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The Xbox is a home video game console and the first installment in the Xbox series of video game consoles manufactured by
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washi ...
. It was released as Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console market on November 15, 2001, in North America, followed by Australia, Europe and Japan in 2002. It is classified as a sixth-generation console, competing with
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
's
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on ...
and Nintendo's
GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the ...
. It was also the first major console produced by an American company since the release of the Atari Jaguar in 1993. The console was announced in March 2000. With the release of the PlayStation 2, which featured the ability to playback
CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both com ...
s and DVDs in addition to playing games, Microsoft became concerned that game consoles would threaten the personal computer as an entertainment device for living rooms. Whereas most games consoles to that point were built from custom hardware components, the Xbox was built around standard
personal computer A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or te ...
components, using variations of
Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ...
and DirectX as its operating system to support games and media playback, and featuring a 733 MHz
Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 ser ...
Pentium III The Pentium III (marketed as Intel Pentium III Processor, informally PIII or P3) brand refers to Intel's 32-bit x86 desktop and mobile CPUs based on the sixth-generation P6 microarchitecture introduced on February 28, 1999. The brand's initia ...
CPU and a 233 MHz Nvidia GeForce 3-based NV2A GPU, the latter two making the Xbox technically more powerful compared to its rivals. The Xbox was the first console to feature a built-in
hard disk A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with magn ...
. The console also was built with direct support for
broadband In telecommunications, broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission which transports multiple signals at a wide range of frequencies and Internet traffic types, that enables messages to be sent simultaneously, used in fast internet connections. ...
connectivity to the
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...
via an integrated
Ethernet Ethernet () is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 1 ...
port, and with the release of Xbox Live, a fee-based online gaming service, a year after the console's launch, Microsoft gained an early foothold in online gaming and made the Xbox a strong competitor in the sixth generation of consoles. The popularity of killer app blockbuster titles such as Bungie's '' Halo 2'' contributed to the popularity of online console gaming, and in particular
first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the p ...
s. The Xbox had a record-breaking launch in North America, selling 1.5 million units before the end of 2001, aided by the popularity of one of the system's launch titles, '' Halo: Combat Evolved'', which sold a million units by April 2002. The system went on to sell a worldwide total of 24 million units, including 16 million in North America; however, Microsoft was unable to make a steady profit off the console, which had a manufacturing price far more expensive than its retail price, despite its popularity, losing over $4 billion during its market life. The system outsold the GameCube and the
Sega is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its division ...
Dreamcast, but was vastly outsold by the PlayStation 2, which had sold over 100 million units by the system's end of production. It also underperformed outside of the Western market; particularly, it sold poorly in Japan due to its large console size and an overabundance of games marketed towards American audiences instead of Japanese-developed titles. Production of the system was discontinued starting in 2005. The Xbox was the first in an ongoing brand of video game consoles developed by Microsoft, with a successor, the
Xbox 360 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 generati ...
, launching in November 2005, followed by the
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
in 2013 and the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles in 2020.


History


Creation and development

Before the Xbox,
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washi ...
had found success publishing video games for its
Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for se ...
PCs, releasing popular titles such as ''
Microsoft Flight Simulator ''Microsoft Flight Simulator'' is a series of amateur flight simulator programs for Microsoft Windows operating systems, and earlier for MS-DOS and Classic Mac OS. It was an early product in the Microsoft application portfolio and differed sig ...
'' and the massively successful ''
Age of Empires ''Age of Empires'' is a series of historical real-time strategy video games, originally developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Xbox Game Studios. The first game was '' Age of Empires'', released in 1997. Nine total games within the se ...
'' after the creation of DirectX, the
application programming interface An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how ...
(API) that allowed for direct access of the computer hardware and bypassing Windows. However, the company had not delved into the home console market of video games, which was dominated at the time by
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
's PlayStation. Sony was working on its next video game console, the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on ...
(PS2), announced officially to the public on March 2, 1999, and intended for the system to act as a gateway for all types of home entertainment. Sony presented a vision where the console would ultimately replace the desktop computer in the home. Microsoft CEO
Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...
saw the upcoming PS2 as a threat to Microsoft's line of Windows PCs, worrying that the all-encompassing system could eliminate consumer interests in PCs and drive them out of the market. With video games rapidly growing into a massive industry, Gates decided that Microsoft needed to venture into the console gaming market to compete with Sony. Previously,
Sega is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its division ...
had developed a version of Windows CE for its Dreamcast console to be used by game developers. Additionally, Gates had directly approached Sony CEO Nobuyuki Idei before the public announcement of the PS2 regarding letting Microsoft develop programming software for the console. However, the offer was declined by Idei in favor of having Sony create proprietary software. Microsoft had also attempted to meet with Hiroshi Yamauchi and Genyo Takeda of Nintendo to potentially acquire the company, but Nintendo declined to go further. In 1998, four engineers from Microsoft's DirectX team—Kevin Bachus, Seamus Blackley, Ted Hase and DirectX team leader Otto Berkes—began discussing ideas for a new console which would run off Microsoft's DirectX technology. Nat Brown, the Windows Software Architect at Microsoft, would also become a regular contributor to the project after meeting Hase in November 1998. The project was codenamed "Midway," in reference to the
Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
in which Japan was decisively defeated by American forces, as a representation of Microsoft's desire to surpass Sony in the console market. The DirectX team held their first development meeting on March 30, 1999, in which they discussed issues such as getting a PC to boot at a quicker pace than usual. The console would run off
Windows 2000 Windows 2000 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft and oriented towards businesses. It was the direct successor to Windows NT 4.0, and was released to manufacturing on December 15, 1999, and was offici ...
using DirectX 8.1, which would allow PC developers to easily transition into making games for the console while also granting it a larger processing power than that of most other home consoles. According to Blackley, using PC technology as the foundation for a video game console would eliminate the technological barriers of most home consoles, allowing game creators to expand further on their own creativity without having to worry about hardware limitations. The 4 DirectX team members encountered disagreements with the
Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Cou ...
engineering team behind WebTV, which joined Microsoft after they purchased the rights to the device. Microsoft executive Craig Mundie wanted the project to be led by the WebTV team, who believed the console should be built from the ground-up as an appliance running off Windows CE; however, the DirectX team were adamant about the idea of repurposing PC hardware components, such as a
hard disk drive A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with mag ...
, arguing that they were cheaply manufactured and could easily be updated every year. The 4 developers gained the support of Ed Fries, the head of Microsoft's gaming division, who believed the use of a hard drive, in particular, would give the console a technical edge among competitors despite its high manufacturing cost. The two opposing teams pitched their arguments to Gates on May 5, 1999, at a meeting attended by over twenty different people. WebTV's team, among whom were Nick Baker, Dave Riola, Steve Perlman, and Tim Bucher, and their sponsor, Craig Mundie, made the case that creating an appliance would be far cheaper, highlighting that most consoles were generally sold at around $300. They also wanted to use a custom-made graphics chip, which could be shared across several different home devices. Conversely, Fries, vouching for the DirectX team, argued that using a PC hard drive would set Microsoft's console apart from competitors by allowing for the direct implementation of online access, an argument which Gates sided with. When Gates questioned if PC games could be effectively ported to the new console, Blackley explained that the machine would utilize DirectX hardware, meaning that they could be converted easily. Gates heavily favored this proposition over WebTV's, whose concept relied on Windows CE, a heavily stripped-down Windows variant that was not compatible with DirectX. As such, Gates sided with the DirectX concept and gave Berkes' team permission to create a new video game console. Despite this, WebTV would still play a part in the Xbox's initial launch. Rick Thompson and Robert J. Bach were responsible for overseeing the Xbox's design. The DirectX team began constructing prototype consoles, purchasing several
Dell Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies. Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data ...
computers and using their internal parts. Initially, it envisioned that after designing the console, Microsoft would have worked with a third-party computer manufacturer to mass-produce the units. However, the early work showed that this would need to be something that Microsoft would have to produce themselves, making the prospect a far more costly operation; the name "Coffin Box" became associated with the project as there were fears the project would end careers at Microsoft. Further, as a gaming console, they could not provide the direct Windows interface to users. While Thompson and Bach had warned Gates and
Steve Ballmer Steven Anthony Ballmer (; March 24, 1956) is an American business magnate and investor who served as the chief executive officer of Microsoft from 2000 to 2014. He is the current owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball As ...
about these large-scale changes from the initial proposal in late 1999, the matter came to a head at a February 14, 2000, meeting, informally referred to as the Valentine's Day Massacre, in which Gates furiously vented about the new cost proposal and massive changes in this console from what had been previously presented, since the Xbox appeared to marginalize Windows. However, after being reminded that this was a product to compete against Sony, Gates and Ballmer gave the project the go-ahead along with the necessary marketing budget. Another contentious point of design was the addition of
Ethernet Ethernet () is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 1 ...
connectivity rather than simple support for dial-up networking. At this point, most consumer homes had access to Internet connectivity, but
social network A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods fo ...
s had yet to be established which would later demonstrate the viability of this decision. The Xbox leads argued that with the planned Xbox Live functionality, the Ethernet port would help friends be able to play after they have graduated from schools and colleges and moved across the country. Throughout the console's prototyping, Microsoft was working with AMD for the CPU on the system. According to Blackley, just prior to the system's reveal in January 2001, the Microsoft engineers opted to switch to an
Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 ser ...
CPU, a fact that had not yet been communicated to AMD prior to the reveal. Among the names considered for the new console were a number of acronyms, including "Windows Entertainment Project" (WEP), "Microsoft Total Gaming" (MTG), "Microsoft Interactive Network Device" (MIND), and "Microsoft Interactive Center" (MIC). Also among the names considered was "DirectX Box", referring to the system's reliance on Direct X. At one point, Hase jokingly came up with the names "XXX-Box" and "DirectXXX-Box" as a nod to the system's higher volume of adult content compared to Sony or Nintendo's consoles. "DirectX Box" was quickly shortened to "Xbox" through an e-mail conversation, and was ultimately favored by the development team, though a number of spelling variants were tossed around, such as xBox, XboX, and X-box. Microsoft's marketing department did not like this name, suggesting "11-X" or "Eleven-X" as alternatives. During
focus testing A focus group is a group interview involving a small number of demographically similar people or participants who have other common traits/experiences. Their reactions to specific researcher/evaluator-posed questions are studied. Focus groups are ...
, the company put the name "Xbox" on the list of possible names simply to prove how unpopular the Xbox name would be with consumers. However, "Xbox" proved to be the more popular name on the list and was thus selected as the official name of the product. When the physical design of the controller began, circuit boards for the controller had already been manufactured. Microsoft had asked Sony's supplier,
Mitsumi Electric was a Japanese manufacturer of consumer electronic components, founded in 1954. The company was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, was constituent of the Nikkei 225 stock index and provided its products through its subsidiaries in Asia, Euro ...
, for a similar folded and stacked circuit board design used in Sony's DualShock 2 controller, but the company refused to manufacture such a design for Microsoft. This led to the controller being bulky and nearly three times the size of Sony's controller. This initial controller design was never launched in Japan. The console instead launched with a smaller, redesigned version named "Controller S" that did use the more compact circuit board design. As the development team began to tighten down the design of the Xbox, they got help from Flextronics not only in revising the design but in mass production, creating a factory in
Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Mexico, while the Guadalaj ...
, Mexico, for this purpose. Early production units had a high failure rate of around 25%, which Flextronics repaired. Later iterations of the hardware design worked to eliminate these failures.


Initial announcement and content acquisitions

Gates first publicly mentioned the Xbox in an interview in late 1999, stating that he wanted the system "to be the platform of choice for the best and most creative game developers in the world". It was later announced officially by Gates in a keynote presentation at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose on March 10, 2000, showing off an early prototype build of the system and a series of demos showcasing its hardware. The presentation and the new system were well-received, impressing developers with both the hard drive and the Ethernet port and appealing to them with the notion of easy-to-use development tools. Microsoft began looking at a series of acquisitions and partnerships to secure content for the console at this time. In early 2000, Sega's Dreamcast sales were diminishing, in part due to
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the ...
' decision to bypass the console, and Sony's PlayStation 2 was just going on sale in Japan. Gates was in talks with Sega's late chairman
Isao Okawa (May 19, 1926 – March 16, 2001) was a Japanese businessman and the former Chairman of Sega. History Okawa was born in Osaka, Japan. As a young adult, he studied at Waseda University in Tokyo. After graduating from Waseda, he formed Com ...
about the possibility of Xbox compatibility with Dreamcast games, but negotiations fell apart over whether the Dreamcast's SegaNet online service should be implemented. Microsoft also looked to acquire Electronic Arts, Nintendo, Square Enix, and Midway without success. The company did achieve success in convincing developers at Bethesda Game Studios and Tecmo about the power of the Xbox over the PS2, lining up '' The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind'' and ''
Dead or Alive 3 is a 2001 fighting video game developed by Team Ninja and published by Tecmo for the Xbox console as one of its launch titles. It is the third main entry in the '' Dead or Alive'' fighting series. ''Dead or Alive 3'' improved upon the gameplay a ...
'' as Xbox console-exclusives. Around this same time, Microsoft announced it was rebranding its Games Group, which had been focused on developing games for Windows, to the Microsoft Games division to make titles for both Windows and the Xbox. Microsoft began acquiring a number of studios to add to the division, notably Bungie in June 2000, shortly after their announcement of '' Halo: Combat Evolved''. With Microsoft's acquisition, ''Halo'' switched from being a release for personal computers to being an Xbox exclusive release and as a launch time to help drive sales of the console.


Formal announcement and release

The Xbox was officially unveiled to the public by Gates and guest professional wrestler
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the developm ...
at CES 2001 in
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...
on January 3, 2001. Microsoft announced Xbox's release dates and prices at
E3 2001 E3 (short for Electronic Entertainment Expo or Electronic Entertainment Experience in 2021) is a trade event for the video game industry. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) organizes and presents E3, which many developers, publisher ...
in May. Most Xbox launch titles were unveiled at E3, most notably ''Halo'' and ''
Dead or Alive 3 is a 2001 fighting video game developed by Team Ninja and published by Tecmo for the Xbox console as one of its launch titles. It is the third main entry in the '' Dead or Alive'' fighting series. ''Dead or Alive 3'' improved upon the gameplay a ...
.'' The unit's release in November 2001 was partially hampered by the impact of the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
on travel, as Microsoft could not travel to the Guadalajara facility to help test units. They were able to arrange to ship the units locally instead of testing at Microsoft facilities to have them ready for launch. The system was officially launched at midnight on November 15, 2001, three days before the subsequent launch of the Nintendo
GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the ...
. A special event was held on the prior night as part of the grand opening of the flagship store of
Toys 'R' Us A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pe ...
at Times Square in New York City, in which 1,000 systems were shipped to the store to kick off sales. Bill Gates was present at the event, personally selling the very first Xbox console and greeting people in line and playing games with them at the numerous display units present.


Promotion

In 2002, the Independent Television Commission (ITC) banned a television advertisement for the Xbox in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
after complaints that it was "offensive, shocking and in bad taste." It depicted a mother giving birth to a baby boy, fired like a projectile through a window, aging rapidly as he flies through the air. The advertisement ends with an old man crash-landing into his own grave and the slogan, "Life is short. Play more."


Discontinuation and successors

The Xbox's successor, the Xbox 360, was officially announced on May 12, 2005 on
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
. It was the first next generation system to be announced. It was released in North America on November 22, 2005.
Nvidia Nvidia CorporationOfficially written as NVIDIA and stylized in its logo as VIDIA with the lowercase "n" the same height as the uppercase "VIDIA"; formerly stylized as VIDIA with a large italicized lowercase "n" on products from the mid 1990s to ...
ceased production of the Xbox's GPU in August 2005, which marked the end of brand-new Xbox production. The last game for the Xbox in Japan was '' The King of Fighters Neowave'' released in March 2006, the last Xbox game in Europe was '' Xiaolin Showdown'' released in June 2007, and the last game in North America was '' Madden NFL 09'' released in August 2008. Support for out-of-warranty Xbox consoles was discontinued on March 2, 2009. Support for Xbox Live on the console ended on April 15, 2010. The Xbox 360 supports a limited number of the Xbox's game library if the player has an official Xbox 360 Hard Drive. Xbox games were added up until November 2007. Xbox game saves cannot be transferred to Xbox 360, and the ability to play Xbox games through Xbox LIVE has been discontinued since April 15, 2010. It is still possible to play Xbox games with System Link functionality online via both the original console and the Xbox 360 with tunneling software such as
XLink Kai XLink Kai is a program developed by Team XLink allowing for online play of video games with support for LAN multiplayer modes. It enables players on the GameCube, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Portabl ...
. It was announced at E3 2017 that the
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
would be gaining support for a limited number of the Xbox's game library.


Hardware

The Xbox was the first video game console to feature a built-in
hard disk drive A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with mag ...
, used primarily for storing game saves and content downloaded from Xbox Live. This eliminated the need for separate
memory card A memory card is an electronic data storage device used for storing digital information, typically using flash memory. These are commonly used in digital portable electronic devices. They allow adding memory to such devices using a card in a so ...
s (although some older consoles, such as the Amiga CD32, used internal flash memory, and others, such as the
TurboGrafx-CD The TurboGrafx-16, known as the outside North America, is a home video game console designed by Hudson Soft and sold by NEC Home Electronics. It was the first console marketed in the fourth generation, commonly known as the 16-bit era, thoug ...
, Sega CD, and Sega Saturn, had featured built-in battery backup memory prior to 2001). An Xbox user could
rip Rest in peace (RIP), a phrase from the Latin (), is sometimes used in traditional Christian services and prayers, such as in the Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, and Methodist denominations, to wish the soul of a decedent eternal rest and peace. ...
music from standard audio CDs to the hard drive, and these songs were used for the custom soundtracks in some games. Unlike the PlayStation 2, which could play movie DVDs without the need for a remote control (although an optional remote was available), the Xbox required an external IR adapter to be plugged into a controller port in order to play movie DVDs. If DVD playback is attempted without the IR sensor plugged in, an error screen will pop up informing the user of the need for the Xbox DVD Playback Kit. The said kit included the IR sensor and a remote control (unlike the PS2, the Xbox controller could not control DVD playback). Said remote was manufactured by Thomson (which also manufactured optical drives for the console) and went on sale in late 2002, which meant a modified version of the remote design used by the RCA, GE and ProScan consumer electronics of the era was used for the Xbox remote, and therefore users wishing to use a universal remote were instructed to utilize RCA DVD remote codes. The Xbox was the first gaming product to feature Dolby Interactive Content-Encoding Technology, which allows real-time Dolby Digital encoding in game consoles. Previous game consoles could only use Dolby Digital 5.1 during non-interactive "cut scene" playback. The Xbox is based on commodity PC hardware and is much larger and heavier than its contemporaries. This is largely due to a bulky tray-loading DVD-ROM drive and the standard-size 3.5-inch hard drive. The Xbox has also pioneered safety features, such as breakaway cables for the controllers to prevent the console from being pulled from the surface upon which it rests. Several internal hardware revisions have been made in an ongoing battle to discourage
modding ''Modding'' is a slang expression derived from the English verb " to modify". The term refers to modification of hardware, software, or anything else, to perform a function not originally intended by the designer, or to achieve bespoke specif ...
(hackers continually updated modchip designs in an attempt to defeat them), to cut manufacturing costs, and to make the DVD-ROM drive more reliable (some of the early units' drives gave disc-reading errors due to the unreliable Thomson DVD-ROM drives used). Later-generation units that used the Thomson TGM-600 DVD-ROM drives and the Philips VAD6011 DVD-ROM drives were still vulnerable to failure that, respectively, either rendered the consoles unable to read newer discs or caused them to halt the console with an error code usually indicating a PIO/
DMA DMA may refer to: Arts * DMA (magazine), ''DMA'' (magazine), a defunct dance music magazine * Dallas Museum of Art, an art museum in Texas, US * Danish Music Awards, an award show held in Denmark * BT Digital Music Awards, an annual event in the U ...
identification failure. These units were not covered under the extended warranty. In 2002, Microsoft and
Nvidia Nvidia CorporationOfficially written as NVIDIA and stylized in its logo as VIDIA with the lowercase "n" the same height as the uppercase "VIDIA"; formerly stylized as VIDIA with a large italicized lowercase "n" on products from the mid 1990s to ...
entered arbitration over a dispute on the pricing of Nvidia's chips for the Xbox. Nvidia's filing with the SEC indicated that Microsoft was seeking a $13 million discount on shipments for NVIDIA's fiscal year 2002. Microsoft alleged violations of the agreement the two companies entered, sought reduced chipset pricing, and sought to ensure that Nvidia fulfill Microsoft's chipset orders without limits on quantity. The matter was privately settled on February 6, 2003. The Xbox includes a standard AV cable which provides
composite video Composite video is an analog video signal format that carries standard-definition video (typically at 525 lines or 625 lines) as a single channel. Video information is encoded on one channel, unlike the higher-quality S-Video (two channe ...
and
monaural Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduc ...
or stereo audio to TVs equipped with RCA inputs. European Xboxes also included an RCA jack to
SCART SCART (also known as or , especially in France, 21-pin EuroSCART in marketing by Sharp in Asia, Euroconector in Spain, EuroAV or EXT, or EIA Multiport in the United States, as an EIA interface) is a French-originated standard and associated 21- ...
converter block and the standard AV cable. An 8 MB removable
solid-state Solid state, or solid matter, is one of the four fundamental states of matter. Solid state may also refer to: Electronics * Solid-state electronics, circuits built of solid materials * Solid state ionics, study of ionic conductors and their ...
memory card A memory card is an electronic data storage device used for storing digital information, typically using flash memory. These are commonly used in digital portable electronic devices. They allow adding memory to such devices using a card in a so ...
can be plugged into the controllers, onto which game saves can either be copied from the hard drive when in the Xbox dashboard's memory manager or saved during a game. Most Xbox game saves can be copied to the memory unit and moved to another console, but some Xbox saves are digitally signed. It is also possible to save an Xbox Live account on a memory unit, to simplify its use on more than one Xbox. The ports at the top of the controllers could also be used for other accessories, primarily headsets for voice chat via Xbox Live.


Technical specifications

The Xbox
CPU A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, a ...
is a
32-bit In computer architecture, 32-bit computing refers to computer systems with a processor, memory, and other major system components that operate on data in 32- bit units. Compared to smaller bit widths, 32-bit computers can perform large calculati ...
733  MHz, custom Intel
Pentium III The Pentium III (marketed as Intel Pentium III Processor, informally PIII or P3) brand refers to Intel's 32-bit x86 desktop and mobile CPUs based on the sixth-generation P6 microarchitecture introduced on February 28, 1999. The brand's initia ...
Coppermine-based processor. It has a 133 MHz 64-bit GTL+ front-side bus (FSB) with a 1.06 GB/s bandwidth. The system has 64  MB unified DDR SDRAM, with a 6.4 GB/s bandwidth, of which 1.06 GB/s is used by the CPU and 5.34 GB/s is shared by the rest of the system. Its GPU is
Nvidia Nvidia CorporationOfficially written as NVIDIA and stylized in its logo as VIDIA with the lowercase "n" the same height as the uppercase "VIDIA"; formerly stylized as VIDIA with a large italicized lowercase "n" on products from the mid 1990s to ...
's 233 MHz NV2A. It has a floating-point performance of 7.3 GFLOPS, capable of geometry calculations for up to a theoretical 115 million vertices/second. It has a peak fillrate of 932
megapixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the ...
s/second, capable of rendering a theoretical 29 million 32-pixel triangles/second. With bandwidth limitations, it has a realistic fillrate of 250–700 megapixels/second, with Z-buffering, fogging, alpha blending, and texture mapping, giving it a real-world performance of 7.8–21 million 32-pixel triangles/second.


Controllers

The Xbox controller features two analog sticks, a pressure-sensitive directional pad, two analog triggers, a Back button, a Start button, two accessory slots and six 8-bit analog action buttons (A/Green, B/Red, X/Blue, Y/Yellow, and Black and White buttons). The standard Xbox controller (also nicknamed the "Fatty" and later, the "Duke") was originally the controller bundled with Xbox systems for all territories except Japan. The controller has been criticized for being bulky compared to other video game controllers; it was awarded "Blunder of the Year" by ''
Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 ...
'' in 2001, a Guinness World Record for the biggest controller in Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2008, and was ranked the second-worst video game controller ever by IGN editor Craig Harris. The "Controller S" (codenamed "Akebono"), a smaller, lighter Xbox controller, was originally the standard Xbox controller only in Japan, designed for users with smaller hands. The "Controller S" was later released in other territories by popular demand and by 2002 replaced the standard controller in the Xbox's retail package, with the larger original controller remaining available as an accessory.


Software


Operating system

The Xbox runs a custom
operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ef ...
which is based on a heavily modified version of
Windows 2000 Windows 2000 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft and oriented towards businesses. It was the direct successor to Windows NT 4.0, and was released to manufacturing on December 15, 1999, and was offici ...
. It exports APIs similar to those found in
Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ...
, such as
Direct3D Direct3D is a graphics application programming interface (API) for Microsoft Windows. Part of DirectX, Direct3D is used to render three-dimensional graphics in applications where performance is important, such as games. Direct3D uses hardware ...
. Its source code was leaked in 2020. The user interface for the Xbox is called the Xbox Dashboard. It features a media player that can be used to play music CDs, rip CDs to the Xbox's built-in
hard drive A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with mag ...
and play music that has been ripped to the hard drive; it also lets users manage game saves, music, and downloaded content from Xbox Live, and lets Xbox Live users sign in, customize, and manage their account. The dashboard is only available when the user is not watching a movie or playing a game. It uses many shades of green and black for the user interface to be consistent with the physical Xbox color scheme. When the Xbox was released in 2001, the Live service was not online, so the dashboard's Live sections and the network settings sub-menu were not present yet. Xbox Live was released in November 2002, but in order to access it, users had to buy the Xbox Live starter kit containing a headset and a subscription. While the Xbox was still being supported by Microsoft, the Xbox Dashboard was updated via Live several times to reduce cheating and add features.


Games

The Xbox launched in North America on November 15, 2001. Popular launch games included '' Halo: Combat Evolved'', '' Project Gotham Racing'', and ''
Dead or Alive 3 is a 2001 fighting video game developed by Team Ninja and published by Tecmo for the Xbox console as one of its launch titles. It is the third main entry in the '' Dead or Alive'' fighting series. ''Dead or Alive 3'' improved upon the gameplay a ...
''. All three of these games would go on to sell over a million copies in the US. Although the console gained strong third-party support from its inception, many early Xbox games did not fully use its powerful hardware until a full year after its release. Xbox versions of cross-platform games sometimes came with a few additional features and/or graphical improvements to distinguish them from the PS2 and
GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the ...
versions of the same game, thus negating one of the Xbox's main selling points. Sony countered the Xbox for a short time by temporarily securing PlayStation 2 exclusives for highly anticipated games such as the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series and the ''Metal Gear Solid'' series as well as Nintendo for the '' Resident Evil'' series. Notable third-party support came from
Sega is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its division ...
, who announced an 11-game exclusivity deal at
Tokyo Game Show , commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. T ...
.
Sega is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its division ...
released exclusives such as ''
Panzer Dragoon Orta is a rail shooter developed by Smilebit and published by Sega for the Xbox. The fourth entry in the '' Panzer Dragoon'' series, it was released in Japan in 2002 and in North America and Europe in 2003. The story follows a girl, Orta, who is f ...
'' and ''
Jet Set Radio Future is a 2002 action game developed by Smilebit and published by Sega for the Xbox; it is a sequel to the Dreamcast game ''Jet Set Radio'' (2000). As a re-imagining of the original game, it features improved gameplay mechanics, updated graphics, la ...
'', which met with a strong reception among critics. In 2002 and 2003, several high-profile releases helped the Xbox gain momentum and distinguish itself from the PS2.
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washi ...
purchased Rare, responsible for many Nintendo 64 hit games, to expand their first party portfolio. The Xbox Live online service was launched in late 2002 alongside pilot titles ''MotoGP'', '' MechAssault'' and '' Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon''. Several best-selling and critically acclaimed titles for the Xbox soon followed, such as ''
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell ''Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell'' is a series of stealth action-adventure video games, the first of which was released in 2002, and their tie-in novels that were endorsed by Tom Clancy. The series follows Sam Fisher, a highly trained agent of a ...
'', and '' Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic''. Take-Two Interactive's exclusivity deal with
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
was amended to allow '' Grand Theft Auto III'' and its sequels to be published for the Xbox. Many other publishers got into the trend of releasing the Xbox version alongside the PS2 version, instead of delaying it for months. 2004 saw the release of highly rated exclusives ''Fable'' and ''Ninja Gaiden'': both games would become big hits for the Xbox. Later that year, '' Halo 2'' was released and became the highest-grossing release in entertainment history, making over $125 million in its first day and became the best-selling Xbox game worldwide. '' Halo 2'' became Xbox Live's third killer app after '' MechAssault'' & '' Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3''. That year Microsoft made a deal to put
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the ...
' popular titles on Xbox Live to boost the popularity of their service. By 2005, despite notable first party releases in '' Conker: Live & Reloaded'' and ''Forza Motorsport'', Microsoft began phasing out the Xbox in favor of their next console, the
Xbox 360 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 generati ...
. Games such as '' Kameo: Elements of Power'' and ''
Perfect Dark Zero ''Perfect Dark Zero'' is a first-person shooter developed by Rare and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released as a launch title for the Xbox 360 video game console in 2005. The game is part of the '' Perfect Dark'' series and a ...
'', which were originally to be developed for the Xbox, became
Xbox 360 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 generati ...
launch titles instead. The last game released on the Xbox was '' Madden NFL 09'', on August 12, 2008.


Services

On November 15, 2002, Microsoft launched its Xbox Live online gaming service, allowing subscribers to play online Xbox games with other subscribers around the world and download new content directly to the system's
hard drive A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with mag ...
. The online service works only with a
broadband In telecommunications, broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission which transports multiple signals at a wide range of frequencies and Internet traffic types, that enables messages to be sent simultaneously, used in fast internet connections. ...
Internet connection. In its first week of operation, Xbox Live received 100,000 subscriptions, and further grew to 250,000 subscribers within two months of the service's launch. In July 2004, Microsoft announced that Xbox Live had reached one million subscribers; in July 2005, membership reached two million, and by July 2007 there were more than three million subscribers. By May 2009, the number had ballooned to twenty million current subscribers. On February 5, 2010, it was reported that Xbox Live support for the original Xbox games would be discontinued as of April 14, 2010. Services were discontinued on schedule, but a group of users later known as the "Noble 14" continued to play for almost a month afterwards by simply leaving their consoles on connected to ''Halo 2''.


Sales

Prior to launching, anticipation for the Xbox was high, with
Toys 'R' Us A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pe ...
and
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
reporting that online preorders had sold out within just 30 minutes. Microsoft stated that it planned to ship 1–1.5 million units to retailers by the end of the year, followed by weekly shipments of 100,000 units. The launch was one of the most successful in video game history, with unit sales surpassing 1 million after just 3 weeks and rising further to 1.5 million by the end of 2001. The system also attained one of the highest-ever attachment rates at launch, with over 3 games selling per unit according to the NPD Group. Strong sales were tied in large part to the highly anticipated launch title, '' Halo: Combat Evolved'', which had surpassed sales of 1 million units by April 2002 and attained a 50% attach rate for the console. By July 2004, the system had sold 15.5 million units worldwide—10.1 million in North America, 3.9 million in Europe, and 1.5 million in Asia-Pacific—and had a 33% market share in the US. Despite strong sales in North America, Microsoft struggled to make a profit from the Xbox due to its high manufacturing cost. With its initial retail price of $299, Microsoft lost about $125 for every system sold, which cost $425 to manufacture, meaning that the company would have to rely on software sales in order to make any money. According to Robbie Bach, "Probably six months after we shipped, you could see the price curve and do the math and know that we were going to lose billions of dollars." These losses were further exacerbated in April 2002, when Microsoft lowered the retail price of the Xbox even further to $199 in order to further driving hardware sales. Microsoft also struggled to compete with Sony's more popular
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on ...
console, which generally saw far higher sales numbers, although the Xbox outsold the PS2 in the U.S. in April 2004. By its manufacturing discontinuation in 2005, the Xbox had sold a total of 24 million units worldwide, 16 million of which had been sold in North America. These numbers fell short of Microsoft's predicted 50 million units, and failed to match the PlayStation 2's lifetime sales of 106 million units at the time, although it did surpass the GameCube and Dreamcast's lifetime sales of 21 million and 10.6 units, respectively. Ultimately, Microsoft lost an accumulative total of $4 billion from the Xbox, only managing to turn a profit at the end of 2004. While the Xbox represented an overall loss for Microsoft, Gates, Ballmer, and other executives still saw it as a positive result for the company as it brought them into the console marketplace against doubts raised by the industry, and led to Microsoft's further development of other consoles in the Xbox family.


Japan

Prior to its Japanese launch in February 2002, many analysts estimated that the Xbox would have trouble competing with the PS2 and the GameCube, its local counterparts in the region, noting its comparatively high price tag, lack of exclusives, and larger size which would not fit as well in Japan's smaller living spaces. Microsoft hoped to ship six million Japanese Xbox consoles by June 2002; however, the system had only sold a total of 190,000 units in the region by April of that year, two months after the system's launch in February. For the week ending April 14, 2002, the Xbox sold only 1,800 units, considerably less than the PS2 and GameCube, and failed to see a single title reach the top 50 best-selling video games in Japan. In November 2002, the Xbox chief in Japan stepped down, leading to further consultations about Xbox's future, which by that point had only sold 278,860 units in the country since its February launch. For the week ending July 18, 2004, the Xbox sold just 272 units, even fewer than the PSOne had sold in the same week. The Xbox did, however, outsell the GameCube for the week ending May 26, 2002. Ultimately, the Xbox had only sold 474,992 units in its lifetime. Factors believed to have contributed to the console's poor market presence included its large physical size, which contrasted the country's emphasis on more compact designs, and a lack of Japanese-developed games to aid consumer interest.


Modding

The popularity of the Xbox, as well as (in the United States) its comparatively short 90-day warranty, inspired efforts to circumvent the built-in hardware and software security mechanisms, a practice informally known as
modding ''Modding'' is a slang expression derived from the English verb " to modify". The term refers to modification of hardware, software, or anything else, to perform a function not originally intended by the designer, or to achieve bespoke specif ...
.


References


External links

* at Xbox.com * * {{Authority control 2001 in video gaming Computer-related introductions in 2001 Discontinued Microsoft products Golden Joystick Award winners Home video game consoles Microsoft video game consoles Products introduced in 2001 Products and services discontinued in 2009 Sixth-generation video game consoles X86-based game consoles