2001
LAUNCH
989 GAMES
OFFICIALLY RELEASED
24 MILLION
UNITS SOLD WORLDWIDE
GAMES WILL
NEVER BE
THE SAME
XBOX
2001
The Xbox was originally announced in March 10, 2000 by Microsoft announcing they would enter the video game space. On November 15, 2001 Microsoft launched the Xbox in North America, then across the world in 2002.
The console had an initial launch period filled with success, having sold over 1 million units in the first 3 weeks and finishing the year with over 1.5 million consoles sold.
New Guy
Microsoft looked not only to enter the gaming space but to entirely disrupt it with it's innovative console that showed Nintendo and PlayStation that a new serious competitor had risen in North America.
Xbox retailed for $299 and was sold at about a $125 loss due to the high manufacturing costs which led to the true price of the Xbox being closer to $425 but Microsoft managed to curve some of those losses with it's Xbox Live Service.
Halo
Halo: Combat Evolved became an instant hit selling over 5 million copies throughout the duration of the Xbox's product cycle and Halo 2 with over 8 million units sold. Fable was also a heavy hitter and huge success helping lead a heavy amount of sales early on in the Xbox's content lifecyle.
Xbox Live
Xbox offered the online service of Xbox Live only a year after launch and it allowed players to play online multiplayer establishing Xbox as one of the industry leaders for online multiplayer gameplay early on, which led Xbox to enter the next generation with the Xbox 360 with an already established and popular network service.
Legacy
The original Microsoft Xbox has gone down in history as a console that brough us all the beloved Halo franchise, the start of Xbox Live, and Microsoft's entrance into the gaming industry. The Xbox was seen as a disruptor to the industry bringing newfound competition to PlayStation and Nintendo to rekindle the "console wars".
Check out our curated list of our top games on the XBOX.
TOP GAMES
