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Microsoft launched its first console at the start of the millennium, originally driven by a small group of passionate engineers on Microsoft's DirectX team. The original Xbox put PC hardware in console gamers' hands, featuring a custom Intel Pentium III processor, an Nvidia GPU, an internal hard drive, and a built-in Ethernet port. It was also released at a time when multiplayer and online play were beginning to emerge more in the West. Xbox Live arrived a year later and revolutionized online gaming. The original Xbox didn't come without growing pains. It struggled financially and was killed ahead of schedule, so the team could pivot resources to its successor, the Xbox 360.…