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Xbox

Xbox console with "Controller S"
Developer	Microsoft
Manufacturer	Flextronics
Product family	Xbox
Type	Video game console
Generation	Sixth generation
Lifespan	NA: November 15, 2001 JP: February 22, 2002 EU: March 14, 2002
Discontinued	JP: June 4, 2006 EU: March 11, 2007 NA: May 18, 2008
Units sold	24+ million (as of May 10, 2006)
Media	DVD, CD, Download
Operating system	Custom (Based on Windows NT architecture and Windows XP (through Xbox LIVE)
CPU	Custom 733 MHz Intel Pentium III "Coppermine-based" processor
Memory	64 MB of DDR SDRAM @ 200 MHz
Storage	8 or 10 GB internal Hard Drive (Formatted to 8 GB with alloted system reserve and MS Dash), 8 MB memory card
Graphics	233 MHz nVidia NV2A
Controller input	4× Xbox controller ports (proprietary USB interface)
Connectivity	100 Mbit Ethernet
Online services	Xbox Live
Best-selling game	Halo 2, 8 million (as of May 9, 2006)
Successor	Xbox 360

The Xbox is a video game console developed by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001, in North America, followed by Australia and Europe in 2002. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console market. The sixth-generation console competed with Sony's PlayStation 2, Sega's Dreamcast, and the Nintendo GameCube. It was the second console produced by an American company since the Apple Pippin ceased production in 1997, after the release of the Nuon in 2000.

In November 2002, Microsoft launched Xbox Live, a fee-based online gaming service that enabled subscribers to download new content and connect with other players through a broadband connection. Unlike other online services from Sega and Sony, Xbox Live had support in the original console design through an integrated Ethernet port. The service gave Microsoft an early foothold in online gaming and would help the Xbox become a relevant competitor to other sixth-generation consoles.

Xbox's successor, the Xbox 360, was launched in November 2005. The Xbox was soon discontinued beginning with Microsoft's worst-performing market, Japan, in 2005. Other countries would follow suit in 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.

History

Hardware

Software

Operating system

Games

The Xbox launched in North America on November 15, 2001. Its most successful launch game was Halo: Combat Evolved. Its sequel, Halo 2, is the best-selling Xbox game worldwide. Although there were several more popular second-party launch titles, including NFL Fever 2002, Project Gotham Racing, and Dead or Alive 3, the early public reputation of the Xbox was damaged by the failure of Azurik: Rise of Perathia and other games designed and marketed by Microsoft.

Although the console gained strong third party support from its inception, many early Xbox games did not fully use its powerful hardware, with few additional features or graphical improvements to distinguish them from the PS2 version, 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 Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.

In 2002 and 2003, several releases helped the Xbox gain momentum and distinguish itself from the PS2. 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 praised titles for the Xbox were published, such as Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, Ninja Gaiden and LucasArts' Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Take-Two Interactive's exclusivity deal with Sony 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.

In 2004 Halo 2 became the highest-grossing release in entertainment history, making over $125 million in its first day and becoming Xbox Live's first killer app. That year Microsoft made a deal to put Electronic Arts's popular titles on Xbox Live.

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. The online service works only with a broadband Internet connection. Approximately 250,000 subscribers signed up within two months of Xbox Live's launch. In July 2004, Microsoft announced that Xbox Live had reached 1 million subscribers; in July 2005, membership reached two million, and by July 2007 there were more than 3 million subscribers. By May 2009, the number had ballooned to 20 million current subscribers. On February 5, 2010, Marc Whitten posted on gamerscoreblog 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 20 gamers continued to play for almost a month afterwards by simply leaving their consoles on connected to Halo 2. APACHE N4SIR was the final user to play on the original Xbox's Live Service and was finally disconnected on May 11, 2010 at 01:58 EDT (UTC-4).

Sales

On November 15, 2001, Xbox launched in North America and quickly sold out. Its launch in that region was successful, selling 1.53 million units three months after launch, which is higher than its successor Xbox 360, as well as the GameCube, PlayStation 3, Wii U, and even the PlayStation 2 and Wii.

The Xbox has sold 24 million units worldwide as of May 10, 2006, according to Microsoft. This is divided out to 16 million units sold in North America, six million units in Europe, and just two million units sold in Japan.

The Xbox was almost always behind the PlayStation 2 in terms of sales, although in April 2004, the Xbox outsold the PS2 in the U.S. Despite lagging far behind the PlayStation 2's sales, the Xbox was overall a success (especially in North America), keeping a steady second place in the generation sales.

Japan

Despite a strong promotion in Japan, the country saw poor sales, with only 2 million units sold there. Some analysts already believed that the Xbox would have trouble competing with Sony and Nintendo before its Japanese launch, claiming that the Xbox would be competing against its local counterparts and that the console does not fit well with Japanese people's society (e.g. console size), as well as the lack of Japanese-appealing launch titles, such as role-playing games. For the week ending April 14, 2002, the Xbox was by far outsold by its Sony and Nintendo rivals, as well as the WonderSwan and even the PSone. In November 2002, the Xbox chief in Japan stepped down, leading to further consolations about Xbox's future, which had by then sold just 278,860 units in the country since its February launch. For the week ending July 18, 2004, the Xbox sold just 272 units, which was so poor that even the PSone outsold it by four. The Xbox did, however, outsell the Nintendo GameCube for the week ending May 26, 2002. Despite Microsoft's struggles, some Japanese-appealing games were released exclusively for the Xbox, such as Dead or Alive 3 or Ninja Gaiden, which hugely contributed to the sales of Xbox in Japan. Its successor Xbox 360 sold even fewer units; 1.6 million units as of June 2013.

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.

References

1. O'Brien, Jeffrey M. (2011). "The Making of the Xbox". Wired. Condé Nast. Retrieved 17 April 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
2. ^ "Xbox Arrives in New York Tonight at Toys "R" Us Times Square". Microsoft. November 14, 2001. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
3. ^ "Gamers Catch Their Breath as Xbox 360 and Xbox Live Reinvent Next-Generation Gaming". Microsoft. 2006-05-10. Archived from the original on 2008-06-21. Retrieved 2009-03-30.
4. Morris, Chris (2006-05-09). "Grand Theft Auto, Halo 3 headed to Xbox 360". CNN. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
5. ^ Asher Moses (2007-08-30). "Prepare for all-out war". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2008-07-16. Combined, the first two Halo games have notched up sales of more than 14.5 million copies so far, about 8 million of which can be attributed to Halo 2, which is the best-selling first-generation Xbox game worldwide.
6. ^ "Microsoft Ends Xbox Live for Original Xbox Games and Owners - Yahoo! Voices". voices.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2013-04-22.
7. "Xbox Live's Major Nelson » Xbox LIVE being discontinued for Original Xbox consoles and games :". Majornelson.com. 2010-04-15. Retrieved 2013-04-22.
8. Garratt, Patrick (August 5, 2011). "The Xbox Story, Part 1: The Birth of a Console". vg247.com. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
9. Halo: Combat Evolved at GameRankings
10. "NFL Fever 2002: Summary". GameRankings. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
11. "Project Gotham Racing: Summary". GameRankings. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
12. "Dead or Alive 3: Summary". GameRankings. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
13. "Azurik: Rise of Perathia: Summary". GameRankings. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
14. Becker, David (2004-11-10). "'Halo 2' clears record $125 million in first day". News.com. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
15. Coleman, Stephen (2003-01-07). "Xbox Live Subscriptions Double Expectations". IGN. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
16. "Microsoft touts 30 million Xbox 360s sold, 20 million Xbox LIVE members". Engadget. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
17. "People still playing Halo 2 somehow". Eurogamer. 2010-04-26. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
18. Warmoth, Brian (May 11, 2010). "Apache N4SIR Outlasts Every Other 'Halo 2′ Player On Xbox Live". MTV Multiplayer. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2010-09-13.
19. Good, Owen (2010-05-10). "The Last Man to Play Halo 2 on Xbox Live". Kotaku.com. Retrieved 2010-09-13.
20. Wii U has historically bad January, sells about 50,000 units in U.S.
21. Thorsen, Tor (May 26, 2004). "Xbox officially outsells PS2 in US". GameSpot.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
22. "Xbox launches in Japan". The Gaming Intelligence Agency. February 22, 2002. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
23. "Xbox unleashed in Japan". The Age Company Ltd. February 22, 2002. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
24. "Game-over for Xbox in Japan?". Taipei Times. February 21, 2002. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
25. "Japan GCN sales". IGN Entertainment. April 18, 2002. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
26. "Japan Xbox chief steps down". PinoyExchange Forums. November 10, 2002. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
27. Funky Zealot (July 23, 2004). "Xbox Outsold by PS one in Japan". GamePro.com. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on August 17, 2004. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
28. Xbox overtakes GameCube in Japan
29. "Media Create Sales: Week 23, 2013 (Jun 03 - Jun 09)". NeoGAF Forum. June 6, 2013. Retrieved August 12, 2013.

External links

• Official website
• Template:Dmoz
• Archived 2001-07-30 at the Wayback Machine

• Xbox (console)
• 2000s toys
• 2001 introductions
• Microsoft video game consoles
• Sixth-generation video game consoles