How Much Did the Original Xbox Cost in 2001?
By the Price Time Machine team · Updated
The original Xbox price was $299.99 when Microsoft’s first games console went on sale in North America on November 15, 2001. Adjusted for inflation, that is about $569.78 in September 2026 money, roughly 1.9 times the original price.
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Microsoft Xbox at a glance
- US launch price
- $299.99
- In today’s money
- ≈ $569.78November 2001 to September 2026 (CPI-U, BLS)
- US release date
- November 15, 2001
- Where it was designed
- Redmond, United StatesDeveloped by Microsoft in Redmond, Washington.
- Category
- Gaming & tech
- Price source
- news.microsoft.com
Today’s price is the US launch price adjusted for US inflation with the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, comparing the launch month with the latest published month. It updates automatically as new figures come out.
A games console from a software company
In 1999 four Microsoft engineers who worked on DirectX, the software behind Windows games, pitched an idea: a console built from PC parts. They called it the “DirectX Box”, which was later shortened to Xbox. Bill Gates announced it in March 2000, and the finished console was shown off at the CES show in January 2001 with the wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
At $299.99 it cost the same as the PlayStation 2. It was the first console with a built-in hard drive (8 GB) and a network port as standard, ready for online games.
The original Xbox price in today’s money
Inflation means a dollar buys less today than it did in 2001. Using the US Consumer Price Index, the original Xbox price of $299.99 works out at about $569.78 in September 2026 money, around 1.9 times the original figure. That is what the same amount of spending power would cost now, not what a first Xbox sells for second-hand.
When was the Xbox released?
- North America: November 15, 2001
- Japan: February 22, 2002
- Europe and Australia: March 14, 2002
Where was the Xbox made?
Microsoft designed it at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington. The consoles were built by the contract manufacturer Flextronics in Guadalajara, Mexico, and later in Hungary.
Xbox facts you might not know
- Bill Gates handed over the very first Xbox himself, at midnight at the Toys “R” Us store in New York’s Times Square.
- Halo: Combat Evolved was a launch game, and became the reason many people bought one.
- The first controller was so big that players nicknamed it “the Duke”. Microsoft soon replaced it with the smaller Controller S.
- In April 2002 Microsoft cut the US price to $199.99. It sold about 24 million consoles in total.
Frequently asked questions
How much was the original Xbox?
The original Xbox cost $299.99 when it launched in North America on November 15, 2001.
How much is $299.99 from 2001 worth today?
Adjusted for US inflation, the original Xbox’s $299.99 price is about $569.78 in September 2026 money.
Why is it called the Xbox?
It began as the “DirectX Box”, named after Microsoft’s DirectX games software, and the name was shortened to Xbox.
Did the original Xbox have a hard drive?
Yes. It was the first games console with a built-in hard drive as standard, an 8 GB drive.
Want to compare the original Xbox price with similar launches? See what the Xbox 360, the GameCube, the PlayStation 2 and the Xbox One cost, browse more famous launch prices, or play the Xbox question in Price Time Machine.
Sources
Launch prices and dates are checked against the sources below. Today’s price is calculated from official US inflation data and updates automatically when new figures are published.
- Press release: Microsoft, Xbox Manufacturing Underway for Nov. 15 Launch Date (September 21, 2001)
- Press release: Microsoft, Xbox Arrives in New York Tonight at Toys “R” Us Times Square (November 14, 2001)
- Wikipedia: Xbox (console)
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index (CPI-U)