Although some PlayStation 2 games could be played in 1080i, the Xbox 360, unveiled by Microsoft in May 2005, was the first truly HD console…

This week marks the 20th anniversary of the Xbox 360’s reveal on May 12, coinciding with the conclusion of the OurColony ARG game. The embedded video below oozes with 2000s style and vibes. Things were very different back then—print gaming magazines still had a place in the world. The video kicks off with an iPod commercial featuring Gorillaz, followed by Elijah Wood, The Killers, and Pimp My Ride stars hyping up the console. It also includes a brief, albeit inaccurate, gaming history lesson—Microsoft claims video gaming began with Pong in 1972.

The future of gaming is symbolized by a blonde woman with a messenger bag walking through a crowd and placing the Xbox 360 on a circular stage. She presses a button, and the console lights up—without being plugged in—before the screen shows a brief reveal of the name. The Killers then take the stage. Elijah Wood asks Lil Jon if he’s hyped about the console, and Tony Hawk shows off Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland. We also get glimpses of Need for Speed and Madden.

Sway, a rapper and presenter, introduces Ryan and Mad Mike from Pimp My Ride, and we see a clip of them customizing an OG Xbox. Sway then visits Microsoft HQ, where several Xbox 360 prototype cases are on display. The design team clearly had a forward-thinking mindset. J Allard walks Sway through the console’s capabilities: the marketplace, customizable avatars, digital downloads, and even microtransactions. While Xbox Live already existed, the 360’s ecosystem set the tone for what would become standard on future consoles. We even get behind-the-scenes footage of Perfect Dark Zero. Twenty years ago, it was all considered cutting-edge!

Source: PCGamer