In 1998, Seamus Blackley, Kevin Bachus, Otto Berkes, and Ted Hase formed what we know today as Microsoft’s Xbox. Initially named the “DirectX Box”, this console was intended to be the first game system built using mainstream PC hardware, unlike competitors. Releasing on November 15, 2001, at $299.99 in North America, the Xbox ran an operating system based on Microsoft’s Windows architecture kernel and featured a 733 MHz Coppermine Pentium III by Intel, alongside 64 MB of DDR SDRAM. It also had up to 10GB hard disk drive and used DVD-ROMs. For graphics, Microsoft and Nvidia co-developed a variant of the Geforce 3 chips. This hardware was very powerful, for a console, especially in comparison to the other consoles of the time.
Initially, the Xbox had troubles taking off, but it ultimately cemented itself in the industry. The Xbox proved to be very innovative and Microsoft was able to lead the industry with its new product. The addition of Xbox Live allowed for online play, which quickly became very popular. This eventually inspired other companies, such as Sony, to allow for online multiplayer with their own hardware.
In total, over 24 million units were sold, being discontinued on March 2nd, 2009. The legacy of the original Xbox lives on today, as Xbox remains as one of the most popular platforms for the gaming industry and Xbox Live gave way for online multiplayer taking off within the market.
It's interesting to see the history of something so influential in most kids' lives today. Several other gaming consoles were released around the same time as the Xbox was. The first PlayStation was released in 1994 in Japan, but didn't become very popular until 2006, similar to the Xbox. However, Nintendo, another rival gaming company, was founded in 1889 as a playing card company. Today, the three competing companies have a rather close relationship, as they've realized it is mutually beneficial to collaborate on some projects.
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This blog helped me understand the history behind a coveted possession to many teens and adults today. Reading this article made me think of what people refer to as the console wars. Since the creation of the Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo consoles, the race to being the most popular gaming console. To date, the highest sold console is the PS2, which is followed by the Nintendo DS. However, the highest sold Xbox, which was the Xbox 360, only ranks seventh on the highest sold consoles list.
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It's so interesting to learn the history of things many of us use in our daily lives. When I think of xbox, I think of video games that kids play, but I never really think about its history and the software/technology behind it. I never really saw it as a kind of "breakthrough" for consoles and a new wave of powerful hardware. I wanted to do a little more research on other gaming consoles that came out during the 90s, and I learned that even before the xbox, the PlayStation came out in 1994 in Japan. It was one of the first of the new generation of 32-bit consoles, and also helped Sony's rise into the video game world.
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