Xbox trivia: 105 facts about the best- selling videogame console!

Xbox is one of the best- selling videogame consoles and a huge competitor to Playstation!

1. Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft
2. It represents a series of video game consoles developed by Microsoft, with three consoles released in the sixth, seventh, and eighth generations, respectively
3. The brand also represents applications, streaming services, and an online service by the name of Xbox Live
4. The brand was first introduced in the United States in November 2001, with the launch of the original Xbox console
5. The original device was the first video game console offered by an American company after the Atari Jaguar stopped sales in 1996
6. It reached over 24 million units sold as of May 2006
7. Microsoft’s second console, the Xbox 360, was released in 2005
8. it has sold over 77.2 million consoles worldwide as of April 2013
9. The Xbox One has been released in 21 markets in total, with a Chinese release in September 2014
10. The head of Xbox is Phil Spencer, who succeeded former head Marc Whitten in late March 2014
11. The original Xbox was released on November 15, 2001, in North America
12. On February 22, 2002, in Japan
13. And March 14, 2002, in Australia and Europe
14. It was Microsoft’s first foray into the gaming console market
15. As part of the sixth-generation of gaming
16. The Xbox competed with Sony’s PlayStation 2, Sega’s Dreamcast and Nintendo’s GameCube
17. The Xbox was the first console offered by an American company after the Atari Jaguar stopped sales in 1996
18. The name Xbox was derived from a contraction of DirectX Box, a reference to Microsoft’s graphics API, DirectX
19. The integrated Xbox Live service launched in November 2002 allowed players to play games online with or without a broadband connection
20. It first competed with Dreamcast’s online service but later primarily competed with PlayStation 2’s online service
21. Although these two are free while Xbox Live required a subscription
22. Xbox Live was a success due to better servers, features such as a buddy list, and milestone titles like Halo 2 released in November 2004
23. Halo 2 is the best-selling Xbox video game and was by far the most popular online game for years
24. The Xbox 360 was released as the successor of the original Xbox in November 2005
25. It was competing with Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles
26. As of June 30, 2013, 78.2 million Xbox 360 consoles have been sold worldwide
27. The Xbox 360 was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005
28. The detailed launch of the console and game information divulged later that month at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3)
29. The console sold out completely upon release in all regions except in Japan
30. The Xbox 360 showed an expanded Xbox Live service
31. Xbox 360 gave the ability to stream multimedia content from PCs
32. Later updates added the ability to purchase and stream music, television programs, and films through the Xbox Music and Xbox Video services
33. Microsoft also released Kinect, a motion control system for the Xbox 360 which uses an advanced sensor system
34. At their E3 presentation on June 14, 2010, Microsoft announced a redesigned Xbox 360 that would ship on the same day
35. The redesigned console is slimmer than the previous Xbox 360 model and features integrated 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, TOSLINK S/PDIF optical audio output, five USB 2.0 ports and special port designed for the Kinect peripheral
36. Older models of the Xbox 360 have since been discontinued
37. The first new console to be released features a 250 GB hard drive, while a later less expensive SKU features 4 GB internal storage
38. The Xbox One was released on November 22, 2013, in North America, as the successor of the Xbox 360
39. The Xbox One competes with Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Nintendo’s Wii U and Switch as part of the eighth generation of video game consoles
40. Announced on May 21, 2013, the Xbox One has an emphasis on internet- based features
41. That includes the ability to record and stream gameplay, and the ability to integrate with a set-top box to watch cable or satellite TV through the console with an enhanced guide interface and Kinect-based voice control
42. Following its unveiling, the Xbox One proved controversial for its original digital rights management and privacy practices
43. While Microsoft touted the ability for users to access their library of games on any Xbox One console without needing their discs, and the ability to share their entire library with 10 designated “family” members
44. Though all games would have to be tied to the user’s Xbox Live account and their Xbox One console
45. Xbox One got an overwhelmingly negative response from critics and consumers
46. Microsoft was also criticized for requiring the Xbox One to have its updated Kinect peripheral plugged in to function
47. The critics and privacy advocates believed could be used as a surveillance device
48. As a gesture toward showing a commitment to user privacy, Microsoft decided to allow the console to function without Kinect
49. On June 13, 2016, Microsoft announced the Xbox One S, a slimmer version of the Xbox One, at E3 2016
50. Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, announced Project Scorpio at E3 2016 on June 13, 2016
51. This was an addition to the Xbox One family, saying it would release in Holiday 2017
52. At E3 2017, Microsoft revealed the final name of the console to be Xbox One X
53. It would start shipping worldwide on November 7, 2017
54. A a final retail price being that of $499
55. Each console has a variety of games
56. Most games released on the original Xbox are backwards compatible and can be played directly on its successor, Xbox 360
57. Backward compatibility with Xbox 360 titles was added to Xbox One in June 2015
58. Although titles requiring Kinect or USB peripherals will not be supported
59. In 2016, Microsoft announced that it would hold its own Xbox FanFest instead of a press conference at the Gamescom annual European video game convention
60. Microsoft held an Xbox FanFest in Sydney in September 2016
61. Released in 2001, the Xbox control pad was the first controller made for the original Xbox
62. The Xbox controller features two analog sticks, a pressure-sensitive directional pad, two analog triggers, a Back button, a Start button, two accessory slots and six 8-bit analog action buttons (A/Green, B/Red, X/Blue, Y/Yellow, and Black and White buttons)
63. The standard Xbox controller was originally the controller bundled with Xbox systems for all territories except Japan
64. Released in 2005, the Xbox 360 controller for the Xbox 360 succeeded its predecessor
65. A standard Xbox 360 controller features eleven digital buttons
66. Two analog triggers, two analog sticks and a digital D-pad
67. The right face of the controller features four digital actions buttons; a green “A” button, red “B” button, blue “X” button and yellow “Y” button
68. The lower right houses the right analog stick, in lower left is a digital D-pad
69. And on the left face is the left analog stick
70. Both analog sticks can also be “clicked in” to activate a digital button beneath
71. In the center of the controller face are digital “Start”, “Back” and “Guide” buttons
72. The “Guide” button is labelled with the Xbox logo, and is used to turn on the console/ controller and to access the guide menu
73. It is also surrounded by the “ring of light”, which indicates the controller number
74. As well as flashing when connecting and to provide notifications
75. The left and right “shoulders” each feature a digital shoulder button, or “bumper”, and an analog trigger
76. Kinect stylized as KINECT
77. It is a motion sensing input device by Microsoft for the Xbox 360 video game console and Windows PCs
78. Based around a webcam-style add-on peripheral for the Xbox 360 console
79. It enables users to control and interact with the Xbox 360 without the need to touch a game controller
80. The project is aimed at broadening the Xbox 360’s audience beyond its typical gamer base
81. Kinect competes with the Wii Remote Plus and PlayStation Move with PlayStation Eye motion controllers for the Wii and PlayStation 3 home consoles, respectively
82. A version for Windows was released on February 1, 2012
83. Kinect was launched in North America on November 4, 2010
84. In Europe on November 10, 2010
85. In Australia, New Zealand and Singapore on November 18, 2010
86. And in Japan on November 20, 2010
87. Purchase options for the sensor peripheral include a bundle with the game Kinect Adventures and console bundles with either a 4 GB or 250 GB Xbox 360 console and Kinect Adventures
88. The Kinect claimed the Guinness World Record of being the “fastest selling consumer electronics device”
89. It had sold a total of 8 million units in its first 60 days
90. 24 million units of the Kinect sensor had been shipped as of January 2012
91. Additional information on the Xbox One Kinect was released on June 6, 2013, including information on how to turn off the “always on” feature
92. The Xbox One console has a revised controller with forty improvements over the 360’s controller
93. This new controller is built to work with Kinect
94. The Start and Back buttons are replaced with Menu and View buttons
95. It has impulse triggers that replace the regular triggers
96. The button with the Xbox logo will no longer bring up the Xbox Guide as the Xbox Guide Button on the Xbox 360 controller did
97. The button will now open up the dashboard without interrupting the game currently being played by the user
98. Once pressed again, the Xbox will resume the game
99. Although featuring improved performance over the original Kinect, its successor has been subject to mixed responses
100. It has been praised for its wide angle, its fast response time and high quality camera
101. However, the Kinect’s inability to understand some accents in English was criticized
102. Furthermore, controversies surround Microsoft’s intentional tying of the sensor with the Xbox One console despite the initial requirements for the sensor being plugged in at all times having been revised since its initial announcement
103. There have also been a number of concerns regarding privacy
104. Xbox One recently had a bug problem that was quickly fixed
105. It was fixed after a couple of hours!