The History Of Multiplayer On Xbox

Grab a friend and take a seat on the couch. This is how multiplayer has evolved on our favourite consoles

- Stephen Ashby

There are few feelings better in gaming than beating someone sitting next to you. Stealing the win from them just as you cross the finish line, hitting them with a perfectly timed headshot, turning them into pulp with your digital fists, and then leaping up and roaring like an angry seagull directly into their miserable face. It’s euphoric.

The only thing that can vaguely match that feeling is when you and a friend finally pull of the perfect joint combo and beat that stupid sodding boss on the 17th attempt. You couldn’t have done it alone, and it’s a moment you’ll never forget.

From day one, the Xbox was built to be a multiplayer machine. There was an Ethernet port on the back, and the team slapped four controller ports on the front for players who couldn’t afford the new-fangled ‘broadband’ that all the cool kids were using. Compared to the PlayStation 2’s measly two controller ports and separate network adapter, it was set up for friends from the very start – and every Xbox console since then has built on that.

Commander in Chief

How else can you start an Xbox multiplayer feature than by talking about Halo: Combat Evolved? The original console’s legendary launch title didn’t just show what Microsoft’s ambitious machine could do, it set the standard for multiplayer shooters on every platform. There were fun modes, perfectly balanced maps and a shooting experience that had no equal.

But the real magic happened when you (somehow) found three Xbox-owning friends, 12 other people, and four TVs. Halo LAN parties weren’t the most accessible of gaming setups, but they delivered a multiplayer experience that was unlike anything console gamers had experienced before.