Ten years ago, the video game industry changed for the better. While Sony and Nintendo were the heavyweights of the video game console industry, on Nov. 15, 2001, Microsoft jumped into the fray with the Xbox. That particular addition to the video game industry essentially ended the Nintendo’s successful run at the top. Once the Xbox hit the market, Microsoft and Sony became the kings of the hill and haven't ever really looked back. 

Of course, the Playstation eventually generated the Playstation 2 and 3, while the Microsoft Xbox begat the Xbox360. However, the Xbox itself showed enough of a change in video graphics and game play that it spurred its main competitor to improve as well. Between the day it launched and the end of the year, the Xbox sold 1.5 million units. Those particular sales figures were a record for a console launch at the time.

The Xbox was also the first to really start integrating the online experience with video games in 2002 with Xbox Live. It is a safe bet that even Microsoft didn't really envision that Xbox Live would be as popular as it is now. The company probably also didn't envision that services like Xbox TV and cloud storage would become staples of the console less than 10 years after the Internet service's launch.

Quite a few of the games that launched with the original Xbox are titles that gamers today are quite familiar with. One of the most popular series in video game history, Halo, was launched along side the console. Dead or Alive 3 and Project Gotham were two other well-known games that were born alongside the new console. And, Xbox's success also pretty much killed off one competitor in such a fashion that most forget they were a force in the video game industry at the time. The Sega Genesis was at one time, at the top of the heap. Sega has since left the video game market almost entirely in the 10 years since the Xbox arrived on the scene.

It’s safe to say that 10 years ago, the video game world changed for the better.