Whichever model you have, the Xbox is one of the more popular gaming consoles available today even though it was Microsoft's first attempt at entering the gaming console business when it was released in 2001. Its director competitors are the Sony Playstation and the Nintendo Gamecube.

Why Create the Xbox?

It might seem strange to ask why anyone would create such a gaming console, looking back on the success of this product and those like it. But as they say, hindsight is 20/20. It's very easy to look back on the success of this product and just assume that Microsoft created the Xbox for the money it would bring in. However, the reality is that as more and more gaming consoles were being created in the mid to late 1990's, these were actually cutting into Microsoft's dominance in the computer industry. People were turning off their PCs in exchange for turning on their gaming consoles, hooked up to the larger screens of their televisions and allowing more than one person to play. Creating the Xbox was not so much a move for commercialism as it was a move for financial survival. Any successful business will tell you that as the market goes, so should the development.

Using the Xbox Today

No matter what the product or system there will always be competition and the Xbox is no different. Every month there are new systems and new games that can be used only on its competition, but despite all of this, like so many other Microsoft products, it still seems to lead the market share in sales and overall popularity. Of course the consistent price drop it has experienced since its first model was released also helps; when first released just before Christmas in 2001, the average retail price was $299 USD; the most recent figures list average retail price as around $79 USD.

In 1995 the Xbox 360 was introduced and this essentially rendered the original model obsolete. Through emulation the 360 is able to support a limited number of games designed for the original model. The newer games for the 360 are what really set this model apart; in 2004, Halo 2 set records as the highest-grossing release in entertainment history making over $125 million in its first day.

Upgrading

So are you considering upgrading your Xbox? If you don't have a 360, it's time to get one. The older model isn't made anymore and whatever games you have for it are all you're going to get. You see how there's been good reason for the Xbox to be developed in the first place, and there's good reason to get the latest model there is. So stop waiting; get your newer model today!