- published: 08 May 2016
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The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console market, and competed with Sony's PlayStation 2, Sega's Dreamcast (which stopped American sales before the Xbox went on sale), and Nintendo's GameCube. The integrated Xbox Live service launched in November 2002 allowed players to play games online. The Xbox was the first console offered by an American company after the Atari Jaguar stopped sales in 1996.
Xbox's successor, the Xbox 360, was launched in November 2005.
The Xbox was discontinued in late 2005 in Japan, late 2006 in Europe and early 2007 in North America. The last Xbox game was Madden NFL 09, released in August 2008. Support for out-of-warranty Xbox consoles was discontinued on March 2, 2009, stating that any in-warranty repair now needed will not be undertaken and faulty consoles will be replaced with an Xbox 360 instead. Xbox Live support was discontinued on April 15, 2010.