The Xbox turns 10

10 years ago today, Microsoft released the Xbox to the world. The system marked a long-standing effort of Microsoft’s to break into the living room, and with a games console it finally had a way in.

But why is it called the Xbox? Believe it or not, Microsoft didn’t like the name to start with. The console was referred to as “DirectX Box” to show the origins of its development. Research showed that (funnily enough) people preferred the name Xbox, and so it stuck.

If my maths serves me well, I was nine when the Xbox hit British shores. Adverts showing off games like Project Gotham Racing seemed to be on all the time. Debates over whether the PS2 was better split playgrounds in half. Is it good value? Why can’t it play DVDs by itself? How can you put up with the PS2’s tiny controllers? And so on. In the end, a friend of mine got a PS2, so we both got to play the best of both worlds.

And then there was the online service. Back when the console came out, the service didn’t have a name yet. At E3 2002, Microsoft unveiled its final name (Xbox Live) with a copy of Unreal Championship on demo. The test drive later that year meant people could try it out and beta test (with some goodies waiting at the end of the trial), but just like today, Xbox Live required a broadband connection. I remember as a kid thinking that we’d never be able to afford broadband and Xbox Live would always be for rich people with big TVs.

Halo 2 was another major milestone. Now, some of you may remember the Xbox dropped in price soon after being launched over here. To compensate, Microsoft gave customers a free controller and two free games. I wanted Fuzion Frenzy and Mad Dash Racing (look it up), but they didn’t have the second one so I chose a game called Halo instead. Looking back, I’m glad they didn’t have bloody Mad Dash Racing as an option. Halo was described as groundbreaking, and anyone who played it at the time could see exactly why. Halo 2, one of the biggest media releases ever, seemed more anticipated than anything in my short little life ever.

There were some weird and wonderful ideas for the Xbox along the way. XSN Sports, a failed attempt to revolutionise sports games, barely lasted a year. Xbox Music Mixer, while technically a failure, saw most of its features brought over to the Xbox 360. And then there were some really ambitious games like True Fantasy Live Online which never even saw the light of day.

The Xbox sold 24 million units in its lifespan. A good figure, but not as good as the PS2’s 150 million (and still going!) sales. The Japan situation was also pretty bleak, and Microsoft was determined next time to not let Sony get a head start. The Xbox 360 launched in 2005, and soon after the Xbox died.

For something they didn’t want lying around that long, Microsoft did a pretty good job of supporting old Xbox owners. Both consoles ran the same online service, the new 360 could play its fair share of Xbox games, and there was even talk for a bit that games could be released that ran on both straightaway. That last one turned out to be a lie, but the 360 was still seen as a good next step. It took what was good about the Xbox, made it better, and scrapped away all the bad stuff (hello, DVD playback!).

Where to next for the platform? Rumours suggest the next Xbox might run Windows 8 tying in with the “Windows everywhere” mantra circulating in the media. But comments around the time of Kinect’s release suggest Microsoft sees the Kinect as an extension of the Xbox 360’s lifespan, so any future Xboxes might be a long time coming.

I still have my collection of Xbox games up in the loft somewhere. Some great classics can still be found in its back catalogue. Games like Oddworld Munch’s Oddysee, Jet Set Radio Future and Panzer Dragoon Orta are well worth picking up if you ever see them around, and almost half of the game library works on the 360. It might have been big, clunky and loud, but it paved the way for some groundbreaking ideas, without which console gaming might not be where it is today. So here’s to ten years of Xbox, and another ten years to come!