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Xbox Consoles in Order: What You Need to Know

  • Rose Rana
  • 1 year ago
  • 82 Comment
Xbox Console (2001)
We start off our history of the Xbox consoles in order with November 15, 2001, which was the first Xbox release date from Microsoft. Microsoft had focused previously on PC gaming, so this move represented a huge shift for the company. The console was a serious competitor in a market saturated by Sony’s PlayStation 2 (released a year earlier), Sega’s Dreamcast, and Nintendo’s GameCube.
Despite initial skepticism, the original Xbox console outperformed both the GameCube and Dreamcast, selling over a million units in the first three weeks and 24 million during its lifetime. Though it trailed the PlayStation 2’s 155 million sales, it established Microsoft as a serious contender in the console market.

Ethernet and Xbox Live
The original Xbox featured smart design choices, with four controller ports and a pioneering built-in Ethernet port, which allowed gamers to connect to the internet and enjoy a unique gaming experience that neither the original PlayStation 2 nor GameCube provided.
The Xbox Live online service let users link games to their accounts and take advantage of online matchmaking for multiplayer sessions.

Xbox Game Classics
The online connectivity probably boosted the popularity of the original Xbox games, especially multiplayer games such as Halo and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. Halo remained one of the Xbox’s flagship series and a best-selling game, mainly due to its multiplayer aspect.
The Halo series felt like a breath of fresh air for original Xbox gamers in a world packed with PC-based first-person shooters. Halo 2 was the best-selling game of this Xbox generation, selling just under 8.5 million copies. Other notable original Xbox titles of the era included Fable, Forza Motorsport, and Ninja Gaiden.

Specs
CPU: Intel Pentium III – 733 MHz
GPU: NVIDIA NV2A – 233 MHz
Memory: 64 MB DDR SDRAM
Hard Drive: 8 GB HDD
Optical Drive: CD Rom, DVD Rom
Video Output: S-Video, SCART (RGB)
Network: Fast Ethernet
Audio: 5.1 Surround Sound, Stereo

Xbox 360 (2005)
The second Xbox generation’s release date of November 22, 2005, was a full year before the PlayStation 3, giving the Xbox 360 a head start in the next iteration of the console wars.
In addition to making a beefy console, Microsoft also focused on expanding its live services and making the Xbox 360 a comprehensive entertainment system. In addition to being able to play games, the Xbox 360 supported YouTube and Netflix and played CDs and DVDs.
Unfortunately, despite Microsoft’s head start on the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 faced a rocky launch. The system overheated quickly thanks to its powerful processor, internal power supply, and poor cooling capacity. This heat caused massive damage to the console, resulting in the dreaded “Red Ring of Death.”
While Microsoft repaired or replaced these faulty products, it took the Xbox 360 a lot of time to recover its reputation as a high-end console manufacturer.
The shaky launch wasn’t the last of Microsoft’s troubles with the Xbox 360. The company aggressively expanded the Xbox Live service, offering console bundles and regular free games, but also kept hiking subscription prices. While Xbox Live contained several innovative features, such as the ability to earn achievements and increase your “gamer score”, the rising costs of the service pushed many gamers away.
Despite these challenges, the console sold almost 86 million units from its release date to April 2022, making it the best-selling Xbox console generation, largely due to its excellent game selection.
Microsoft sold two versions of the original Xbox 360: the Xbox 360 Core and Xbox 360 Pro. The Pro came with a larger hard drive, letting gamers download their music, video, and games onto the console itself. Microsoft later released the Xbox 360 Elite, which had a significantly bigger hard drive (120 GB) and a higher price tag.
The Xbox 360 underwent several minor changes over the years, including redesigning the wireless controller and headset. The biggest shake-up was introducing the Kinect system, which let users interact with the Xbox 360 via a motion control system.
The Kinect launched as a stand-alone peripheral, containing a Kinect controller and sensor bar. The Kinect accessory sold over 80 million units in two months, making it the fastest-selling consumer electronics device to date.
Kinect games were so popular that one of the best-selling titles on the Xbox 360 was Kinect Adventures!. It beat out Grand Theft Auto V and three Call of Duty games (Modern Warfare 3, Black Ops, and Black Ops 2), selling 24 million copies on the Xbox console, while GTA only managed to sell 23 million on multiple platforms.

Specs
CPU: Microsoft XCPU (Xenon), 3 cores – 500 MHz
GPU: R500, Xenos chip by ATI – 500 MHz
Memory: 512 MB GDDR3 RAM
Hard Drive: 250 GB HDD
Optical Drive: 12x DVD
Video Output: HDMI 1.2a in/out
Network: Ethernet, IEEE 802.11 b/g/n WiFi
Audio: Multichannel 5.1 Surround Sound

Xbox 360 S (2010)
Following the rising popularity of the original Xbox 360 console, Microsoft set a release date of July 2010 for a new version of the 360, the Xbox 360 Slim, or 360 S.
The Xbox 360 S had a brand new CPU and motherboard that were less prone to Red Rings of Death plus some peripherals to keep the console feeling modern. These included a WiFi connection, two additional USB ports, and an HD-DVD drive.
Specs
CPU/GPU: Custom ATI-designed, combo single chip
Memory: 512 MB of GDDR3 RAM
Hard Drive: 250 GB HDD
Optical Drive: DVD
Video Output: HDMI 1.2a in/out
Network: 802.11b/g/n, Fast Ethernet
Audio: 5.1 Channel Surround Sound

Xbox 360 E (2013)
The final iteration of the 360 console generation was the Xbox 360 E, which offered minor improvements to the 360 S. It came with a Kinect port and was slightly smaller and quieter than its older counterparts. The main purpose of the Xbox 360 E was to give players an alternative to the newer-gen console that Microsoft was releasing in the same year.
Specs
CPU: IBM custom-designed Xenon – 3 cores
GPU: ATI Xenos – 10 MB DRAM
Memory: 512 MB GDDR3 RAM
Hard Drive: 250 GB HDD 2.5″ SATA
Optical Drive: HD DVD
Video Output: HDMI, Up to 100a
Network: 802.11b/g/n, Fast Ethernet
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Xbox One (2013)
The third Xbox generation, which Microsoft oddly called “Xbox One,” was a move toward a complete entertainment system. The Xbox One release date was November 22, 2013
The Xbox One contained cutting-edge technology, enabling 4K resolution at higher graphics settings. Many fans still consider the revamped Xbox One controller the best in the business for PC and Xbox games.
Unfortunately, Microsoft released the Xbox One with a Kinect sensor as a built-in peripheral, which raised the console’s cost by $100. With several user-unfriendly features, such as no game sharing and requiring an internet connection, this next-generation Xbox had a very rocky start.
To salvage its reputation and compete with the more gamer-friendly PS 4, Microsoft added backward compatibility, allowing gamers to run older Xbox 360 “backward-compatible games” on their new Xbox One console. They also made the Kinect peripheral an optional extra, lowering the price to a more competitive level.
Combined with several high-quality exclusive games, such as Gears of War, Forza Horizon 3, and Titan Fall, the Xbox One eventually started to recover, but sales never reached the dizzying heights of the Xbox 360. Since its release date, the console has sold an estimated 51 million copies worldwide, compared to the PlayStation’s 114.93 million units.
Specs
CPU: AMD 8 Core APU – 1.75 GHz
GPU: AMD Radeon GCN architecture, 853 MHz
Memory: 8 GB DDR3
Hard Drive: 500 GB HDD
Optical Drive: Blu-Ray/DVD
Video Output: HDMI 1.4 in/out, 4K support
Network: Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi 
Audio: 7,1 Surround Sound


Xbox One S (2016)
The Xbox One S console launched in 2016, offering better capabilities and a more minimalist aesthetic than its larger predecessor. It also came with a larger hard drive, better GPU, and a revamped Xbox wireless controller.
The Xbox One S continued to provide gamers with the opportunity to play backward-compatible offerings from all the Xbox consoles while enjoying the best new Xbox products. Unfortunately for lovers of Kinect Adventures and other Kinect-based games, Microsoft decided to suspend support for the Kinect after releasing the Xbox One S.
But while some people enjoy the Xbox One S for nostalgia-fueled gaming, the console also had several exciting exclusives and best-selling games, including Dead Rising 4 and Sunset Overdrive. One Xbox One exclusive, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, sold over 30 million copies.

Specs
CPU: AMD 8-core APU (2 quad-core Jaguar modules)
GPU: AMD Radeon 914 MHz
Memory: 8 GB DDR3 
Hard Drive: 1TB HDD
Optical Drive: UHD Blu-ray, DVD
Video Output: HDMI 2.0 in/out, 4K support
Network: WiFi, IEEE 802.11n, Ethernet
Audio: 7.1 Surround Sound

Xbox One X (2017)
Microsoft released the Xbox One X as an intergenerational release, mainly to compete with the PS4 Pro. It had several upgrades over the Xbox One S, including a better GPU and more power. The Xbox One X was the smallest Xbox console.
To encourage gamers to buy the new Xbox One X instead of sticking to their original Xbox, the console maintained backward compatibility and even offered “enhanced versions” of older games. These versions tended to perform better than on their original Xbox or Xbox 360 console, with better graphics, higher resolution support, and improved performance.
The library of these games kept growing, making the Xbox One X an appealing choice for people wanting to play an old Xbox game on a new console

Xbox Game Pass
2017 was a notable year for Xbox, not just because of the release of the Xbox One X but also the announcement of Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass. This subscription service gave all Xbox One S and X owners access to a library of over 100 games they could play without buying.
The Xbox Game Pass library has expanded dramatically in the five years since its inception and has become one of the key selling points for Xbox consoles.

Specs
CPU: AMD 8-core APU – 2.3 GHz
GPU: AMD Radeon GCN architecture  1.172 GHz
Memory: 12 GB GDDR5
Hard Drive: 2TB HDD
Optical Drive: UHD Blu-ray, DVD
Video Output: HDMI 2.0 in/out, 4K support
Network: WiFi, IEEE 802.11n, Ethernet
Audio: 7.1 Surround Sound

Xbox Series X and Series S (2020)
Due to disappointing sales of the Xbox One X, Microsoft was determined to make the next Xbox generation something special.
The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S represented Microsoft’s earnest effort to restore its reputation as a great console manufacturer. The consoles have gamer-friendly features such as backward compatibility, Xbox Game Pass, and PC-beating performance at a fraction of the price of a pre-built PC.
The Xbox Series S is the budget-friendly version of the console. It sacrifices some performance with a slower GPU, less storage, and no optical drive but still offers excellent performance for the price. Gamers who don’t need 120 FPS at 4K resolution will be perfectly happy with the Xbox Series S’s capabilities.
Unfortunately, the Xbox Series S doesn’t have backward compatibility for Xbox One games due to its lack of processing power. It can easily run any best-selling game from the original Xbox or Xbox 360, but the lack of an optical drive also means you’ll have to download all games directly to the console. With some larger games, storage can become an issue quickly.
The Xbox Series X has more storage, a beefy CPU and GPU, and an optical drive. Microsoft claims that the Xbox Series X can run most games at 120 FPS on an 8K screen, but that probably depends on the game and developer. The Xbox Series X also has backward compatibility with Xbox One enhanced games, and the optical drive means you can still choose between physical and digital media.
Microsoft has integrated many of its PC and Xbox gaming services for the Xbox Series X. At least three games are currently Game Pass exclusives: Forza Horizon 5, Microsoft Flight Simulator, and Halo Infinite. Both the Series S and Series X can take advantage of new technologies, such as DirectX raytracing, to showcase almost any game’s true potential.

Specs
Xbox Series S
CPU: 8-core, 3.6 GHz Custom Zen 2
GPU: Custom RDNA 2, 4 teraflops
Memory: 10 GB
Hard drive: 512 GB SSD
Video Output: HDMI
Xbox Series X
CPU: AMD Zen 8-core – 3.8GHz
GPU: Custom RDNA 2 – 1.825GHz, 52 CUs, 12 TFLOPs
Memory: 16 GB GDDR6
Hard Drive: 1TB NVMe SSD
Optical Drive: 4K UDH Blu-ray
Video Output: HDMI 2.1

While many gamers have no trouble finding reasons that the Xbox is better than the PS4, Microsoft may have mis-stepped with the Xbox One. Luckily, the Series X represents a return to form from the Xbox One. The Series X console has plenty of exciting exclusives and high-end performance at a fraction of the cost of a new PC.