Name: Evolution of Xbox (Animation)
Uploaded: 2021-05-28T06:17:18.000Z
Duration: 13 min 59 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

That competed with the established industry leaders PlayStation and Nintendo

Which has been staking its claim as one of the best gaming platforms ever since

In anticipation of its fourth generation console, the Xbox Series X

It's only right that we cover the origins

And progression of this much-loved entertainment brand

Before the Xbox, Microsoft had, besides making computer software

Already been successful with publishing games for PC

Such as Age of Empires and Microsoft Flight Simulator

Meanwhile, Sony was growing in popularity with the PlayStation 1

And was already working on the PlayStation 2

Because Sony became a threat for Microsoft

And video games were rapidly growing into a massive industry

Microsoft decided to venture into the console gaming market

The original development team for the Xbox pitched an idea to Bill Gates

For a console that could harness the power of a PC

The initial concept was dubbed the DirectX Box

Since they were already familiar with the software

The Xbox could have had a very different name

Such as MITH, Microsoft Interactive Theatre

Eventually, the name was shortened from DirectX Box to just Xbox

Three years later the machine was showcased by Bill Gates and the Rock

It will be the most electrifying coming out this year

Potential for online play and HD resolution were no doubt impressive

Skeptics viewed the concept as no more than a PC in game console clothing

Regardless, the release date was soon set for the following year

Waited with excitement for the launch of this groundbreaking new system

Fun fact; According to, Xbox Co-creator, Seamus Blackley

There was a guy at Microsoft who had fancy markers

Which were immediately stolen by everyone

The only color he had left was the green one

Microsoft actually used that green as the iconic Xbox color

Blackley refers to it as, “the green nobody wanted”

In 2001, the Xbox was officially released

Microsoft managed to sell 1 million units in its first 3 weeks

When it was introduced, Microsoft's machine was competing against

Sony's PlayStation 2, Nintendo's GameCube and Sega's Dreamcast

While the PS2 would ultimately prevail in terms of sales by a huge margin

The Xbox did end up outselling the GameCube

With estimated sales of 24 million compared to 21.7 million units respectively

The Dreamcast however only managed to sell 9.1 million units

Microsoft had acquired a games development company called Bungie

Bungie adapted their Halo franchise into a First Person Shooter

That could take full advantage of Xbox's impressive specifications

Shattering records and became a classic Xbox exclusive series

As well as a flagship game for the system

Other notable games were Forza Motorsport

Xbox became known as a platform for Western games and first-person-shooters

The controller that came with the first console was bulky, to say the least

Given the nickname of “The Duke”, because of its hefty size and weight

A slimmer 'S' version had to be made for the Japanese market

The S model controller eventually replaced the Duke entirely

Xbox Live is a subscription-based service

Which made it possible to play online multiplayer games

Microsoft lost money on every Xbox they sold

Due to the high manufacturing costs of $425

In total Microsoft lost a whopping 4 billion on the original Xbox

However, they succeeded in making a name for their console

In 2005 Microsoft doubled-down on their efforts

Almost a full year before its competitors came out with the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii

The 360 released at price points of $400 for the Pro version

Which only had 4 gigabytes of internal flash memory

More models off the 360 were released later

In 2007 came the Elite with a 120 Gigabyte hard drive and a black finish

The Core version was replaced by the Arcade

Which was a slimmer model that also has a Wi-Fi adapter

Came the E model that was restyled with design traits of the Xbox One