20 Years of Xbox Collab: Our Favorite Xbox Memories

We’re just as stoked about today’s Halo Infinite Multiplayer Beta launch as you all are, so with that and all the other Xbox birthday bash nonsense going on it’s time for a Prima Teama collab! Morgan’s out on vacation this week, but Jesse and I are holding down the fort (playing Halo) and thinkin’ ‘bout Xbox.

Related: Halo Infinite Multiplayer Surprised Released During Xbox Anniversary Celebration

I figured, instead of just talking about our favorite Xbox games, let’s just open up the floor entirely. For each Xbox generation, I challenged myself and Jesse to provide one lasting impression. It could be a game, a moment, an event, an injury… you get the picture.

Prima Teama Xbox 20th Anniversary Collab

Jesse Vitelli (@jessevitelli)

Original Xbox

I never had an original Xbox, so it was always an enigma to me. I was a PlayStation 2 baby. However, I made friends with a kid down the block who had a Xbox and he showed me Halo. it was so cool and we ended up playing through the entire game together.

Xbox 360

The 360 was the first console I ever bought myself. I spent 2 hours in a Circuit City with my mom trying to figure out if I had enough money and which game I would buy with it. I ended up choosing Kameo: Elements of Power form Rare, which was and still is one of my favorite Rare games ever. I eventually went on to play the Halos and the Gears of War games, and Xbox live was my first foray into the world of online multiplayer.

I’ll never forget late school nights playing Halo 3 with my friends and other people from our middle school.

Xbox One

I bought an Xbox One solely for Sunset Overdrive. I actually don’t know if I ever played another video game on the console, because at this point Microsoft had started putting first party stuff on PC as well.

Xbox Series X|S

I love my Xbox Series X, and its launch will always be cemented in my brain. It was the first console launch I get to experience from the industry side. Covering everything up to release and then covering it post release has been amazing.

Lucas White (@HokutoNoLucas)

Original Xbox

When the Xbox came out I was in middle school, which is the perfect age to be drafted into the Console Wars. I was all-in on Team Nintendo and especially talked shit about Halo. Much to my chagrin nobody else I knew was on my side, so I ended up having to go play Halo all the time anyway if I wanted to see my friends.

Years later I bought a Xbox and some games from a coworker for science, and while I still hated the hardware I played the hell out of some SVC Chaos and Metal Slug. Honestly if it wasn’t for that Xbox I would have missed tons of SNK stuff.

Xbox 360

I eventually went AWOL from the Console Wars and came to love all my expensive children equally, although again Xbox was last on my priority list. Believe it or not I had a pretty big Wii library and it was great, damn it! Anyway, I got the Mass Effect bug pretty late but was all ready for Mass Effect 2; preordered the CE and everything.

Then, before I could actually play my brand new copy of Mass Effect 2, my 360 red-ringed. While I was waiting for the repair/swap so many other RRoD victims endured, my girlfriend and I broke up – she got me into Mass Effect in the first place. So by the time I actually got to play the damn game there was baggage on top of everything else.

So Mass Effect 2 can kick rocksI was late to the party despite a preorder but I had a great time when I got there. In retrospect, Mass Effect is far from my favorite, but it was pretty dope at the time.

Xbox One

By this time I was in the industry, hustling my way to where I am today. I had zero interest in the Xbox One, because the PS4 was great and the Don Mattrick-era for Xbox was a garbage fire.

Then I had to play Watch Dogs for work, which during the run-up to release was the most undeservedly-anticipated game that generation to that point. Ubisoft sent me a copy for both consoles for some reason, which ended up being convenient because the PS4 suddenly got sick and had to be sent in for repair.

One panicked credit card charge later, I had a Xbox One and met my deadline.

Xbox Series X|S

Before the Series X came out, I wanted to play Sonic Unleashed without frame drops. When I got a Series X, I played Sonic Unleashed without frame drops.

And as of today, I can play Sonic Unleashed at 60 fps. Dreams can come true.

What are your best Xbox memories? Tell us in the comments! On Facebook On Twitter!