Xbox Gaming in South Africa

10 years today, Microsoft took their first tentative step into the gaming console world launching the Xbox game console in North America on 15 November 2001. A decade later and what started out as a gaming-only device has become a full entertainment solution, boasting thousands of games and millions of users.

To mark the 10 year anniversary of Microsoft's gaming platform, we've dug up some interesting stats and quotes from over the years, which show just how far the Xbox and its core franchises have come since 2001.

Xbox Milestones

• 15 Nov. 2001 – Xbox launched
• 15 Nov. 2002 – Xbox LIVE launched
• 22 Nov 2005 – Xbox 360 launched
• 10 May 2006 – Xbox sales reach 24 million units worldwide
• 14 Jun 2010 – New Xbox 360 S unveiled
• 4 Nov 2010 – Microsoft launches Kinect for Xbox 360
• 10 Nov 2010 – Xbox LIVE launches in South Africa, along with 8 other countries, increasing overall coverage to 35 countries/territories
• 10 Mar 2011 – Kinect sales exceed 10 million units worldwide
• 8 Aug 2011 – Xbox LIVE members top 35 million
• 7 Nov 2011 – Xbox 360 sales exceed 57 million units worldwide

Halo franchise

The 'Oddworld' series is a potential franchise and 'Halo' is a potential storyline that could become a franchise, but I'm not sure I see a character franchise yet that would liken to a Sonic or Crash or Mario.

John Taylor, analyst for Arcadia Investment Corp at the launch of the Xbox and Halo in 2001.

Little did Taylor know that Halo would ultimately become the flagship franchise for the Xbox console, selling over 40 million copies between five games, and cementing the character of Master Chief as a gaming icon.

Xbox LIVE

Customers do not want online games.

Satoru Iwata, President/CEO of Nintendo at the Japan Economic Foundation in 2004.

Oh, how wrong Mr Iwata was. It's nearly impossible to find a game that doesn't have some kind of online mode these days, and for good reason: online gaming is all kinds of fun. With Halo setting the standard in online multiplayer, and Microsoft expanding Xbox LIVE to include Arcade games and more, the online platform for the Xbox has become arguably the most important selling point of the console in the last 10 years, and will continue to lead the way as more of the world gets connected.

Xbox 360 Kinect

Microsoft is not a technology company

Nobuyuki Idei, Sony chief corporate adviser in an interview with BBC News in 2006.

While it may have a love/hate relationship with core gamers, there's no denying the affect that the Xbox 360's motion sensor Kinect has had on not only casual gaming but other industries too, with Kinect giving developers a new way to interface with users without the need of a controller.

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It hasn't been a care-free ride for the Xbox franchise over the past 10 years, with some dark days during the RROD onslaught, but with those issues all but behind us, and a string of new technology available to Microsoft and game developers, it's an exciting time to be a Xbox owner, and we can't wait to see what's next.

Share you Xbox stories! When did you get your first Xbox? What games got you hooked on your Xbox? Let us know in the comments below.