On the occasion of Xbox’s 20th anniversary, a gaming industry veteran reviewed his initial CNET review.
Twenty years ago, on November 15, 2001, the original Xbox game console went on sale in the United States. This release was a gamble for Microsoft, which was (arguably now) known for software hegemony rather than groundbreaking hardware.
Sony, Nintendo, and Sega were the main living room game console players at the time, led by the PlayStation 2, which was released in 2000 a year ago. Since then, we have seen multiple generations of Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo consoles competing for our attention and entertainment dollars. The competition continues, and we just passed the first anniversary of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
Among these platforms, I think Microsoft's Xbox is the platform that blurs the line between game consoles and entertainment devices the most. Even after 20 years, the latest Xbox Series X and Series S versions are still working according to their main instructions: they are a type of Trojan horse that can hide multimedia PCs in your living room.
To put the original Xbox console in context, I went back to the text of the original CNET review published at the end of 2001. The review was written by former CNET editor Darren Gladstone, who I knew at least in the early 2000s. Since then, Darren has established contacts with the gaming industry, having worked for companies such as 2K Games and Telltale Games. I asked him to re-examine and annotate his original comment with a 20-year retrospective.
To make it easier to read, I copied and reformatted the original comment below, and inserted Darren’s new comment throughout.
Bottom line: Xbox is the most versatile game console and the perfect complement to the home theater system.
Microsoft's Xbox is a Trojan horse. The company has already conquered the desktop, and now seems to intend to sneak the PC into your living room. Yes, the black behemoth of this system looks and behaves like a video game console-and it is the most advanced. But with built-in support for high-speed networks, 8GB hard drives, DVD playback capabilities, and display support for HDTV, Xbox can not only play games.
Darren Gladstone (Darren Gladstone), 2021: It's like a giant loudspeaker device, sitting there, afraid to put it in your home entertainment center. It is like a "fishtail on a car" design, just big and bold. It needs attention, which is correct. That "Duke" controller [nickname for the super-large first-generation Xbox gamepad] loves it or hates it. This is such an annoying big controller with a huge X in the middle, which is completely useless. Okay, I get it, it looks cool. But it's like the horn on the steering wheel actually doesn't work. I looked back affectionately and laughed more than anything, because it was so ridiculous. It's too much, a bit like the symbol of the entire Xbox.
The front-loading disc tray, two buttons and four controller ports adorn the face, and this huge enclosure will be placed at home with your other home theater components. In this 8-pound box, you will find the powerful functions of the PC (733MHz Intel processor; 64MB of memory and custom Nvidia graphics board, NV2A) and the core of the video game console. Still, as good as all processing power, what is displayed on the screen really matters.
Xbox is not only suitable for standard 4:3 TVs, but also for HDTV, so video lovers will be happy. If you have a device that supports HD, you can set Xbox to output 480p, 720p, and 1,080i signals for your game in normal or widescreen (16:9) aspect ratio. Xbox can generate 1,080i images, but the game itself, such as Halo and Dead or Alive 3, has not been optimized for such a high level. Nevertheless, the image is still clear and sharp. Xbox supports 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound and provides 256 simultaneous voice channels, which is a good supplement to this visual function, which is unprecedented in a game system. All these add up to the richest and most authentic experience in video games.
Microsoft doesn't have a lot of great games. There is Halo, which withdrew from Bungie, the company that planned to make it for the PC, and locked it on the Xbox. I remember doing a cover story when the original "Halo" was going to be a PC game.
[Between Xbox and PlayStation 2] this competition was established. But I think Microsoft will be remembered for generations, because this is such a bold first step. Everyone is asking, what exactly does this company that makes PC software and word processing software know about games? People have forgotten the fact that it has a complete game department and has been making PC games.
However, to take full advantage of the system, you will have to spend some extra money on optional accessories. Like other game consoles, Xbox comes with a composite video cable and RCA audio output. But to improve audio and video performance, you must purchase the Advanced AV Pack for $15, which has an S-Video connector and optical digital audio jack. The $20 HD AV package provides component video connectors (Y, Pb, Pr), and optical digital audio jacks. How about DVD playback? Well, unlike PS2, which plays DVDs out of the box, you need to pay an additional $30 to purchase a DVD movie playback kit. (Note for video enthusiasts: Xbox will not output your movies at 480p even with an additional kit, so please stick to a progressive scan DVD player.)
In fact, they have multimedia kits, components and composite cables in different boxes, knowing that when you finally get a suitable HDTV, you might want to upgrade over time. These are all deliberate decisions. Some people may think that they are just giving you points, but I thought it was actually a very clever way. It can be said that if your system doesn't need this particular component, don't buy it. But when you are ready, you can do it.
The 2001 Xbox console launched by Darren in 2021.
Although Microsoft allows you to pay to unlock certain features, it does include some PC-like features that are not found in competing systems. First, whether you are using a cable modem, DSL or office LAN, there is a built-in Ethernet adapter for broadband multiplayer gaming. For an additional $50, you can purchase Microsoft’s Xbox Live Starter Kit, which allows you to play games online for free (requires broadband connection) for one year. Several (but not all) games support Xbox Live.
At that time, not everyone had broadband. You may have to go to the office to use broadband. So this is one of the things that Microsoft really considers the future. Yes, there used to be online game services, Compuserve or similar nonsense, Dreamcast has a 56k modem. At first Xbox Live was free-as Microsoft said, "Your first try is free. Try it and see what you think." Then it started adding features and finally said, if you want to play multiplayer Games, this is what you need. By then, the company has justified it by providing a more powerful experience. It realizes that the future is to have a network that supports everything.
The game console also has a built-in 8GB hard drive, so you don't need to buy an expensive memory card to save your game progress. (Proprietary memory cards can be used to share files with friends.) This hard drive also opens up some other possibilities. For starters, games load quickly because they can cache levels on a high-speed hard drive without having to read all game information from the disc. Another side benefit is the ability to put audio CDs into the device and copy songs to the drive. Then, you can use the console to play music without having to fumble for the CD. Too bad, you can't install the entire game disc.
Many of the things it did at the time are now considered "of course!" things such as internal hard drives. I remember loading the audio CD on the Xbox, so I have my own soundtrack. But I also remember calling Microsoft. Why can't I load the game from the CD to the hard drive, so the loading speed will be faster? Looking back, it is not gorgeous, but the internal hard drive is very important.
For Xbox, price is no longer an issue. Now at US$199, Xbox is priced the same as PlayStation 2, and is about US$50 more expensive than GameCube. Obviously, Xbox has powerful features under the hood, and has some unique features that competing systems lack (hard drives, Ethernet adapters, 720p and 1080i support for HDTV). Does this make it a better choice than PS2? Although PS2 currently has a large number of excellent games, as well as PS2 exclusive games such as Grand Theft Auto Vice City, most of the top games are released on Xbox at the same time, and the console has its own excellent Xbox exclusive games, such as Mech Assault . In general, Xbox provides excellent graphics and is the best choice for users who require the system to provide the best audio and video performance and have audiovisual components including surround sound packages to supplement it.
The original Xbox really pulled Babe Ruth-it pointed at the fence and waved. You must respect this, because Microsoft has fulfilled many promises. Now, Apple, Sony, Microsoft, and any other companies that want to install a set-top box in your living room are vying for the dominance of your home entertainment system. Interestingly, even at that time, Microsoft was planting seeds for this, but it did not actually call it an "entertainment system."
Darren's 2001 review correctly identified the importance of online gaming platforms and the integration of multimedia entertainment and games into one device. In my 2020 review of Xbox Series X, I followed the same theme: "If anything, Microsoft’s Xbox Series X is a simplified evolution, fine-tuned and perfected things that work well in the Xbox One series .If PlayStation 5 is a game-centric machine that showcases its classic gamepad capabilities at the expense of everything else, then Xbox Series X is a more comprehensive console or ecosystem, leaning toward multimedia, community, and cloud Gaming and cross-platform continuity."