Remembering the first year of MICROSOFT XBOX in the UK

14th March 2002: Alongside one of the most lauded launch line-ups in console history, Microsoft’s Xbox arrives into the UK marketplace, priced £299.99. EDGE magazine awards Halo 10/10.

Launch Games

- Halo
- Project Gotham Racing
- Dead or Alive 3
- Rallisport Challenge
- Amped: Freestyle Snowboarding
- Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee
- Jet Set Radio Future
- Max Payne
- Mad Dash Racing
- Fusion Frenzy
- Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions (released, expanded on, but considerably worse 8 months later on PS2 and Gamecube)
- Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 (released on PS2 in October 2001 and Gamecube in May 2002)
- Cel Damage
- NHL 2002 (released on PS2 in October 2001)
- Blood Wake
- Transworld Surf
- NBA Live 2002 (released on PS2 in November 2001)
- Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3 (released on PlayStation 1 and 2 in November 2001, on Gamecube in May 2002)
- Batman Vengeance (released on PlayStation 2 in November 2001, May 2002 on Gamecube)

March 2002: Shrek (released and expanded on Gamecube in October 2003 as Extra Large), Knockout Kings 2002, Arctic Thunder (a garbage game released on PS2 in November 2001), Dark Summit, the Crazy Taxi ‘influenced’ The Simpsons Road Rage (released on PS2 in November 2001 and Gamecube in May 2002), Blood Omen 2, NBA Inside Drive 2002, Xbox exclusive Star Wars: Obi-Wan, and Genma Onimusha (released as Onimusha: Warlords on PS2 in July 2001) hit shop shelves shortly after launch. It’s revealed Xbox has managed to shift 48,000 consoles in the UK over the course of 3 days. “Sales have been great, especially considering it's March and not November. There has been a high software and accessories attach rate, which is also very encouraging. We're receiving supplies of Xbox from Microsoft and expect them to continue to fly off the shelves“ says Richard Barry of Toys R Us.
April 2002: Despite proclamations by Vice President of Xbox Europe Sandy Duncan that Xbox is off to an “incredibly strong start in Europe and gamers are obviously liking what they see, feedback from new Xbox owners has been fantastic,” it’s revealed Microsoft has only shifted 11,000 Xbox’s in Germany, and even less elsewhere, resulting in Microsoft to take action and knock £100 off the retail price. Sales momentarily are a one-to-one match of that of the PlayStation 2. Dixons offers an Xbox with a copy of Halo for £235, with an additional game for £25. As way of compensating early adopters who purchased the console between 14th March and 26th April, Microsoft offers customers 2 free games (out of a possible 10, including Halo, Project Gotham Racing and Dead or Alive 3) and an additional controller. Some owners complain that they’ve already purchased the best titles. “I think the price cut in the Xbox hardware will prove to be a much needed shot in the arm for the fledgling console. If the launch of the Xbox has showed us one thing, it's that the days of paying three hundred pounds for games consoles are over…” says Alex Verry, PR Executive at Joytech. Wonder what he would have made of 2007… Destruction Derby knock-off Crash (released as Totaled! elsewhere), EA Sports’ F1 2002, third-party exclusive UFC: Tapout, Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex (released on PS2 in November 2001 and Gamecube in November 2002), MX 2002 featuring Ricky Carmichael (released on PS2 in September 2001), Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat, 2002 FIFA World Cup, Championship Manager Season 01/02, ESPN International Winter Sports 2002 and Deadly Skies (also known as Airforce Delta Storm) are released.
May 2002: MotoGP: Ultimate Racing Technology (not to be confused with the Namco series of roughly the same name), GunValkyrie, Azurik: Rise of Perathia, New Legends, and NightCaster are released, all exclusively on Xbox. The Test Drive brand continues to trudge along, with the launch of Off-Road Wide Open (released on PS2 in November 2001). Burnout (November 2001 on PS2, May 2002 on Gamecube) and Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter (March 2002 on PS2) are released. ISS comes to Xbox with International Superstar Soccer 2. Needless to say it’s not as good as the ‘90s versions…
June 2002: Spider-Man: The Movie, SSX Tricky (released on PS2 in November 2001 and Gamecube in July 2002), SpyHunter (released on PS2 in October 2001 and Gamecube in June 2002), David Beckham Soccer (released on PSone in November 2001), Gauntlet Dark Legacy (released on PS2 in June 2001 and July 2002 on Gamecube), Gun Metal, Circus Maximus: Chariot Wars, Legends of Wrestling (released on PS2 in February 2002 and Gamecube in June), James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire (released on PS2 in November 2001 and on Gamecube in June 2002) and Tour de France.
July 2002: With a dearth of appealing new software and World Cup mania having gripped the country the month prior, sales of the console slow again. “I don't think hardware pricing is that much of an issue since the last price reduction. Games sell hardware and at the moment that is the fundamental area that is preventing the Xbox from increasing its market share" says Infogrames UK PR Manager, Simon Callaghan. Talking of Infograms, their Slam Tennis does a Henman and double faults onto Xbox, somehow managing to miss Wimbledon-mania entirely. RPG Enclave is also released, as is RedCard (released on PS2 in May), Hunter: The Reckoning (released on Gamecube in July 2003), yet another Test Drive title in Overdrive: The Brotherhood of Speed, Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing from Codemasters, and Antz Extreme Racing. The movie came out in 1998…
August 2002: The surprisingly good Buffy the Vampire Slayer arrives exclusively on Xbox and saves summer, along with the highly playable Aggressive Inline and Splashdown (released on PS2 in November 2001). GAME takes the price of Halo down to £29.99 for loyalty card holders, and throws in a free controller with the console. Dixons drop the price of the DVD remote to £19.94.
28th August 2002: Sony cuts the price of the PlayStation 2 to £169.99. Not even 2 hours later and Microsoft announce another price cut of their own, dropping the Xbox down to £159.99, both effective from the 29th. “Xbox is extremely well positioned to be at the top of Christmas wish lists. The game experience with Xbox is simply unsurpassed. Best value is not just about price; its price, plus the most advanced hardware features, plus a killer games portfolio, all in one package.”
September 2002: Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller (exclusively on Xbox), WWE RAW (exclusively on Xbox, but 7 months after its US launch), Conflict: Desert Storm, Turok: Evolution, Prisoner of War, Commandos 2: Men of Courage, Blade II, Chase, Madden NFL 2003, NHL 2003, The Thing, Tetris Worlds (released on PS2 in July 2002), Shadow of Memories (out on PS2 in March 2001), Taz Wanted, Pro Tennis WTA Tour, Xbox exclusive Loons: The Fight for Fame, and the monumentally crap Gravity Games Bike: Street. Vert. Dirt are released, the later regarded by many as the worst game in the entire history of Xbox. Giving it a strong run for its money however is Bruce Lee: Quest of the Dragon, another atrocious third-party exclusive for Xbox this month.
October 2002: Spiritual successor to Sony’s WipEout, Quantum Redshift arrives on Xbox, accompanied by Colin McRae Rally 3, Silent Hill 2 (an expanded port, originally released on PS2 in November 2001), The Terminator: Dawn of Fate, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, FIFA Football 2003, Rocky, the sublime TimeSplitters 2, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2, Myst III: Exile, Street Hoops, Eggo Mania, Barbarian, Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2, NHL Hitz 2003, SEGA Soccer Slam, Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer, Deathrow and yet another diabolical racket game, with FILA World Tour Tennis. The more user-friendly Xbox Controller S goes on sale in the UK, priced £24.99.
November 2002: In another rammed month, timed Xbox exclusive Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell debuts to both critical and commercial success, while much hyped exclusive Blinx The Time Sweeper vacuums its way onto shelves and straight back into bargain bins everywhere. Unreal Championship, a reworking of Unreal Tournament 2003 on PC, fares much better and lays down the gauntlet for online multiplayer on console. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind also launches (released on PC in May 2002), along with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets [insert forced wizard pun here], The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring [any wizards?], Dynasty Warriors 3, LMA Manager 2003, Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, NFL Fever 2003, Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, Outlaw Golf (released on Gamecube in June 2003 and PS2 in November 2003), Phantom Crash, Micro Machines, Serious Sam, Xbox exclusive MechAssault, Robot Wars: Extreme Destruction, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, Reign of Fire, Total Immersion Racing, James Bond 007: Nightfire, Rally Fusion: Race of Champions, Xbox exclusives Sega GT 2002, NFL Fever 2003 and Transworld Snowboarding, LMA Manager 2003, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003, and X-Men: Next Dimension. More crap ball action plagues the shelves with Tennis Masters Series 2003, and Electronic Arts try their hand at creating a platforming mascot again with Ty the Tasmanian Tiger. ‘Better than Blinx!’ and “properly bonza this, mate” children are heard saying in Australia. Probably. Sales of Xbox begin to eclipse Gamecube in the UK, with the w/e 10th November 2002 seeing Xbox manage 15,102 to Gamecube's 6,839. Indeed, after a slow summer, Xbox sales take the lead over Nintendo heading in to Christmas, with Chart Track reporting Xbox having shifted 233,503 units in total in the UK, compared to 230,876 Gamecubes.
30th November 2002: Ahead of its full European roll-out in March 2003, “Xbox Live Test Drive” goes live in the UK, priced £39.99. Encompassing a Communicator headset, MotoGP, Whacked! and 12 month subscription, the starter packs are available exclusively through Xbox.com. Aside from the bundled games, Unreal Championship, MechAssault and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon are also available for online play. Rare departs Nintendo for pastures new (Microsoft).

December 2002: In the first of two quiet months for software, Medal of Honor: Frontline (released on PS2 in June 2002 and Gamecube in December 2002), Big Mutha Truckers, Minority Report: Everybody Runs, BMX XXX, Nickelodeon Party Blast, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon series debuts, Robotech: Battlecry, Monopoly Party, and Xbox exclusive Superman: The Man of Steel are released. Woolworths offers up a console bundle with SEGA GT 2002, Jet Set Radio (pack-in) and Blinx: The Time Sweeper for £179.97. According to Chart Track, by early December Xbox had now moved 589,284 units in the UK, compared to 436,488 Gamecube’s. By the w/e 22nd December 2002, Xbox more than doubling sales of the Gamecube (38,727 to Nintendo's 15,943). By the 29th, Xbox had managed 31,735 to Gamecube's paltry 10,866. “Xbox is the next generation video game system of choice and the clear number 2 across the United States, Canada and throughout Europe.” says Robbie Bach, Senior Vice President of Microsoft. “As far as we’re concerned, we’re still number two in Europe. We had sold 1.5 million units across Europe up until Christmas, and our records show that this puts us in the second spot…we’re confident our figure is correct,” says Nintendo’s Shelly Friend, being not so friendly in response.
January 2003: Xbox Gamer Magazine (formerly X-Gamer) rebrands as ‘the smarter read for Xbox’ and relaunches with BABES and DVD. Furious Karting is released. Presumably anyone that bought it was also furious.
February 2003: Dead to Rights launches onto Xbox (6 months ahead of other formats), along with the return of Mortal Kombat - now fully in 3D - with Deadly Alliance, Shrek Super Party, Fire Blade, Legends of Wrestling II, Battle Engine Aquila and ATV: Quad Power Racing 2.
March 2003: After a long hiatus, and in a month of numerous SEGA titles, ToeJam & Earl return exclusively to Xbox with their third outing: Mission to Earth, alongside system exclusives Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, Panzer Dragoon Orta, and The House of the Dead III. Shenmue II (released on Dreamcast in November 2001), Metal Gear Solid II: Substance (expanded version of Sons of Liberty, released in March 2002 on PlayStation 2), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (released in November 2002 on PS2), Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (released on PS2 in December 2001), Lotus Challenge (released on PS2 in November 2001), Dr. Muto, Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb (5 months ahead of PS2), and MX Superfly (out on PS2 and Gamecube in October 2002) are also released. Xbox Live officially launches across Europe and the UK - Virgin Megastores offers a £5 voucher in various publications, bringing the price down to £34.99. Xbox exclusive Steel Battalion closes out the month, accompanied by an ENORMOUS and very expensive controller.

Sources: Official Xbox Magazine UK, Xbox Gamer, Wikipedia, MCV, NGC, XBM, Metacritic, EDGE.

What are you memories of the first year, did you jump in, did you swap out that pad for an S, what were your favourites games, did you get on Xbox Live...

I've said this (probably several times) before: I wasn't at all interested in the Xbox, but the day before launch Iain Lee gave Halo an insane amount of praise on Thumb Bandits. Launch day, chancing my luck without a preorder, I managed to get one at Electronics Boutique.

MS got a few things wrong, and had to compete with Sony's aggressive pricing, but they threw everything at it. The free stuff to compensate early adopters was a very cool move. I wrote on the form that I didn't want an extra controller, but would like the DVD kit instead, and they sent both (plus the two games).

Controller S was another bold move for year one, basically admitting that the Duke was a bit too much for many people. It made a world of difference to how much I wanted to use the Xbox, and they've been refining it ever since.

I didn't realise that Steel Battalion was within a year of launch (EDIT: or just after). Nearly killed me, lugging that back to the car.

Who?

Cracking thread idea, KK! OG Xbox :wub:

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By 2002 I had stuck with my PS1 (and PSone) for seven years, having got the system at launch back in 1995. Money had been tight but I was ready for a new system. PS2 hadn't really attracted me and I decided to get a GameCube or an Xbox. And I went for Xbox along with a copy of Halo.

But... I didn't use it! After quickly realising that I just couldn't afford it, I returned it to GAME the next day and got a refund. I was setting off on a path of sticking with PSone for a while.

By May 2003 my money situation had improved and I saw the translucent green edition console and the new Controller S arrive which tipped me over into buying the console. The first game I got was Burnout 2; and the arcade racer was a fantastic introduction to the world of Xbox. Crash Zone was just terrific fun and I spent so many hours trying to improve the crash damage score on each zone. I also picked up Halo and Splinter Cell but, to this day, I've barely played them :lol:

.

I was very much into Xbox for the next few years; I loved the power of the system and the sleek green game cases. I started buying Xbox World (a super mag for that first year or so before Future took over Computec Media) and, although I still dabbled with my PSone, the Xbox quickly became my fave system.

I haven't played on OG Xbox for a few years now, but I was into collecting for it around 2008 to 2011. I have five consoles (two boxed translucent green, two boxed translucent crystal and a standard black one) and a selection of Controller S's (a few sealed, too). It's life was fairly short commercially (really just from. 2002 to 2005) but it was a cracking few years and I didn't get another system until 2007 when I upgraded to the Xbox 360. I remain very fond of the OG era, though.

Edit: You can take a peek at some of my Controller S's!

Edit: And/or some of the games, too!

Last edited by Ironhide on Sat Aug 19, 2023 8:55 pm, edited 2 times in total.

I wasn't that bothered about the Xbox (or Gamecube) originally and didn't intend getting one as I already had a PS2 and Dreamcast . That changed when my brother rang me from work (Gamestation) saying they had an almost new translucent crystal Xbox, 2 S controllers and a few preowned games (JSRF, PGR2, Gunvalkyrie and Panzer Dragoon Orta) going for a decent price so obviously I said yes.

Pics of most of the games I ended up with

Edit: Kerrr's post just reminded me that I actually did have a Gamecube at this point - I bought my Xbox about 6 months after getting the 'cube.

jawa_ wrote:Cracking thread idea, KK! OG Xbox .

I thought it was about time I did a sequel to this one: t:remembering-the-first-year-of-nintendo-gamecube-in-the-uk

I got an Xbox in February 2003 from Argos, bundled with Project Gotham Racing, Halo and Oddworld Munch’s Oddysee (a game I was already interested in during 2000/01 when it was billed as a PS2 title). Also picked up the DVD remote, though I’m not sure if that was as an extra or with the bundle. I can’t remember the exact price either, but based on my research for this thread it must have been under £200. I didn’t get into Halo anywhere near as much as others at the time, but I just loved the way it felt and controlled with the Duke controller. Same with PGR - it was the first time I’d ever used triggers to accelerate and brake. I also tended to favour the D-Pad for racing games on PlayStation, whereas on Xbox it was really the first time that I’d found steering with the sticks to be preferable. The Splinter Cell franchise also just felt right on both the large and S controllers.

Picked up Xtreme Beach Volleyball of all things a month later in Sainsbury’s, followed by the rubbish WWE RAW, and the actually rather great Indiana Jones (having enjoyed the demo). As it turned out, miles better than Angel of Darkness a few months later. It was also the same month I spent about 2 hours playing the Shenmue II demo. Never bought it though for some reason.

Another big difference with Xbox was just how much better a lot of the multiformat titles were. Most of the time you look back and those 360/PS3 face-offs definitely got blown up out of all proportion online, but to me by far the biggest power gulf in real terms was between Xbox and PS2. The Splinter Cell series, Wreckless, Wolfenstein, TOCA Race Driver series, Indiana Jones, Max Payne 2…they were just so much better on the Xbox.

While it definitely became a struggle to juggle owning all three systems at that point in time (to own a Gamecube and not play Zelda, to not play Mario, bit ridiculous really…) I had a good time with Xbox, a load of great games, though a fleeting system in many respects (in my case about 3 years, before moving over to 360 in 2006 and at the same time back to PS2 - which had suddenly found a whole new lease of life in late 2006/2007, whereas the Gamecube and Xbox were now completely dead).

Xbox also delivered on quite a few of the promises Sony had made going in with PS2 (and failed on, certainly in the UK due to the lack of HDD). It did deliver on online multiplayer, it was yet another competitor that didn’t need a multitap, you could download extra levels and multiplayer maps, you didn’t need a memory card, the DVD playback was to a higher standard than PS2’s green-screen nonsense. Like Dreamcast it was ahead of its time. It’s like Sony knew where the industry was going but was unable to get you there with PS2, whereas Xbox wanted to give you a glimpse of where video games were heading for those that cared to go there now. Doom 3, Half Life 2, Splinter Cell Chaos Theory…this was the type of stuff that was the preserve of high end PCs, whereas a 100 quid would get you a close approximation of it in 2004 and 5.

Plus how can I forget the cable break on the controllers, another small but appreciated addition.

I’ve never seen the launch lineup for OG XBOX but that’s a pretty strong set of releases getting Halo and Gotham right out of the gate would have been great.

XBOX kinda passed me by first time round as I was committed to GameCube but I did play Amped and Fuzion Frenzy a lot on a demo pod in Gamestation.

I started collecting for the system a few years ago and it has a surprisingly deep catalogue of games, it’s really not just the shooter and racer system.

I originally got a GameCube that generation and then when I saw a offer for a Xbox with about 4 games for something like £139.99 I jumped on it I know the games with it were something like Halo and Midtown Madness 3 I think in the box discs with no proper cases, then there was Lord of the rings fellowship of the Ring and Time Splitters 2 boxed thrown in.

It became that the cube was for Nintendo stuff and the Xbox was my third party console of choice (Didnt get a PS2 till late in the life) I then got the Xbox chipped and got a bigger harddrive and had emualtors and all sorts on it... I then sold off my collection of real Xbox games down to like a small handful of games in order to buy DS stuff, before eventually starting to recollect Xbox Stuff cheap later on.

I loved my Xbox for Jade Empire, Knights of the Old Republic, Grabbed By the Ghoulies

This is what I own now

jawa_ wrote:But... I didn't use it!

I, for one, am shocked

I bought an Xbox for the Sega games. It ended up being my least played console that generation. Not because it was bad or anything I just had loads more games on the Dreamcast , PS2 and Gamcube. With hindsight I should have maybe just picked one console to support after Dreamcast died

I was at the peak of my gaming obsession during the early 2000's, I'd finished college, had no commitments like a job, gf or a social life (still don't but I don't really care anymore) so just immersed myself in the things that kept me sane.

I remember going to my rich best friends house (lost touch 1-2 years later) who had one.

Max Payne and Halo blew my mind, the graphics were something else to a PS1. Always felt the controller, UI and console were ugly though even then.

I tried getting into the OG Xbox. My mate had the green one and I did enjoy co-op Halo but that was about it. I couldn’t play SSX on it due to the lack of shoulder buttons and there were no JRPGs on the horizon.

2002 was the year I went to Uni after a gap year. I eventually sold my PS2 to my brother and brought a GameCube, in part because it was a lot easier to haul through London during the holidays. And once you had tasted the freedom of a Wavebird you didn’t go back.

Having been back and sampled some titles I don’t think there was much on offer with the Xbox. Discount Halo and Dreamcast sequels and there isn’t much left you couldn’t buy on the PS2 which also had a much wider selection of titles. I’m sure others would disagree but I’d call the Xbox the most overrated mainstream console of the modern age.

Now the Xbox 360 on the other hand….

I remember picking one up on launch day (ordered through Gameplay.com).

I got it with Halo and PGR. Not long after I got a few free games and another (smaller) controller as compensation for the quick price cut.

Really liked my Xbox. Still have it, but I don’t think it works anymore.

That GT 2002 + JSRF bundle was the one I got back in the day, think it was Christmas 2002, very happy memories of getting that along with Halo CE.

ah yes the console of choice of the school bully

I didn't know anyone who had the original Xbox. I think I played on a demo unit in a shop like dixons and remember hating the controller though. It wasn't until the 360 arrived that it felt like the Xbox really took off.

Early 2002 was when i moved on from the Dreamcast & N64, first i bought a PS2 (mainly for GTA3), then a Gamecube a couple of months later.

The XBox never got a look in really, i saw the console often in the shops, but it's just something i never got around to playing.

I reckon I spent more time copying CDs onto the Xbox for custom soundtracks than I did actually playing games.

I don't remember when I actually got one but I think I bought a bundle with PGR2 and Simpsons: Hit and Run from Argos for about £120. I guess it was relatively late in its lifespan (maybe 03/04) but it did mean I picked up some choice games for peanuts from Gamestation.

Remembering the first year of MICROSOFT XBOX in the UK

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