Nearly twenty years ago, Microsoft released the original video game console, Xbox, in North America, marking its bold entry into the world of console gaming. The company entered the console market at a difficult time, facing major rivals such as Sony, Sega, and Nintendo.
Despite constant competition and many drawbacks, the Xbox brand has managed to become a household name in gamingworldwide. Microsoft has sold millions of consoles since the first Xbox was released.
Console design has changed quite a bit over the years.
See also: Microsoft adds 76 games to Xbox backward compatibility program
When it launched, the Xbox looked like a big, bulky, 90s-style electronic device, but now it's sleeker and has more features.
Xbox console: The early years
The idea that Microsoft could develop its own games console began to gain traction in 1998, with Kevin Bachus, Seamus Blackley, Otto Berkes, and Ted Hase forming the company's first console team.
The first console was originally called the DirectX Box and was the first game system to be built like a PC. The system would run Windows 2000, making it easier for traditional PC software developers to create games. At the same time, it had features that could compete with the PlayStation 2.
Many names were suggested for this console, including “Direct X Box” and “Windows Entertainment Project.” Microsoft’s marketing team conducted research on the name, and although they didn’t expect it, they found that Xbox was the most popular.
Just two years later, Microsoft was ready to publicly unveil its console, and that's exactly what Bill Gates at the Game Developers Conference in 2000. With his description, Gates managed to gain the attention of many people even though many others had doubts.
Microsoft later continued to promote the console. A year later, Bill Gates revealed the final design of the Xbox at the 2001 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, along with the system's official release date.
Let's look at the evolution of the console over the years:
Xbox
The original Xbox had different release dates for different regions. It was initially released in the United States on November 15, 2001.
In 2002, it was released in Japan, Europe and Australia.
The console was quite large, in black and green, and was the first to have a built-in Ethernet port, combined with a broadband connection.
The first generation Xbox had to compete with other consoles, such as the Sega Dreamcast, Sony PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube.
The first-generation Xbox sold around 24 million consoles, but it lagged behind the PlayStation 2, which sold over 155 million units during its lifespan.
The best-selling games for the original Xbox were Halo 2, Halo: Combat Evolved, and Fable.
The console was discontinued a few years later.
In the image below you can see features of Microsoft's first gaming console:
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Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 was released in late 2005 – early 2006 and was a console with a very different look than the original Xbox.
The console's base color was white, although it was also released in other color combinations.
The console was a huge success for Microsoft and arguably became a bigger competitor to Sony's PlayStation for the first time.
But the original machine had a few problems, although Microsoft later made sure to fix them, replacing systems and extending warranties. Over its lifespan, the Xbox 360 and all its models and variants managed to maintain almost equal market share with Sony's PlayStation 3.
Some of its most popular games were Kinect Adventures, Grand Theft Auto V, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Call of Duty: Black Ops, and Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
Microsoft redesigned the Xbox 360 hardware several times, along with a bunch of accessories like the redesigned wireless controller and headset.
In the image below you can see more features for the Xbox 360:
Xbox 360 S
On June 14, 2010, Microsoft released a new and redesigned slim model of the Xbox 360.
A slim, light and fresh design with a glossy black finish and a smaller power brick were enough to catch the attention of gamers.
The Xbox 360 S was built with a more powerful processor and motherboard, in order to reduce the hardware failures and overheating problems that the original Xbox 360 had.
The console had several interesting features:
Xbox 360 E
The latest version of the Xbox 360, the Xbox 360 E, was released by Microsoft on June 10, 2013.
The 360 E didn't bring many new features, but it had a new design that matched the upcoming Xbox One console.
Microsoft also announced that the console would run quieter than previous 360 consoles.
You can see more of its features in this image.
The Xbox 360 and its two models, the Xbox 360 S and Xbox 360 E, were discontinued in 2016.
Xbox ONE
The third generation Xbox is called the Xbox One. It was released in November 2013, but was discontinued after less than 3 years. This is due to the release of the Xbox One S.
In terms of sales, the Xbox One lagged behind its main competitor, the PlayStation 4.
Some of the best Xbox One exclusive titles that kept sales numbers high at the time were Titanfall, Dead Rising 3, and Forza Motorsport 5.
In June 2015, Microsoft offered gamers backward compatibility with several Xbox 360 titles through software emulation.
See more features about the console in this image:
See also: Xbox app for PC: Install PC games in any folder you want
Xbox ONE S
The Xbox One S was released in 2016.There were 2 versions, a regular and an All-Digital. The All-Digital version was discontinued on June 16, 2020.
The console included some significant upgrades over the original console. Top of the list is the addition of a 4K Blu-ray player, as well as support for 4K/HDR video streaming services and HDR support for the games themselves.
The base color of the console was a bright white.
The console was also smaller than the original Xbox One (40 percent smaller according to Microsoft).
A new controller came with the release of the Xbox One S console with new Bluetooth support and a comfortable design.
More details about the XBOX ONE S can be found in the image below:
Xbox ONE X
Project Scorpio, later known as the Xbox One X, was released in November 2017 with better hardware and a brand new design. Unfortunately, the Xbox One X was only released for 3 years.
The Xbox One X was released in Matte Black and Robot White, although at first some buyers could order a limited 'Project Scorpio Edition' Xbox One X, with a special color and green "Project Scorpio" lettering.
This is the first Xbox console to offer realistic 4K gaming.
Some backward compatible games were marketed as “Xbox One X Enhanced,” which had better graphics, higher framerates, higher resolution (up to 4K), additional visual effects, and Dolby Atmos support.
The console was discontinued in 2020.
See more features of the console in this image.
Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X
The fourth generation of Xbox models includes the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S , which were released in November 2020.
The two consoles were quite different from each other.
The Xbox Series X is a special console, while the Series S looks much more like an evolution of the Xbox One S.
Xbox Series S
Compared to the Series X, the Series S is smaller and comes in white.
The Series S does not support backward compatibility for the Xbox One X, however, it still supports all previous generations.
Unlike the Series X, the Series S is a digital-only unit.
See more about the Xbox Series S in this image:
Xbox SERIES X
As we mentioned before, the design of the Xbox Series X is quite different and special, while Microsoft has returned to dark colors.
Some exclusive games for the Xbox Series X and S include Halo: Infinite, Fable, Forza Motorsport, and State of Decay 3.
The Xbox Series X can even support 8K gaming in addition to 4K.
Its features are very good for its price:
