Xbox
A video game console from Microsoft that was designed to compete with Sony's PlayStation and Nintendo's GameCube. Introduced in 2001 with a 733 MHz Pentium III CPU, 5x DVD drive and custom-designed graphics processor, the Xbox also includes four game controller ports, Ethernet networking and Internet connectivity.
Xbox 360
Introduced in late 2005, the Xbox 360 dramatically increased the Xbox's gaming power with a three-core 64-bit PowerPC CPU from IBM, each core running at 3.2 GHz. Its ATI graphics card more than quadrupled rendering speed, and wireless networking was also added. An HD DVD drive is also an option.
Changing from a white to a black case, the "Elite" model, introduced in 2007, added HDTV connectors, wireless capability and increased the hard disk from 20GB to 120GB.
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is Microsoft's multiplayer gaming service that is available to Xbox players for a subscription fee. Introduced in 2002, numerous Xbox games are Xbox Live enabled. See video game console and MMOG.
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| The Xbox 360 |
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| The 360 was a significant boost in power over the original Xbox and was very popular from the start. It made Microsoft a serious contender in the video game market. (Image courtesy of Microsoft Corporation.) |