It was 10 years ago today that Microsoft captured the attention of gamers all around the world with a game console that would change the landscape of the industry.Of course, at the time, the entire project was met with skepticism from all sides. Knowing full well how difficult it was for a company to step into the incredible muddled gaming market, few had high hopes for the Xbox.
And in fact, it was not an enormous commercial success. Initially the system was not even on the radar for many gamers, and the general lack of title diversity made it a tough sell for the mainstream crowd.
But the Xbox did one thing right – online connectivity. The flagship Xbox Live service was unlike anything anyone else had brought to the tablet and it helped mold the intensely Internet-motivated consoles of today.
Many had predicted today’s milestone date would bring the launch of another chapter in the Xbox story, with an update to the Xbox 360 firmware but it did not happen.
The update is focused more on making the Xbox brand bleed into other forms of entertainment than enhancing gameplay experiences. It will offer users with select cable providers to use their Xbox 360 as a virtual cable box, and updates to the Kinect speech recognition software will make it easier to control commands like watching movies or searching the Web.
Today, more than 57 million Xbox 360 units adorn living rooms around the world, but the brand is starting to become stale as the PS3 gains momentum and could leapfrog ahead in lifetime sales.
In short, the story is never over but it has been quite a story so far.
