Until Microsoft released the original Xbox in 2001, everyone doubted Microsoft’s entry into the video gaming console industry. Prior to the release process, there were several competitions and pitfalls. Because it had to compete against the Playstation 2 and GameCube.
Let’s understand the evolution of Xbox Consoles. Xbox generations and models were released from 2001 till 2020.
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First generation
The first generation Xbox was released between the years 2001 – 2009. It was introduced in the market on November 15, 2001, in North America. Also in Japan on February 22, 2002. And finally on March 14th, 2002 in Australia and Europe.
It was the first step of Microsoft into the gaming console market. It competed against Sony’s PlayStation 2, Sega’s Dreamcast and Nintendo’s GameCube. It was the first console introduced by an American Company. Which then made many competitors. The Xbox name is given because of DirectX Box, which is a reference to Microsoft’s graphics API, DirectX. The Xbox Live service allowed players to play games offline as well as online. The integrated Xbox Live service launched in November 2002. Xbox Live has a subscription and broadband only connection. Xbox succeeds because of better servers. It has features such as a buddy list and also has milestone titles like Halo 2. Halo 2 was released in November 2004. Thus Halo 2 became the most popular and best selling Xbox video game.
The number of units sold worldwide is 24+ million. The Launch price was $299 (US).
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Second generation
The second generation Xbox 360 was released between the years 2005 – 2016. It was released as the successor of the original Xbox. It competed with Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii. Xbox 360 was officially announced on MTV on May 12, 2005. As soon as its release it sold out quickly worldwide except in Japan. The retail configurations of the core Xbox 360 model were offered over its lifetime, varying the amount of RAM and internal storage offered. Later two Xbox revisions were released. First was the Xbox 360 S, known as the Slim one. The second revision was Xbox 360 E, released in 2013. The number of units sold worldwide is 84 million. The Launch price was $299 (US).
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Third generation
The third generation Xbox One was released between the years 2013 – 2020.
The Xbox One was announced on May 21, 2013. It has an emphasis on internet based features and has the ability to record and stream. Also has the ability to integrate with a settop box. So that you can watch cable or satellite TV through a console with an enhanced guide interface with Kinect based voice control.
The number of units sold worldwide is 48.69 million. The Launch price was $499 (US).
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Fourth generation Xbox Consoles
The fourth generation Xbox Series X and Series S were released between the years 2020 – present. The two Xbox models are simply named Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S which was launched on November 10, 2020. The Xbox Series X and Series S are high and low-end versions compared to the Xbox One X and Xbox One S models. The Series S is a digital only unit with less graphic processing power. The number of units sold worldwide is 3.5 million. The Launch price was $499 (US).