It was 17 years ago this day that Microsoft launched its first ever video game console in the United States. The Xbox would arrive in a time when Sony"s PlayStation 2 was dominating the market having arrived a year earlier and video game veteran Sega was bowing out of the console wars, discounting its remaining stock of Saturn consoles.
If that wasn"t enough, Nintendo was also preparing the release of its Nintendo 64 follow-up, the GameCube. To say the very least, it was a highly competitive market that pitted newcomer Microsoft against some powerful industry veterans. While the console wouldn"t be a huge hit, it did spawn some notable services like Xbox Live, which has since evolved and is still a huge part of the experience today.
Although the original Xbox is now a relic, forgotten by most or sitting on a shelf for nostalgic appeal, its impacts within the gaming industry are still evident with current generation consoles, and also through products like Hyperkin"s homage to the Duke controller.
What are some of your fondest memories with the Xbox? Or did you not bother purchasing one and instead were more invested in the PlayStation 2 and GameCube? Let us know in the comments down below.
Source: Xbox (Twitter)