Xbox (2001)

CPU: Intel Pentium III – 733 MHz

GPU: NVDIA NV2A – 233 MHz

Memory: 64 MB DDR SDRAM

Hard Drive: 8 GB HDD

Optical Drive: CD Rom, DVD Rom

Video Output: S-Video, SCART (RGB)

Network: Fast Ethernet

Audio: 5.1 Surround Sound, Stereo

Release Date: November 15, 2001

Code Name: DirectX Box

Generation: First

Status: Discontinued

Release Price: $299

Units Sold: 24+ million (as of May 10, 2006)

Best-selling Game: Halo 2. 8 million

The original Xbox, Microsoft debuted in the home console gaming market, with a characteristic big size in black and green colors, was released on November 15, 2001. At the time, the sixth-generation console market was overwhelmed by PlayStation 2, GameCube and Dreamcast, leading Microsoft to rise through a very competitive marketplace, and people were wondering if the Xbox console would be an expensive mistake. They proved everyone wrong by selling 550,000 units of hardware in its first week.

The console’s prototype was put together at first as a side project, using Dell laptop parts and then Microsoft decided to redesign it. This led Xbox to use the PC’s x86 architecture, a build that was very rare for a console at the time. Microsoft engineers originally called the console “DirectX Box“, named after the DirectX graphics technology, that was developed for PC gaming and later was shortened to Xbox.

Xbox was the first console to have a built-in Ethernet port, combined with a broadband connection. It was the time were Xbox Live launched and Microsoft offered to players a unique, steady and reliable online experience, but only with a subscription.

One of the biggest hits for Xbox was Halo, a science fiction first-person shooter game, developed by Bungie, with smooth and balanced gameplay followed with its sequel in 2004 were more-than-enough reasons to buy an Xbox. Many other exclusive titles followed like Ninja Gaiden, Fable and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, which helped a lot the franchise to succeed.