Today, with the help of the first Xbox, we will terminate this small special entitled “The consoles of your life” with which we wanted to rescue some of the consoles that over the years we have enjoyed. Obviously many machines have been left out (Saturn, Lynx, Jaguar, GameCube, Neo Geo, etc., etc., etc.), but it was not our intention to review the entire history of video games and consoles from start to finish.
Besides a couple of days ago the Xbox turned ten, so even as we celebrate this anniversary, we will take the opportunity to know more about the birth and life of this machine.
Xbox, Microsoft’s first console
The Xbox was first launched on 15 November 2001 in North America, making the jump to Japan three months later, in February and sneaking into the PAL territories in March 2002. It belongs to the sixth generation of consoles, with the last to arrive. Microsoft’s intention was precisely to compete with the Dreamcast of Sega, Sony’s PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube.
The original idea came at 98, when four engineers of Microsoft DirectX team thought it would be a good idea to try to build a Windows-based console based on a range of Dell laptops dismantled. The aim was clear: to compete, especially with Sony and its PlayStation 2. This tried to give the ball in Japan, but later found that the other market responded better. Things Japanese. Today still do not give much attention to Microsoft, you see how your Xbox 360, the successor to the Xbox, not just materialize in Japan.
The name of the console, in case anyone is wondering, comes from DirectX Box, which was what they called the console during its development phase as being based on the Windows DirectX.
Operating system and Internet via Xbox Live
The Xbox came loaded with an operating system whose architecture was based on Windows NT. It was not a change in any of the operating systems owned by Microsoft, but your own that was based on the same structure on which it rested Windows 2000.
As you can see, the Dashboard offered us four different parts: Memory, Music, XBox Live and Settings (I have not found any video showing the dashboard configured in Castilian). The Xbox was the first console enllevar included an internal hard drive in which to store our items, eliminating the need to purchase separate memory cards (which could also be made. They were 8 MB). In addition, the machine allowed passing the tracks on a CD audio that hard drive and even using them as the soundtrack for games that permit.
Technically, if releasing mood here all its features, had a Pentium III personalized 32-bit, 64MB of RAM, internal hard disk 8 or 10 GB, a GPU NV2A developed by Microsoft and Nvidia (similar in performance the GeForce 3 Ti500 PC), resolutions from 480i to 1080i,DVD and Ethernet port for Internet connection.
The Xbox Live online service became operational a year after the birth of the console, November 15, 2002, reaching one million subscribers in July 2004. To use it you had to buy the Starter Kit, which came included with a headset and subscription. Through the Xbox Live online play could, whenever we had a decent bandwidth, and download content for our games. All very similar to what we can find on the Xbox 360. On May 11, 2010 was disconnected.
Some figures and death of the console
The game that was Xbox ‘Halo 2’, which managed to sell 8 million copies worldwide, followed by ‘Halo: Combat Evolved’ , that was the first title in the series and sold 5 million units. You see, the Master Chief had pull. And still, mind you.
The Xbox was the second best-selling console of its generation, so we can consider that was a success in this direction, but if we compare sales with those of its competitors will see that the main objective of Microsoft, which I remind you, was to fight PlayStation 2 was never enforced.
Sony’s console has sold over 150 million units; while the Xbox went on to sell 24 million units. The Game Cube, meanwhile, came to 21.74 million consoles sold and finally we have the Dreamcast with 10.6 million units.
Finally, in 2006 and after five years, the production of Xbox ceased. At the time the Xbox 360 had already taken over (it was launched on 16 November 2005 in North America. Interestingly four years and one day after the first Xbox). And that continues.
