The Original Xbox at 25 — How Halo Won Over a PlayStation Gamer

I was perfectly happy with my PlayStation when Microsoft decided to get into the console business. I wasn’t looking for another system, and I certainly wasn’t standing in line to buy an Xbox.

Then my roommate showed me Halo.

And suddenly, owning another console didn’t seem like such a bad idea.

On 15 November 2001, Microsoft launched the original Xbox in North America, entering a fiercely competitive market dominated by Sony and Nintendo.

I wasn’t an early adopter. My roommate picked one up first, and after spending some time with his console, I eventually decided I needed one of my own.

I don’t remember exactly when I made the purchase, but I remember what convinced me.

Halo Made a Hell of a First Impression

I’ve always leaned more toward fantasy than science fiction, so Halo: Combat Evolved wasn’t necessarily the kind of game I’d have gone looking for.

But the moment I saw it in action, I understood why everybody was talking about it.

The graphics were impressive, the environments were enormous, and the gameplay felt smooth.

And I think that last part was especially important.

There was something about the way Halo looked, played, and felt that immediately won me over. The weapons, movement, vehicles, and combat all came together to create an experience that was remarkably satisfying.

Bungie had created something special, and Microsoft was smart enough to make it the centerpiece of its new console.

But Halo wasn’t the only reason I was glad I’d bought an Xbox.

The Games That Made Xbox Worth Owning

The Xbox shared plenty of multiplatform titles with the PlayStation 2, but it also offered some outstanding console exclusives.

And for someone with my gaming tastes, several were absolute winners.

Fable was one of them. Lionhead Studios delivered a wonderfully strange fantasy RPG filled with magic, moral choices, character progression, and plenty of opportunities to get into trouble.

Then there was BioWare’s Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, which combined one of my favorite fictional universes with the kind of character development, party management, and storytelling I’d enjoyed in traditional RPGs.

BioWare followed that with Jade Empire, another favorite, trading lightsabers and spaceships for a fantasy world inspired by Chinese mythology and martial arts.

And let’s not forget The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Its enormous world, deep character customization, and freedom to explore made it exactly the sort of RPG I loved. It was available on PC as well, but never made it to PlayStation 2.

Another favorite was Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath, a wonderfully eccentric western-style adventure featuring bounty hunting, unusual weapons, and an entertaining mix of first- and third-person gameplay.

There were other interesting titles, too. Raze’s Hell. Steel Batallion. I could go on, but…

Between these games and Halo, Microsoft had assembled a library that gave me plenty of reasons to keep the console around.

And while many of these titles eventually appeared on PC or other platforms, they were games you couldn’t play on a PlayStation console during that generation.

Big Console. Bigger Controller.

Microsoft certainly wasn’t subtle about its hardware.

The original Xbox was an enormous black machine with a giant X molded into its case and a glowing green logo staring back at you.

And then there was the controller.

The Duke.

That thing was enormous!

Surprisingly, though, I didn’t find it particularly difficult to use. It was more manageable than its appearance suggested.

One thing I appreciated immediately was the offset analog stick arrangement.

I’ve always preferred that layout to Sony’s symmetrical sticks, and it’s still one of the reasons I favor modern Xbox controllers.

That said, I much prefer the slimmer, more refined designs Microsoft eventually developed.

The Duke was certainly memorable, but I don’t particularly miss having that much plastic in my hands.

The console also introduced some interesting hardware features, including a built-in hard drive and Ethernet connection.

Admittedly, I didn’t take much advantage of them.

And although Xbox Live launched in November 2002, I wasn’t playing online through Microsoft’s console yet.

I’d already experienced online gaming through MMOs on PC and PlayStation 2, but my Xbox Live adventures wouldn’t really begin until the Xbox 360.

PlayStation Still Had My Loyalty

Despite enjoying my Xbox, I still preferred the PlayStation 2.

When a game was available on both systems, I generally bought the PS2 version.

Sony’s console simply offered more of the games I wanted to play, and I thought its library had greater variety.

RPGs, action adventures, platformers, experimental titles, and plenty of weird little games that didn’t always fit neatly into a particular genre.

There was always something interesting to discover.

The Xbox had some exceptional exclusives, particularly for someone who enjoyed fantasy RPGs, but the PlayStation 2 remained my primary gaming system throughout that generation.

It wasn’t until Microsoft released the Xbox 360 in 2005 that I really went all-in on Xbox.

That’s when the balance shifted.

Twenty-Five Years Later

The original Xbox never replaced my PlayStation 2, and it didn’t need to.

Twenty-five years later, the PS2 remains my favorite overall console, but the original Xbox earned its place in my gaming history.

And considering I wasn’t particularly interested in buying one in the first place, that’s not bad.

What about you? Did you own the original Xbox? Which exclusive was your favorite, and were you Team Xbox, Team PlayStation, or lucky enough to own both?

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