Xbox Consoles, Games and Accessories

The Xbox was Microsoft’s first foray into console gaming, releasing in 2002. Its main rivals were the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Dreamcast.

It included an inbuilt Ethernet port to connect the console to the Internet – a feature that enabled the console to compete against the PlayStation 2 and Dreamcast more effectively, as they had been built without online gaming in mind, instead releasing adaptors later in each console’s lifespan. Along with this Internet connectivity, Microsoft introduced the Xbox Live network, which continues to be used in the Xbox 360 and Xbox One to this day.

Home to the first instalment of the Halo series, the Xbox also saw titles such as Project Gotham Racing and Jet Set Radio Future, as well as the Grand Theft Auto series beyond GTA3 (as Sony had secured exclusive deals for GTA and GTA2). Microsoft also acquired development company Rare, which was responsible for Nintendo games such as the Donkey Kong Country trilogy and Banjo-Kazooie, with the studio developing titles Grabbed by the Ghoulies, Conker: Live and Reloaded, and Viva Piñata for the Xbox library.

The Xbox sold over 24 million consoles in its lifetime – well behind the PlayStation 2’s total of over 150 million, but enough to secure second place in its generation, just beating the GameCube’s 22 million units sold, and more than doubling the Dreamcast’s sales of 10 million.