The Xbox Story

The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console produced by the Microsoft Corporation. It was Microsoft's first venture into the gaming console market, and they competed directly with Sony's PlayStation 2 and the Nintendo GameCube. Xbox was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and on March 14, 2002 in Europe and Australia. It was discontinued in late 2006 when it was replaced with Microsoft's newer Xbox 360.

The Xbox was Microsoft's first move into the video game console market, after having collaborated with Sega in porting Windows CE to the Dreamcast console. Some of the more notable launch titles for the console included Amped: Freestyle Snowboarding, Dead or Alive 3, Halo: Combat Evolved, Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee, and Project Gotham Racing.

The Xbox 1st edition was initially developed within Microsoft by a small team, that included well-known game developer Seamus Blackley. Microsoft repeatedly delayed release of the console, which was brought to light at the end of 1999 following interviews, with then Microsoft CEO Bill Gates. Gates stated that a gaming/multimedia device was essential for multimedia convergence in the new times. This was confirmed by Microsoft with a press release.