| The original Xbox was released by Microsoft on November 15, 2001 in North America, followed by Japan on February 22, 2002 and Europe/Australia on March 14, 2002. It featured a 733 MHz Intel Pentium III (Coppermine) CPU, 64 MB of unified DDR SDRAM with 6.4 GB/s bandwidth, and a 233 MHz Nvidia NV2A GPU derived from the GeForce 3 line. The console was the first to include an integrated 8–10 GB IDE hard drive and a built-in 100 Mbps Ethernet port, allowing game installs, saved data storage, DVD playback, and broadband online gaming—capabilities previously unseen in consoles. It supported video output via composite, S-Video, component, SCART, optical and analog audio, and distinct controller ports with memory card slots. The NV2A GPU delivered four pixel pipelines, two texture units each, and up to approximately 932 Mpix/s fillrate and 29 million triangles per second theoretical throughput. Its shared memory architecture provided approximately 6.4 GB/s total bandwidth. The console launched with Halo: Combat Evolved and other titles and reached a record-breaking launch, selling around 1.5 million units by the end of 2001. Total sales reached 24 million worldwide despite Microsoft selling it at a loss. Xbox Live launched November 2002, enabling subscription-based online play and matching Gigabit-era features. |
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