Xbox!

Microsoft’s first console release was the Xbox. This console was a great start to their line of gaming now, but at the time didn’t fare well against the already popular PlayStation consoles which were a hit. Despite that, the big name games and exclusives for this console is really what stood it apart from the competition!

Microsoft released its first console in 2001 to compete against the PlayStation console at the time. Bill Gates knew his pc games weren’t matching up well so here came the DirectX Box which is now known at the Xbox, because the DirectX graphics part of the name wasn’t that great. Which caused them to shorten it too Xbox. The new aspect too this console was that Microsoft was first to ever have a built in hard disk drive. Meaning there was no purpose for memory sticks and others as this did just that but built in. These was really great since the memory cards weren’t really reliable on the PlayStation consoles, and let’s face it, your memory card was pretty much your console, if that’s broken you’d have to restart everything! Having a very reliable storage unit was really the game changer in terms of console differences, which is why this console got some attention.

Microsoft really put some work into it to as they had the best graphic chip sets at the time in this console. It really was just a lot smoother compared to the PlayStation, and fared well against it in that category. The games looked and ran smoothly and really it was an up from the competition.

The last aspect which held this console out from the others was the big title releases from Microsoft, the exclusives in other words. Even if you’re not a gamer, I’m sure you’ve heard of the game “Halo” before, and this is really where it originated. Halo was first released on this console but went on to be one of the best selling hits on consoles to date! Other games include Forza Motorsport and Project Gotham Racing.

Overall, the Xbox was a great console at the time being. It competed well with the PlayStation and did more then hold its own, but the PlayStation was just more popular, which led to better sales. Honestly if they both would of came out around the same time I believe the Xbox would have been on top, as it seems that these days it is with the graphics and exclusives leading the way! 

http://www.time.com/time/interactive/0,31813,2029221,00.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox

Playstation 1

The PS One made a splash in the gaming world once it was released in 95. This new revolutionary console was a huge game changer, literally! The big change up in consoles from their competitors Nintendo was the fact that they had games burnt on CD’s. This proved to be a big factor but not the only one that came into play to overtake the Nintendo built gaming society.

PlayStation was the first console to have come out with games burnt on CD’s. What actually happened is that while Nintendo was dominating the gaming industry, they were working with Sony to make games on CD’s as Sony and Philips were the only ones with CD’s back then. What ended up happening is that Sony got into a big conflict with Nintendo and broke off relations with them and Nintendo never got to make their CD’s till later on. This is where Sony had the upper hand and released the PS One. This made a world of change in terms of graphics and game capacity. There’s much more memory on a CD rather than a Nintendo cartridge, meaning games could be much more vast and enjoyable because there’s just that much more to do. This really opened up a lot of doors for developers of the time, because their games didn’t have to be as restricted anymore, as they did on the Nintendo consoles.

Aside from the CD aspect of the PS One, the console came out with great graphics at the time, key words being, “at the time”. These graphics were top of the line and really stood out from the competition. Jumping from a Nintendo to a PlayStation was like winning the jackpot, it was just that much better! The 3D graphics were a big upgrade too.

Lastly, the titles that Sony released really helped upstart the console too. Great titles like Final Fantasy, Tekken, Metal Gear Solid and Grand Turismo came out and had stellar 3D environments and game play action that just blew away the other consoles. These games really became extremely popular and still have new series updates to date!

Overall the PS One didn’t fail to stand out in the gaming world in the 90’s. It did what no other console did with its CD innovations, great graphics and even better titles that it delivered. It was extremely popular and set the standards for the consoles to come and especially the CD gaming industry! 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PS_One_(console)#PSone
http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/159945/technology/what_has_made_
the_sony_playstation_so_popular.html