Xbox
The original Xbox was released on November 15, 2001, in North America, February 22, 2002, in Japan, and March 14, 2002, in Australia and Europe. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console market. As part of the sixth-generation of gaming, the Xbox competed with Sony's PlayStation 2, Sega's Dreamcast (which stopped American sales before the Xbox went on sale), and Nintendo's GameCube. The Xbox was the first console offered by an American company after the Atari Jaguar stopped sales in 1996. The name Xbox was derived from a contraction of "DirectX Box", a reference to Microsoft's graphics API, DirectX.
Xbox (console)
Some of Microsoft's plans proved effective. In preparation for its launch, Microsoft acquired Bungie and used "" as its launch title. At the time, "GoldenEye 007" for the Nintendo 64 had been one of the few hit FPS games to appear on a console, as well as titles such as "Perfect Dark" and "Medal of Honor". "Halo: Combat Evolved" proved a good application to drive the Xbox's sales. In 2002, Microsoft made the second place slot in consoles sold in North America. The Xbox Live service gave Microsoft an early foothold in online gaming and would help the Xbox become a relevant competitor to other sixth-generation consoles.