Starting with the launch of the original Xbox console back in 2001, the Xbox brand has grown to become one of the most popular in the video games market. Recently, the company had its 20th anniversary in the gaming industry. While it celebrated the anniversary with several exciting announcements, one of the highlights was a panel called “Xbox Pioneers: Creativity and Innovation — Past, Present & Future.”

This unique panel included several of the people pivotal to the rise of Xbox. Those present to discuss the history of Xbox included 343 Industries head Bonnie Ross, former corporate vice president of Interactive Entertainment Peter Moore, former vice president of Microsoft Game Studios Ed Fries, and former Chief Xbox Officer Robbie Bach. While these influential executives contributed to the round table discussion, perhaps the biggest surprise was that the special panel was hosted by former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Amie.

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Despite being the host of the presentation, and thus asking questions, Reggie found time to make some comments about Xbox as well. According to Reggie, the gaming industry was in a better place because of Xbox. He explained that the gaming “ecosystem” was in a good state due to the many companies outputting new content for gamers to enjoy. He believed that Xbox played a pivotal role in supplying this high-quality content to consumers.

Beyond speaking about the importance of Xbox to the gaming industry, Reggie touched on his own personal experience with the company. During the panel, he revealed his son helped him realize the significance of the company. “My son, an avid gamer, was the one saying we need to check out this Xbox thing... and the driver was Halo, and that experience is what got the original Xbox into my house with that big old controller,” he said.

This praise from Reggie is noteworthy considering his experience in the industry. Many fans remember him for his amiable personality, along with his famous appearances in various Nintendo Directs and E3 conferences. Over the past couple of decades, he has made an indelible mark on the legacy of Nintendo and gaming as a whole.

Besides this exclusive panel about the history of Xbox, the company has celebrated its 20th anniversary in several exciting ways as well. Recently, the company revealed the surprise launch of the multiplayer beta for Halo Infinite. This came several weeks before the game was scheduled to release. In addition, a bunch of new backwards compatible games was announced for next-gen Xbox consoles, with several of them receiving Xbox FPS Boost.

With all the news surrounding the 20th anniversary of Xbox, it's exciting to see some of these video game icons convene to talk about gaming history. It will be interesting to see where the former Nintendo of America president shows up next.

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Source: Pure Xbox