In the world of technology, the history of Xbox is as important as the consoles of Xbox itself. We talked about when Xbox first came out and with which game, the consoles it released over the years, and its development.
Back in 2001, the gaming world was different. The home console market was dominated by the powerful PlayStation 2, Nintendo launched with the GameCube and the Dreamcast console was the driving force for Sega. But November 2001 has gone down in the annals of gaming history as the month that changed the console world forever. On November 15, 2001, Microsoft released its Xbox.
Highlights From Xbox History
What is Xbox History? Throughout the years, Microsoft has made several significant changes to the Xbox and its games. Halo: Combat Evolved was one of the first games to hit the console. In addition, the OG Xbox was never shipping with a DVD drive, or wired controllers. The first Xbox was also not compatible with streaming services. However, Microsoft did continue to push the envelope with its console. Here are some highlights from Xbox History.
Halo: Combat Evolved was the first game released for the Xbox
At launch, few believed in the success of the console. While the software giant had experience with games in the PC space, aside from impressive hardware, many saw the competition in the form of the PlayStation as too strong
But Microsoft had some aces up its sleeve and was able to turn an idea that came back to 1999 into one of its best products. It all started with the acquisition of the US game developer Bungie, which completed “Halo: Combat Evolved“, an exclusive launch title for the Xbox. “Halo” became synonymous with the Xbox.
Although the game’s multiplayer mode was not fully developed until the later stages, multiplayer was the main focus of development at the time. As such, Halo was originally designed to be a multiplayer-only game. It was developed using Internet multiplayer in its primitive forms, and it was intended to launch as a “push” for the Xbox Live service. This is the reason why a single-player campaign was later added.
Halo: Combat Evolved was a big hit upon its release and is still one of the most popular games for Xbox. It also helped establish the Xbox as the gaming platform of choice. It also made Bungie the most profitable developer in the world, as it surpassed Xbox’s original games sales. This also allowed Bungie to develop Halo for the Xbox, and Microsoft decided to invest in the franchise going forward.
Halo: Combat Evolved was Microsoft’s first game for the Xbox, and it helped cement Microsoft as one of the big console manufacturers. Halo: Combat Evolved’s storyline, while not entirely unique, is incredibly engaging. The game’s three-dimensional environment makes it easier to control multiple vehicles. You can also control multiple vehicles in third-person view to enhance specific points of gameplay.
Microsoft’s OG Xbox didn’t ship with wired controllers
The first Xbox didn’t ship with wired controller, and users often wondered why they didn’t. The OG Xbox was never a financial success, losing Microsoft cash on each unit sold. However, that did not mean the console was a flop, and the company would later introduce more affordable versions of the console with wired controllers. Its name, Xbox, was inspired by Microsoft’s DirectX APIs for Windows, which handled multimedia and peripherals.
The OG Xbox didn’t ship with wires, and remained primarily wireless. While the Xbox 360 controller used AA batteries, it was later upgraded with rechargeable battery packs. The Xbox Wireless Adapter for Windows 10 allowed Xbox users to connect wirelessly to other devices and save battery power. This enabled the controllers to work on multiple platforms, and provided extra functionality. The new controllers were also compatible with Xbox One and PC games, so gamers were able to play their Xbox 360 games from either PC or Mac.
One of the biggest flaws with the original Xbox was its wires. The Xbox 360 controller, known as “The Duke” in North America, was viewed as an oversized controller by many consumers. That’s why the company switched to the smaller “Controller S” in Japan. The Xbox 360’s wired controller is not much better, but it’s still better than most of the other wired controllers out there.
When the original Xbox was released, the Xbox 360 was available in two configurations. The Core version, without a hard drive, sold for $299. The Pro/Premium model, however, came with a 20GB detachable hard drive. Neither model included a wireless controller. The Xbox 360’s price was much cheaper than the PS3’s, and it didn’t have HDMI or Wi-Fi.
It didn’t ship with a DVD drive
If you’ve been buying an Xbox for a while now, you may have noticed that it doesn’t ship with a DVD drive. If so, you can always buy a DVD drive separately and install it in your Xbox. Just make sure that the DVD drive has the right key. All DVD drives aren’t created equal. One of the most popular models, the Xbox 360, shipped with a wired controller. It was possible to buy a breakaway cable for the gamepad, but this made it difficult to play discs while the console was in use. Another thing that’s worth noting is that the Xbox 360 didn’t ship with a DVD drive. This means that you have to pay a little bit of extra money to play DVDs on the console.
The HD-DVD drive wasn’t included with the Xbox 360 at launch. It came out nearly half a year after the console hit the shelves. In the meantime, the PlayStation 3 already had built-in Blu-Ray capabilities, and you had to purchase a separate Blu-Ray player to play the discs. But there was a big problem: you couldn’t play Xbox 360 games with the HD-DVD drive.
It didn’t support CDs
If you’ve tried to play your favorite games on your Xbox 360 but found that your console doesn’t support CDs, the problem could be your disc player. Before you try to fix this, you should first uninstall the Xbox 360 app. Once you’ve done this, you should check the details of your Xbox account. If you still cannot play your favorite games on your Xbox, try playing a different audio CD and reporting the problem to Microsoft support.