The Original Xbox Turns 25: The Console That Changed Gaming Forever

Just after midnight on 15 November 2001, a customer named Eduardo Glucksman walked into the enormous Toys "R" Us store in New York City's Times Square and purchased the very first Xbox. Waiting to greet him was Bill Gates himself, who signed the console before handing it over to its new owner. It was a carefully orchestrated launch for what Microsoft hoped would become one of the most important products in the company's history."The future of gaming starts today, and it starts with Xbox," Gates declared in Microsoft's launch announcement.Microsoft had conquered the world of PC software, but the video game industry was a different beast entirely. Sony's PlayStation 2 was already dominating living rooms, Nintendo was preparing to launch the GameCube in North America just three days later, and Sega had recently withdrawn from the hardware business after the disappointing commercial performance of the Dreamcast.It was hardly an inviting market for a newcomer. But Microsoft arrived with a…

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