It’s all below
In case you missed it, there’s a six-episodeXbox documentaryout now that deals with the history of the console line from the germination of the idea of the brand, through the success ofHalo, into the red ring of death, to now. It’s called “Power On: The Story of Xbox,” and it’s interesting in the sense that it’s officially sanctioned (thus provided full access to current and former Xbox team members and archive footage), but also doesn’t hold back.
Big dramatic highlights of the Power On Xbox Documentary include:
Told through six episodes (with my own short recaps below in parenthesis), the documentary is a fascinating look into the Xbox brand, with sharp editing and plenty of lively industry guests. Dedicating an entire episode to the red ring of death was ballsy — though the natural framing of the conclusion is that Microsoft ended up spending a billion dollars to “make good on it for consumers,” and came out the winner in the end. That victory is short-lived, however, as it leads directly into the disastrous Xbox One conference. Drama!
It’s a trip! Every episode is filled with some bit of knowledge that I had never heard of before, straight from the source. The first episode in particular took me back to the launch of the original Xbox, which I had won a copy of via a Taco Bell contest. I remember the skepticism in both the gaming industry at large and my friend groups — but onceHaloglommed onto the zeitgeist, the rest was history and the brand hit the ground running. For all its efforts,it actually just won a Daytime Emmy for “Outstanding Single Camera Editing,”adding another award to the production team’s repertoire.
you may watch every episode below on YouTube,or head to this page for more options(like IMDB TV, the Roku Channel, or Redbox).
