It was released on November 15, 2001, in North America, followed by Australia, Europe and Japan in 2002.

It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console market.

It was also the first console produced by an American company since the Atari Jaguar ceased production in 1996.

Announced in 2000, The Xbox, graphically powerful compared to its rivals, featured a standard PC's 733 MHz Intel Pentium III processor, and was the first console to feature a built-in hard disk.

November 2002, Microsoft launched Xbox Live, a fee-based online gaming service that enabled subscribers to download new content and connect with other players through a broadband connection.

The popularity of blockbuster titles such as Halo 2 contributed to the popularity of online console gaming, and in particular first-person shooters.