Ten years ago today on November 15 2001, Microsoft set foot on unfamiliar turf as it entered the console market. The console launched alongside titles such as Project Gotham Racing, Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee, Dead or Alive 3 and Jet Set Radio, but it was Halo: Combat Evolved that really stood out as the game to mark the arrival of the green and black behemoth. Fittingly, the Halo franchise also celebrates its tenth birthday today.

Xbox arrived in the UK and Europe on March 14, 2002 and had sold 24 million units worldwide as of May 2006, the year that production of the machine was discontinued to make way for the Xbox 360.

The introduction of Xbox Live came in 2002 and whilst the service had humble beginnings, it has seen an explosion in popularity since the arrival of the Xbox 360 and now sits at some 35 million members worldwide.


Earlier this year, Kinect became the fastest selling consumer electronic device on record, shifting eight million units in 60 days and looks set to continue to become an increasingly core part of the Xbox experience with a Xbox Live dashboard overhaul due in the coming weeks.


"We're excited about where we are with Xbox Live," said head of product marketing for Xbox Live, Robin Burrowes, at the recent IGN-sponsored London Games Conference. "We believe we're on a fast path towards truly interactive entertainment and, probably selfishly, we believe we're playing a big role in the living room in terms of developing interactive experiences that have never been experienced before."


Looking back to November 15, 2001, who would have thought that Microsoft would have been able to make that claim ten years down the line?

Posted: Nov 15, 2011 2:19 pm

Source: http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/121/1212500p1.html