Memories of the Original Xbox

I can still remember sitting at work when a news report announced the impending release of the PlayStation 2 and rumours of a new console under development from Microsoft. The eponymous ‘Xbox’ sounded more akin to a manufacturer's code name rather than the given name of what would become a massively successful gaming institution.

In Europe, Microsoft released its first modern console on 14th March 2002. It was the iconic black box with a shiny green Xbox logo on top. Its controllers were massive and not altogether comfortable to hold unless your hands were of the larger variety. They were also cabled rather than wireless, of course. Still, the console had everything that one would need to play great games. What it lacked in aesthetics it more than made up for in power.

Competition

It sold for £300 and went head to head with Sony’s PlayStation 2 and Nintendo’s GameCube. Nintendo had always gone its own way with its in-house classic games, which remains its prime focus today. Sony and Microsoft’s marketing departments pitched their consoles against each other on power and graphical performance in the main, with exclusive games coming up the rear. The main competition for Microsoft’s console was then and still is the PlayStation. Even now there are fanboys/fangirls for both Sony’s and Microsoft’s devices who vehemently swear by their favourite.

In those days my favourite game was Colin McRae Rally on PC. I loved the off-road racing sim and spent many hours perfecting my skills. I was immediately attracted to the new console, therefore, because it came from Microsoft and was being described in the press as reminiscent of a gaming PC. I had the yearning to try something new and although most of my friends were on PS2 I decided to buck the trend and try the new kid on the block. So on launch day, I became the proud owner of Microsoft’s first foray into the console gaming market, in addition to two launch titles, Halo: Combat Evolved and Project Gotham Racing. Both are still amongst my favourite Xbox titles to date.

Games

My love of racing games had me raring to get playing in Project Gotham Racing, developed by Bizzare Creations for Microsoft. Here you race around London, New York, Tokyo, and San Francisco, winning by both coming first and by earning Kudos points for sliding around bends and near misses with other cars. It was great fun and up to that point, it was one of the most beautiful games I had ever played.

I had also read much on the Xbox exclusive shooter, Halo: Combat Evolved, developed by Bungie. This has gone on to become one of the star attractions for the Xbox and the franchise is still a must-buy even today. It says a lot for Halo that, almost twenty years after the original game was released, the latest title in the series, Halo: Infinite, is one of the most highly anticipated games for Microsoft’s latest console, the Xbox Series X/S.

I purchased more games for my Xbox than I did for any other console before or since, and many of those games have gone on to become generation-spanning franchises. My overall favourites have been a mixture of exclusives and cross-platform titles including the aforementioned Halo and Project Gotham Racing, in addition to Colin McRae Rally 3.0, Black, Max Payne, and too many others to mention.

Fond Memories

I have very fond memories of my then four-year-old nephew coming to visit and the two of us sitting down to play Xbox. I remember Midtown Madness 3.0 as one of his favourites. It still makes me chuckle to remember him crashing the big bus and dump truck through city streets. When he grew up he went on to have several generations of Xbox himself. In some ways then this console was more than a pure gaming machine for me. It was also the fountain of some great memories of happy times.

I loved the console and its games and to quote Bryan Adams, albeit out of context, I played it “’ till my fingers bled”. I enjoy gaming but I am not a fanboy of one platform or console over another. I can say, however, quite truthfully, the original Xbox was one of my favourite consoles.

Final Thoughts

The original Xbox made a solid start for Microsoft in the console gaming market going on to sell approximately 24 million units. It outsold the Nintendo GameCube which is no mean feat for a first attempt but the PS2 was the overall winner in this ‘Console war’. That is, however, if units sold are the arbiter of success, a concept I have never subscribed to. Quality games are where it’s at for me, wherever they may be found. I’ve played great Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, and PC games over the years.

The original Xbox is something special to me though, and the games franchises it spawned are still cracking games today. The release of the Xbox was also good for console gaming in general as it meant the ‘big two’, Sony and Nintendo, had to continually evolve and offer better games at better prices now that a tough new competitor had arrived in town.

As I write this I am flooded with happy memories of that unassuming black box and the many hours I spent shooting, racing, and puzzle-solving on it. I am going to end here and crank up Game Pass and dive back into Halo: Combat Evolved again, on my current Xbox console, with my nostalgia dial turned up to 11!

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