines for its anti-trust lawsuit than any innovations in the gaming industry. Bill Gates sold the first Xbox to a customer in Times Square, New York City at midnight on November 15th, 2001. No one in the industry predicted that the Xbox brand would make the splash it did, but ten years and a generation later, Microsoft's console platform is still going strong.

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One big reason the Xbox sold 1.5 million units the first 45 days it was available in North America was the launch title of Halo: Combat Evolved, but I think the secret sauce in the Xbox's longevity was the heavy investment in its Live service. Other consoles had online capability before 2001, but only the Xbox positioned itself as a premiere online multiplayer platform.

"It was incredible foresight that allowed us to have a running start into space I'm confident we've owned ever since. [Live is] the oxygen of the Xbox business," said Chris Lewis from Microsoft. "Was it fully formed? I certainly know back then we used to talk about all games someday would be online. We wouldn't have architected the console in that way if we didn't."

Lewis said he had to figure out how to get gamers on board with the Xbox brand quickly. "People had a level of scepticism about our long term chances, our pedigree and our appetite for the fight," he said. "We had some experience on the PC, but Xbox was entering was a highly competitive space and we knew we had to quickly appeal to that core audience that would then talk positively about us and what was coming."

With the Xbox 360 selling nearly 60 million units and Kinect changing the way we play games (and make robots), the future seems very bright for Microsoft's gaming division. The company got its consoles right - now maybe they could do something better than Games for Windows for PC gamers? Pretty please?

Source: Microsoft [http://www.next-gen.biz/features/10-years-xbox-chris-lewis-interview]

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redisforever

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Oct 5, 2009
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I still have, and use mine. In fact, I have two, and they're both modded, and awesome. They have outlived all of my PC's.
 

esperandote

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Feb 25, 2009
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I didn't own a first gen xbox but i respect it as a console.

That first customer looks like he's thinking, "i'll hack the crap out of this".
 

Baldr

The Noble
Jan 6, 2010
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I love the story on how Xbox came about. Like most things in gaming, it was all Sony to blame. Bill Gates went to Sony to try and sell tools for the Playstation platform. It was during that meeting that Gates learned Sony wanted a dominate entertainment system that could rival the PC. Microsoft didn't want to sit by and let that happen. (Sony turned them down)
 

TPiddy

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Aug 28, 2009
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Bought my first XBox because I had 5 friends with PS2's and I wanted to play Halo and Bioware's KOTOR series. When 360 first hit I was on the fence, but once I saw Oblivion, Gears and Mass Effect I was hooked. Been a 360 fanboy ever since, with no plans to ever buy another Sony product.
 

Fappy

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Jan 4, 2010
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I have fond memories of playing Morrowind, KOTOR and Chaos Theory on that big black brick :D

Here is hoping Microsoft's next console was as solid as the original Xbox.
 

MarsProbe

Circuitboard Seahorse
Dec 13, 2008
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Well done X-box! I also never owned the original X-Box, but I've had a long and happy relationship with 360 (or rather my three 360s - the first two bit the bullet). Also, it's the 360 that heralded my return to console gaming following a hiatus since the 32-bit era. At the time, it was required in order to play Mass Effect and gain social acceptance with my peers. After all, how uncool would it be if I only played games on the PC? :p
 
Feb 13, 2008
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Greg Tito said:
Microsoft entered the console war ten years ago today.
I think it would be more accurate to say that Microsoft started the console war at that date.

Primarily by screwing the PC out of a exclusive title.
 

Grey_Focks

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Jan 12, 2010
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Happy Birthday, indeed! I still have fond memories of Mechassault, Halo, KotOR, Medal of Honor and the like. Twas a fine console.....and I personally liked the original controller, "The Duke". Then again, really big hands.
 

Redlin5_v1legacy

Better Red than Dead
Aug 5, 2009
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I've never owned an Xbox nor do I intend to but happy birthday. Competition leads to innovation and I like creativity in my game platforms.
 

tautologico

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Apr 5, 2010
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Baldr said:
I love the story on how Xbox came about. Like most things in gaming, it was all Sony to blame. Bill Gates went to Sony to try and sell tools for the Playstation platform. It was during that meeting that Gates learned Sony wanted a dominate entertainment system that could rival the PC. Microsoft didn't want to sit by and let that happen. (Sony turned them down)
And do you know how Sony got into videogames? It's Nintendo's fault. The story goes that Nintendo partnered with Sony to create a CD-ROM addon to the Super Nintendo, to compete with the Sega CD. The thing didn't proceed (I heard Nintendo called it off), so Sony thought they could do this, they didn't need Nintendo... so the Playstation was born.

(I don't know how accurate this story is, but I think it's something along these lines).
 

tautologico

e^(i * pi) + 1 = 0
Apr 5, 2010
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The_root_of_all_evil said:
Greg Tito said:
Microsoft entered the console war ten years ago today.
I think it would be more accurate to say that Microsoft started the console war at that date.

Primarily by screwing the PC out of a exclusive title.
The console wars are far older than the Xbox. Nintendo and Sega (and other smaller contenders) were at it in the previous 2 decades or so.
 

Baldr

The Noble
Jan 6, 2010
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tautologico said:
Baldr said:
I love the story on how Xbox came about. Like most things in gaming, it was all Sony to blame. Bill Gates went to Sony to try and sell tools for the Playstation platform. It was during that meeting that Gates learned Sony wanted a dominate entertainment system that could rival the PC. Microsoft didn't want to sit by and let that happen. (Sony turned them down)
And do you know how Sony got into videogames? It's Nintendo's fault. The story goes that Nintendo partnered with Sony to create a CD-ROM addon to the Super Nintendo, to compete with the Sega CD. The thing didn't proceed (I heard Nintendo called it off), so Sony thought they could do this, they didn't need Nintendo... so the Playstation was born.

(I don't know how accurate this story is, but I think it's something along these lines).
Sony had the deal with Nintendo, but there was some resistance in the company to go into gaming, with Sony not at 100% commitment, Nintendo brought in Philips to split up production and that is pretty much when the deal soured.

Had Sony and Nintendo keep their agreement, we could have had a super console today overseen by Nintendo, with Sony Hardware and Microsoft software.(Probably not, but one can dream)
 

Ham Blitz

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May 28, 2009
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I can't believe it's been that long since the xbox came out. I didn't get one till Halo 2, but I still have it, and I used to go back to it to play Fable 1 in the past few years. Good times, good times.
 

Virmire

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Sep 25, 2011
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Happy birthday Xbox! *Hands poisoned wine*

In all seriousness, the Xbox's track record is impressive. Outselling Sony or Nintendo, The front runners of consoles beforehand.

Microsoft's done good.