The Xbox is a home video game console and the first installment in the Xbox series of video game consoles manufactured by Microsoft. Classified as a sixth-generation console, it was released as Microsoft’s first foray into the gaming console market in 2001 in North America, followed by Australia, Europe and Japan in 2002, and was succeeded in 2005 by the Xbox 360. The Console’s S controller, replaced the console’s original as the standard pack-in game controller. The Xbox console is notable for having a built-in hard drive, breakaway controller dongles, and an Ethernet port to support Microsoft’s online gaming service, Xbox Live.
Before the Xbox, Microsoft had found success publishing video games for its Windows PCs, releasing popular titles such as Microsoft Flight Simulator and the massively successful Age of Empires after the creation of DirectX, the application programming interface (API) that allowed for direct access of the computer hardware and bypassing Windows. However, the company had not delved into the home console market of video games, which was dominated at the time by Sony‘s PlayStation.
Sony was working on its next video game console, the PlayStation 2 (PS2), announced officially to the public on March 2, 1999, and intended for the system to act as a gateway for all types of home entertainment. Sony presented a vision where the console would ultimately replace the desktop computer in the home. Microsoft CEO Bill Gates saw the upcoming PS2 as a threat to Microsoft’s line of Windows PCs, worrying that the all-encompassing system could eliminate consumer interests in PCs and drive them out of the market. With video games rapidly growing into a massive industry.
Gates decided that Microsoft needed to venture into the console gaming market to compete with Sony. Previously, Sega had developed a version of Windows CE for its Dreamcast console to be used by game developers. Additionally, Gates had directly approached Sony CEO Nobuyuki Idei before the public announcement of the PS2 regarding letting Microsoft develop programming software for the console. However, the offer was declined by Idei in favor of having Sony create proprietary software.