The Xbox was a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft and released on March 14, 2002 in Europe.

It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console market designed to directly compete with the Sony PlayStation 2, and the Nintendo GameCube. It was to revolutionize console online play, with huge investment in the new service Xbox Live, which was far more successful than previous attempts such as those for the Dreamcast, a paid for subscription service that allowed players from around the world to compete, as PC gamers had for nearly a decade, and also download new games and demos.

Halo Combat Evolved was a large factor in the early success of the Xbox Live, and once Microsoft slashed the price of the machine to £199 it became a huge hit in the west, and assumed a strong second place to the PlayStation 2 for market share.

Manufacturer: Microsoft
Date: 14th March 2002

This exhibit has a reference ID of CH4406. Please quote this reference ID in any communication with the Centre for Computing History.