Xbox One, the Future of Gaming or Just Another Console? (Part One)

Will the Xbox One lead us into the future? Or be a forgotten console?

To fully understand the impact the Xbox One may or may not have on the gaming industry, let us return to the beginning of Microsoft's history in the console video game market.  This is part one of a three part article that will examine Microsoft's contributions to the video game industry and assess the direction they hope to take console video game entertainment today.  By looking back at the past successes and failures of Microsoft's consoles, we can gain an even better perspective at where the Xbox One might take the video game industry.  To begin, we must journey all the way back to 1999 when a design team walked into Bill Gates' office and laid out the future of console gaming.

Bill Gates unveiling Microsoft's Xbox

In 1999, Microsoft blurred the lines between PC gaming and console gaming with the announcement of their own system entitled the Xbox (stemming from the original name DirectX Box).  This rather large box would bring PC gaming capabilities into your living room and be displayed, quite beautifully, on your TV.  At the time, the release of the Xbox was a huge gamble on Microsoft's end.  Sony, fabled creator of the Playstation, was set to release the Playstation 2 at the end of the year.  Through various demos, the second Playstation touted a multitude of features including DVD capabilities and amazing 3D animations.  Sony's new creation figured to be the greatest console in the history of the industry.  For computer giant Microsoft to even consider stepping into the console market at this time was crazy.  A company dedicated to turning out operating systems and computers couldn't possibly take on a company with years of experience within the console gaming industry? Right...?

Wrong.  Microsoft's original Xbox pushed the gaming industry further than it had ever gone.  Releasing the Xbox with the company's first console game, Halo, Xbox sales jumped through the roof.  Call it a stroke of good luck that a company releasing its first console would also develop a top 5 gaming franchise/universe in the same year.  The Xbox incorporated an operating system based off Windows 2000.  Along with Nvidia graphics, Microsoft's console made it much easier for game developers to produce creative games.  Essentially, the Xbox bridged the gap that existed between console games and PC games, allowing for many PC developers to jump into the console video game market. With the release of the Xbox, a multitude of new game developers, familiar with computer gaming, flocked to the Xbox as opposed to the Playstation 2. Microsoft had an incredible opening year in the console gaming industry.  With rumors of Halo 2 on the way, Microsoft dropped an even bigger bombshell for the console gaming industry:

Xbox Live dictated the direction of online multiplayer

Xbox Live introduced a whole new type of multiplayer to the console gaming industry.  People would be able to play against others, send messages to others and even talk to others all from their living room couch.  Riding on the back of the release of Halo 2, Xbox Live subscriptions skyrocketed.  I reflect happily on the days upon days I would spend playing custom games on Acension, Lockout and Zanzibar.  The amount of hours logged by gamers in Halo 2 is simply incredible considering the multitude of problems within the game.  Halo 2, for a brief stint, was the only option for competitive online console gaming.  Incorporating the first "friends list" seen on Xbox Live, gamers would log on Halo 2 to set up games in other multiplayer games.  The Xbox Live community, for a brief period of time, was the Halo community.  The popularity of the game reached the status of a cultural phenomenon and pushed Xbox Live subscriptions even higher. As more and more players signed up for subscriptions, more and more games incorporated their own multiplayer features for Xbox Live.  Despite Xbox Live being a pay to play online multiplayer experience, gamers continued to sign up. The surging success of Xbox Live pushed the console video game market to new heights and revolutionized how console games were played over the internet.

While the legacy of the original Xbox cannot be questioned, its profitability was incredibly inconsistent.  Microsoft implemented their vision of console gaming onto the industry but at a cost.  The amount of money they poured into the original Xbox was never earned back.  Seeking a way to make profit, Microsoft abandoned their original console and placed their entire focus on its predecessor: the Xbox 360.  Despite this, impressive communities thrived on Xbox Live.  People within the Halo 2 community literally continued to play months after Microsoft shutdown the Halo 2 servers in an attempt to show how much Halo 2's Xbox Live multiplayer meant to them (Read This: The Last Man to Play Halo 2 on Xbox Live).  Count me as one of the many who was sad when the original Xbox Live servers closed down.  Xbox Live and Halo shaped the standard for online console gaming and affected the millions that play online today.

The original Xbox was a risky move by Microsoft.  The company had so much to lose if the console blew up in their face and lost the marketing battle to the Playstation 2.  Through spending the money necessary, Microsoft bridged a huge gap between the PC and console worlds and created a console that allowed games to be developed similarly to computer games.  This more flexible console allowed developers from both communities to hop into the console market and powered the Xbox's popularity through many new gaming titles.  Xbox Live forever changed the console industry with its ability to allow players to be connected all around the world.  This online multiplayer system became the standard for what we see today on the Xbox 360, the PS3 and even the Wii.  The Xbox's legacy is something that will never be forgotten and marked a company's dedication to expanding and revolutionizing the console video game market.

This is Part One of a three part article on the history of Microsoft's console and how the Xbox One will shape the future of gaming and entertainment.  Stay tuned for more soon.

P.S. if you are bored on Memorial Day please join me again as Station 1621 continues its playthrough of the Mass Effect series.  We hope you will join us today! Here is the link to the live stream again: Station 1621's Mass Effect Live Stream.