What Made the Xbox Part 2

Grand Theft Auto

Non-linear gameplay was something you saw more frequently on RPGs, and even then there was only so much you can do. So thank you GTA for setting a trend many game developers will happily rip off. GTA taught us that action games don't have to just take us from point A to B. Sometimes we can say fuck B, grab a rocket launcher and blow up points C and D (and maybe E while we'ew at it. I don't like the way its been looking at me). It also pushed the limits of the M rating to points noone had the guts to go.

Wireless Controller/Accessories

This is one of those "Why the hell didn't we think of this sooner?" kind of innovation. It makes sense. How many of us accidentally pulled or stepped on the cord and made our systems fall off the shelf or TV? How many of us had the cord yanked out of the socket at the most fucked up time in a game? How many of us have more than one controller and have to constantly untangle the cords just to figure out which is player 1? Wireless - life made easier.
(For the record, that's not my hand.)

Arcades

Remember when arcades were the first to do everything (well, arcades and PC)? Fighters, racers, shooters, side scrollers: if your game was worth a damn, it started in the arcades. Nowadays it's hard to find one (except in Japan) but without them, home consoles wouldn't be as great as they are now.

Mortal Kombat

Where blood and guts in gaming all started (That's probably not true, but it's the most popular and I'm too lazy to do research). When you saw someone in half in Gears of War, I want you to look at whatever copy you have of Mortal Kombat and say thank you. Do it now. If you don't have a copy, google it......without leaving this site.
(NOTE: Was is really necessary for me to type Mortal Kombat when it's in the picture?)

HDTV

It's not really a GAMING innovation, but it's important nonetheless. Why? Because that was Sony and Microsoft's biggest sales pitch. Plus, it just looks so damn pretty. It's hard to say right now where HDTV will take gaming, but it's wouldn't be hard to believe that very soon gaming won't be able to survive without it. Plus, just looks soooo damn pretty.

Turbo Grafx 16

This was the first system to use CD's to makes games. You figure out why that's important.

This was a lovely (if not time-consuming) history lesson as to what makes the Xbox360 what it is today, but none of this wouldn't have mattered if the original Xbox didn't sell. That is what makes this last one the most important factor.