The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console produced
by Microsoft. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming
console market, and competed with Sony's PlayStation 2,
Sega's Dreamcast, and Nintendo's Nintendo GameCube. The
integrated Xbox Live service allows players to compete
online. The Xbox was released on November 15, 2001 in North
America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in
Australia and Europe. It is the predecessor to Microsoft's
Xbox 360 console. It was discontinued in late 2006, although
the final Xbox game was released in August 2008. Support for
out-of-warranty Xbox consoles was discontinued on March 2,
2009, although in-warranty repairs will still be done.