Today in Video Game History (November 15th, 2001): Microsoft Releases XBOX!

On November 15th, 2001, Microsoft released XBOX in the United States. It was Microsoft's entry into the gaming market, and it faced heavy competition from the Dreamcast, Playstation 2, and Nintendo Gamecube. It was the first console released by an American company since the Atari Jaguar was discontinued in 1996. The name, XBOX, came from the words DirectX Box, which was a reference to Microsoft's graphics, DirectX. Microsoft also released their online subscription service, XBOX Live, in 2002. On it, was XBOX's best-selling game, Halo 2, and was also the most popular online game for the original XBOX system.