Microsoft is celebrating this quarter-century anniversary with a 25-game bundle free with new Windows PCs.
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The Xbox arrived on Nov 15, 2001, during the sixth generation of consoles, facing stiff opposition from the legendary Sony PlayStation 2 , Nintendo GameCube, and Sega Dreamcast. However, it established a very respectable foothold in the console market thanks to its formidable hardware and a killer app in the shape of Halo: Combat Evolved . It would end up outselling Nintendo and Sega rivals, only living in the shadow of the PS2.
It is interesting to weigh up the performance hardware that was a big reason behind the OG Xbox’s success. Though the contemporary PC parts it used probably made it one of the biggest and ugliest consoles ever, powerful hardware is a great foundation for cutting-edge gaming experiences. The key components behind the Xbox were the Intel Pentium III 733 MHz CPU and an Nvidia NV2A 233 MHz GPU. Systems came with 64MB of DDR SDRAM and accessed games via optical media through its DVD drive . Perhaps most unusual for the time, the system included a built-in HDD (8GB), as well as offering 8MB memory cards for removable storage.
Another hardware advantage of the Xbox and key to connected gaming fun during the early broadband proliferation era was the inclusion of an Ethernet jack as standard. Xbox Live online gaming would launch in 2002. Microsoft used a heavily modified controller-friendly version of Windows 2000 for the system’s OS.
Setting the foundation for the next 25 years of Xbox, the original console was clearly a success. However, as the games industry prepares for a new generation of hardware, Microsoft’s strategy looks less certain than ever before. Even more so than with Sony , it seems less clear where the Xbox business is headed.
Xbox marks 25 years with eye-catching translucent green PC accessories
Key considerations
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Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/xbox/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/xbox/the-original-xbox-was-released-25-years-ago-today-microsofts-pentium-iii-and-nvidia-gpu-powered-console-did-surprisingly-well-in-a-ps2-dominated-era#main
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Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.