Ask anyone to name a next-generation game console and chances are Microsoft's Xbox 360 system would be mentioned.
Considering the 11.6 million worldwide sales of the current Xbox 360 console and the 34 million original Xbox systems sold to-date, what is more impressive is that Microsoft's 2001 game franchise is still in its infancy. This, compared to Sony's 1994 PlayStation and Nintendo's various systems starting from 1983.
Given the announcements of the Japanese company's PlayStation 2 (PS2) and GameCube in 1999, few found faith when Microsoft head Bill Gates said he wanted to tackle the game console industry in that year.
Gamer Joseph Wee, 31, recalls that the news was not warmly received by the gamers weaned on Nintendo, Sega and Sony. 'Microsoft was not a very strong player in the gaming market at that time, with only some presence in PC gaming.'
Fast forward to 2007 and the tide has shifted. Sega's Dreamcast fell by the wayside and the Xbox even has a sequel. In Singapore, strong marketing and a strong game lineup has driven it to become the leading game platform of choice here.
In part, the launch of the Xbox has changed the local gaming landscape which was previously dominated by piracy and imports.
But the launch of the Xbox here changed all that. Explains Mr Garry Tan, senior business development manager at Courts Singapore, which has a dedicated games section in stores: 'With the Xbox, the retail scene for console gaming had a big boost. Families could now easily get access to Xbox in established stores.'
There were also several firsts in the original Xbox set that set a new standard for other companies to follow. It was the first game console to have an internal hard drive that could store and play music, as well as hold game saves, so gamers no longer needed to spend extra on a memory card.
And of course, there is the Xbox Live online gaming community which, aside from online play, also allows downloads of game demos, movie trailers and classic games. The service now boasts over seven million members, who have purchased more than 45 million games via the service.
With the ongoing success of the Xbox franchise, one thing is certain. If Bill Gates ever decides to announce that Microsoft is entering the portable game system market, which is currently dominated by Sony's PSP and Nintendo's DS, few will now scoff at the idea.
