Xbox Power On 6 Part Documentary Series Available Now - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 13 December 2021 / 1,639 Views
The team at Xbox has released all six parts to the Power On Xbox documentary. All six parts come to a total of four hours in length.
"This six-part docuseries takes you back to the scrappy beginnings at Microsoft, where a passionate group of renegades with a hungry entrepreneurial spirit kicked off the first generation of Xbox," said Director of Programming Tina Summerford.
"As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of Xbox this year, we invite you behind-the-scenes for this first-ever comprehensive and authentic history of Xbox, where you’ll hear directly from the team that lived through the compelling and challenging 20-year journey.
"Each episode covers a different chapter of Xbox history from its humble beginnings within Microsoft, to the design behind the original prototype console, to heartbreaking challenges like the Red Ring of Death, to Microsoft’s attempt to acquire Nintendo in 2000, and so much more. This docuseries will be a nostalgic walk down memory lane for those who have been Xbox players since day one and an eye-opening origin story for those who are newer to gaming!"
You can watch all six parts below followed by an overview of each part:
A small team of upstarts sets out to convince Microsoft that it’s time to enter the console business. Chapter 1 of Power On: The Story of Xbox. Xbox almost didn’t happen. Find out why in this behind-the-scenes, six-part series that takes you back to the scrappy beginnings of Microsoft's video game console. It’s the untold story of the people behind the box, glitches and all.
The battle to own the living room is on–but not without significant cost and risk. Chapter 2 of Power On: The Story of Xbox. Xbox almost didn’t happen. Find out why in this behind-the-scenes, six-part series that takes you back to the scrappy beginnings of Microsoft's video game console. It’s the untold story of the people behind the box, glitches and all.
Public doubt intensifies as issues threaten to spoil the 2001 launch for Xbox. Chapter 3 of Power On: The Story of Xbox. Xbox almost didn’t happen. Find out why in this behind-the-scenes, six-part series that takes you back to the scrappy beginnings of Microsoft's video game console. It’s the untold story of the people behind the box, glitches and all.
A console is only as good as its games… and Xbox needs a gamechanger to survive. Enter Halo. Chapter 4 of Power On: The Story of Xbox. Xbox almost didn’t happen. Find out why in this behind-the-scenes, six-part series that takes you back to the scrappy beginnings of Microsoft's video game console. It’s the untold story of the people behind the box, glitches and all.
The demand for Xbox 360 is at fever pitch, but a critical malfunction threatens its success. Chapter 5 of Power On: The Story of Xbox. Xbox almost didn’t happen. Find out why in this behind-the-scenes, six-part series that takes you back to the scrappy beginnings of Microsoft's video game console. It’s the untold story of the people behind the box, glitches and all.
Xbox loses its way. Can a former intern get the team back on track? Chapter 6 of Power On: The Story of Xbox. Xbox almost didn’t happen. Find out why in this behind-the-scenes, six-part series that takes you back to the scrappy beginnings of Microsoft's video game console. It’s the untold story of the people behind the box, glitches and all.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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A documentary on a company that is produced and distributed by that company. I'm sure it's super accurate.
Wow MS is going all out to celebrate Xbox's 20th anniversary! I wish Sony and Nintendo would do more of this.
Don Mattrick agreeing to being interviewed to admit all the mistakes he made in leadership took some balls lol
Selling 8 million Kinects in 60 days. Almost makes you understand the car crash that was early xbox One
Really proves that the right leadership makes all the difference.
Cant blame them for pushing Kinect due to how successful it was. If they didn't do a Kinect 2, they would have been criticized for not following up.
Shit brand. Begun because some monopolistic nerd believed he had the only right to be in your living room.
That’s their legacy
MS aren't fans of roommates apparently. Which maybe isn't a bad thing because they seem pretty friggin paranoid.
Though SNY did imply they were not only going to take the living room, but tear down the office room and expand the living room, then steal Bill's Tang.
It's understandable why MS did what they did. Whether it was a good thing for gaming and entertainment overall however, is a whole nother matter.
Is there any real debate as to whether it's good for gaming? I would say that it has very clearly been a positive for gaming.
Sega, their fans, and some gamers in general, might disagree.
If XB being part of the console space was clearly a good thing, why didn't SNY or Nin want to partner with them?
There are an infinite number of reasons why potential business deals don't work out. And, sure, I'm sure somebody can find some negative to Microsoft being in the gaming space. But, at the end of the day, their extremely deep pockets, and their willingness to dig into them, are a huge driver of innovation in gaming.
That story has been told as well, and SNY and Nin basically took the buyout/partnership as an insult and/or joke.
MS has helped drive innovation, but could Sega, Nin, or someone else have done the same?
If Sega did end up dropping out even without MS entering, I'll give you that would likely have led to PS3 being even more ridiculous.
Question is with pockets as deep as MS, will they just buy their way into crushing the competition eventually, or will they be able to keep themselves in check?
Pretty smart marketing on MS part here when it comes to the casual viewer.
Just enough truth to look quite transparent, though each time they dive a little deeper than the norm into the negatives, they stop and change direction for a while, then talk about other positives, while never going back and finishing that negative portion of the story. The 360 portion was the most obvious.
Then there's the short clips like, 'well if you have two identical consoles (PS4 and XB1), you're obviously going to choose the cheaper one'. lol. Could let that slide with PS5 and XBSX, but PS4 and XB1?
I also figured MS made XB because they were scared of SNY threatening PC and most importantly Windows. While a few Direct-X MS employee's are also part of the reason, keeping SNY PS in check was the main concern admitted.
