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Microsoft starts celebrating 20 years of Xbox today

The original Xbox launched November 15, 2001.

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"Do you remember where you were when you played your first Xbox game?"

With this question, Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb announced that Microsoft has now officially started the celebrations for the 20th anniversary of Xbox, which was originally launched on November 15 2001. Nelson continues by reminding us of what seems like ages ago:

"Twenty years ago, playing on Xbox meant hooking up your console with three (or more!) cables to a standard definition CRT TV. You had to pre-order the hottest new games and stand in line at your favorite retail shop to pick them up. Games were played in 640×480 resolution, and you only had 8GB of storage and 64MB of memory to enjoy them with. And you either played alone or with a friend sitting next to you on the couch."

A lot has happened since then and more than 7000 games have been released across Xbox consoles, with most of them being playable on Xbox Series S/X thanks to the backwards compatibility program which stretches back to the original Xbox. While there are many people responsible for Xbox's success, one person in particular had to carry a heavy load, and that is John-117, more commonly referred to as Master Chief.

Halo: Combat Evolved was launched at the same time as the original Xbox, and therefore the Xbox celebrations with run parallel with Halo celebrations. While there are a lot of things planned for this year, there's even a few things starting now.

First and foremost, you can now register for Xbox Fanfest, which also grants you "including exclusive sweepstakes, FanFest gear, and digital experiences". Then there's also plenty of new Xbox 20th Anniversary items in the Gear Shop including hoodies and mugs with your Gamertag printed on them.

Head over to this link for more details of what you can get right away and things to come.

Microsoft starts celebrating 20 years of Xbox today


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