If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Xbox turns 10 in EU, VG247 releases The Xbox Story ebook

The original Xbox was released in Europe ten years ago today, marking the start of a Microsoft mission that changed gaming forever.

Xbox is ten in Europe. The original machine released on March 14, 2002 in Europe, having released in the US on November 15, 2001 and Japan on February 22, 2002.

With launch titles including Halo: Combat Evolved, Jet Set Radio Future, Max Payne, Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee, Project Gotham Racing and more, Xbox released in the at an event at London's Virgin Megastore attended by Richard Branson and others. Widespread cynicism at Microsoft releasing a console failed to stop what is now one of video gaming's major forces, but nothing was certain in the launch period. Many thought Microsoft doomed to failure.

We took an extensive look at the story behind Xbox last year for the US birthday, detailing Microsoft's motivation for ever getting into the console business and the Herculean obstacles the team faced in getting Xbox to market.

To mark the European anniversary, we've released The Xbox Story for Kindle, so you can now buy it for reading off-computer. There's a huge amount of information in it, including interviews with original Xbox team members and an account of Microsoft's development process from the first internal email mentioning a console to Ed Fries's trials and tribulations with the Rare buyout. It costs less than £2.

You can, of course, revisit the feature for free on VG247. In fact, you should. Then buy the ebook and read it again. Doing this will make you a better person, and may well secure your place in heaven. And we all want to go to heaven, don't we?

Sign in and unlock a world of features

Get access to commenting, homepage personalisation, newsletters, and more!

Related topics
About the Author
Patrick Garratt avatar

Patrick Garratt

Founder & Publisher (Former)

Patrick Garratt is a games media legend - and not just by reputation. He was named as such in the UK's 'Games Media Awards', the equivalent of a lifetime achievement award. After garnering experience on countless gaming magazines, he joined Eurogamer and later split from that brand to create VG247, putting the site on the map with fast, 24-hour a day coverage, and assembling the site's earliest editorial teams. He retired from VG247, and the games industry, in 2017.

Comments