The original Xbox was released on November 15, 2001, making it almost exactly 20 years old. The average gamer today is around 35, meaning that there’s been an Xbox console on the market for most of their lives. Many younger gamers, meanwhile, weren’t even born yet when the first Xbox came out.
Microsoft decided to put these two groups together in a recent video celebrating the original Xbox’s impending 20-year anniversary. As millennials watched and reminisced about the old days, several Gen Z gamers were invited to take the Xbox for a spin in an early 2000s-style bedroom.
The video opens with a quick preview of some of the Gen Z gamers being shocked by the “retro” machine. The oldest of the group was 22. The youngest gamer was 13, meaning she would have been around 1 when Microsoft discontinued the original Xbox worldwide. The younger gamers at least appreciated the look of the old machine, though Microsoft spared them the ancient custom of carrying the heavy box up a flight of stairs.
The seemingly simple act of plugging the Xbox in proved a moderate challenge, as they first had to locate the three colored RCA plugs on the large CRT TV. They didn’t seem to have too much trouble finding the power button but opening the disk tray took some trial and error. The Xbox’s large “duke” controllers also prompted a reaction. The original controller was considered oversized in 2001, so the Gen Zs’ surprise is understandable. The controller’s memory card/accessory slots also proved somewhat mysterious, with the 13-year-old guessing they were for playing games on cartridges.
The younger gamers did a little better when they got to experience the Xbox launch titles Halo: Combat Evolved and Fuzion Frenzy. They picked up both fairly quickly, though the differences between modern games and those from 20 years ago were apparent. In addition to the graphics, many games at the time lacked what are now considered modern features. For example, the original Halo trilogy lacked a sprint button, which is standard on most modern first-person shooters.
As the Gen Z gamers took their trip back in time, the Millennials watched and commented from the other room. Viewers can see the exact moment one veteran gamer realized precisely how long 20 years really is. Meanwhile, a fellow Millennial commented about how advanced the original Xbox seemed back in 2001.
Both Millennials and Gen Z also shared why they loved gaming, with both groups giving some similar answers. The ability to do things that would otherwise be impossible for them, and having a world of their own to control, seems to be a common thread across both generations. They also agreed that the ability to play with other people online, a big part of the Original Xbox’s success, was a significant part of what attracts them to gaming then and now.