My project is on Microsoft's XBox, looking at it as an extension of the Microsoft empire and a representative of current and historical (albeit recent history) attitudes towards gaming. I also looked into the marketing of the XBox and its physical design, especially the controller, which is a prime example of something which has to fulfill both functional and stylistic roles. For a detailed, behind-the-scenes perspective on the XBox, you should definitely check out Opening the XBox by Dean Takahashi (see references below for more information. Yes, someone wrote an entire book about one console system. It's actually an interesting read and it covers a lot of stuff which normally doesn't get talked about in articles.

As I was poking around online looking for pictures of the XBox and other controllers to include in my project, I came across this website - http://www.axess.com/twilight/console . It's a family tree of video game controllers, going all the way back to the old Atari systems and working up to the next generation controllers for the PS3 and XBox2, or rather XBox 360 as it's now known. I've got my own analysis of the XBox controller up now, but the site still has a very nice visual layout, so you should check it out.

An excellent news site for just about anything & everything gaming related - http://www.gamasutra.com . You should definitely check it out if you have any interest at all in video games, either PC or console based. For a more detailed look at the next generation of Microsoft gaming - the XBox 360 - go to http://www.xbox360.com .

My project ended up breaking down into four large chunks. I split them up so that each has their own page. Each functions on its own as a separate topic, but there are, of course, connections between all of them. You cannot talk about the image of the XBox without getting into its history, and vice-versa. However, feel free to read these in whatever order you like - they should make sense no matter what if I've done my job right.

The History and Design of the XBox

The Image of the XBox

What if there was no XBox?

The XBox Controller

Takahashi , Dean. Opening the XBox: Inside Microsoft's Plan to Unleash an Entertainment Revolution. Roseville, CA: Prima Publishing, 2002.