In some parts of the world, it's now the 15th of November, and that means it's officially the 20th anniversary of Xbox.
Yes, Microsoft's original Xbox hardware first launched in the US on 15th November 2001. If you weren't around back then, nobody really knew what to expect from this American-made game console, but a lot of people were willing to give it a shot and try out new titles such as Bungie's Halo: Combat Evolved.
With this in mind, one of the original co-creators and "father of the Xbox", Seamus Blackley, has uploaded a special anniversary video message on Twitter - thanking gamers and fans for making Xbox what it is today and also thanking everyone who back in the day took the risk and bought the system.
As he further notes, it wasn't obvious at the time, that a system like this would be entirely successful - coming from the same company that made Excel.
The official Xbox account even responded to the co-creators message, acknowledging his efforts as well as the community who made it possible:
Blackley also mentioned how he's been doing "a lot" of interviews, along with the rest of the launch team that worked on Xbox. So we guess there'll be more interesting stories to share over the coming weeks and months about the original Xbox and how it all started.
When did you join team Xbox? Have you been about since the beginning? What would you like to see from Xbox over the next 20 years? As always, leave your thoughts down below, and happy anniversary Xbox.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 11
I had no intention of buying an Xbox.....
Until my mate brought his over a few days after launch and showed me Halo!
I had to save for a while but bought one as soon as I was able.
Loved it then, love it now ☺️
Halo, Fable and KoToR were the games that cemented it's legendary status for me.
I was definitely not one of the people who rushed out to buy the original Xbox, but I was there for the midnight launch of the 360 and I got the One delivered when it launched.
The original Xbox was the last console I got that gen, but that seemed fitting as it was by far the most sophisticated with it's built in hard drive and advanced (for the time) online network support. In many ways it truly paved the way for everything that followed, and it was closest thing to having an HD console before that was really a thing. It had some very memorable games as well, with the 3'rd party exclusives probably standing out the most to me.
Funny how he downplays Microsoft “from the company that made excel.”
I mean, the big 3 consoles are made by a company that made card games and had love hotels in Japan, and from another one that made Cassette Tape Players.
Had some great memories on Xbox since the original and look forward to many more!
In fairness, I didn't want an xbox, I was happy with my Dreamcast and Gamecube, and my mum was stuck on what to get me for Christmas and bought me one.
And rare credit to my mum, because my xbox became our go to console once the Dreamcast and Gamecube libraries died, and Halo 2 and xbl launched.
The OG xbox had a massive hill to climb, and again, credit where it's due, it climbed it.
@Zag_Man I heard that argument before but never agreed with it. Windows at the time was already a very successful gaming platform. Direct X had already become an industry standard and Windows was the place to play FPS, RTS and city/war sim games, not to mention its where western RPGs tribes until the Xbox started opening their doors for console ports of games like Morrowind.
Yes, ir was cool to hate on Microsoft at the time, antitrust and all that, but PC had a very solid chunk of the gaming market at the time. They just wanted to extend into the living room.
And I say this as someone that at that time was a giant Mac. Still remember how it hurt at the time seeing Bungie, formerly a Mac First developer, become a Microsoft owned studio.
I also worked on IT back then and still do today. A difference between us seems to be that we were on a mixed Mac/Windows environment, and given the choice almost everyone preferred using Windows. It was basically only the art people actively prefers Mac, and anyone that dabbles on Linux, never ran it on their own machines.
Mac fans like me would brag about the little we could (like Bungie and Marathon) but most people simply liked Windows. It was cool to hate on Windows, until given the option and then everyone still decided to play Quake and Doom on Windows over Mac.
Day one…….. £20 deposit at Currys. Went down after work & picked it up with JSR future & Halo!! Happy days
Halo and DOA3. Had an Xbox every generation despite dropping out of gaming just after 360 launched and getting back in with a One X A few years back.
I got one mainly because my friend told me you could copy and store cds. One of my first games was morrowind which opened me to rpgs. One of the best exclusives was jade dynasty I also loved island thunder and halo 2
Man I love the OG Xbox. I was a senior in college at the time. I was still playing my Dreamcast but it was on life support. The PS2 seamed cool as I loved my PS1 but it just didn’t draw me in like it’s predecessor. So I waited because I liked what I had read in EGM about the Xbox. After it came out I heard several people who had played Halo rave about how awesome it was. And the EGM coverage was equally enthusiastic. I was finally convinced and in the Fall of 2002 I went out and grabbed the big black box and a copy of Halo. I was absolutely blown away. It was also the first console I ever bought myself. I pretty much emptied my poor college student checking account but it was totally worth it. So many great games and memories. I still own that console to this day and still bust it out from time to time to play some Burnout 3 Takedown and ESPN 2K5 NFL Football. What a system. Happy 20th Xbox!
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