If you're looking for a great documentary about one brand's rise to the top, then this is the one. Power On is a brilliant documentary about how the DirectX team created one of the most recognized and well-respected brands on the market. This six-part documentary series takes you all the way back to the early pre-release phases of Microsoft's video game console, showing you everything that went into making Xbox what it is today. It's the untold story about the people behind the box, and gives you an in-depth look of every single misstep, glitch, and mistake that occurred during Xbox's development cycle, and gives you a full inclusive history of the Xbox brand as a whole. But, it's not only just the history of the Original Xbox that makes this six-part documentary worth watching. The entire documentary series goes throughout not just the scrappy beginnings of the original Xbox and the team behind it, but the entire history of Xbox as a whole, from the Xbox 360's fatal hardware errors, all the way to the present time. It's not only a compelling story about the birth of a brand and the mistakes and missteps, but the entire documentary has a lot of unique and interesting animation as well as special effects which are most noticeable during the first 3 episodes, and primarily during Episode 2 when they showcase the original prototype Xbox seen at GDC 2000. Every single episode showcases a portion of the development history of Xbox as a brand in gaming, and it takes a lot of guts to admit your mistakes, as clearly noted in Episode 6 when they showcased the disappointing "New Generation" reveal codenamed Newcastle as a reveal for the all-in-one entertainment system known as the Xbox One. Ever single episode features a compelling segment about Xbox's development history, and everything that made Xbox what it is, including the day one November 15th, 2001 release of the groundbreaking FPS game Halo: Combat Evolved. To put it simply, this was a genius and compelling documentary, and as someone who has seen all the episodes, I loved it. Whether you're a gamer or not, I highly and strongly recommend you to check out this visually stunning and genius documentary. I promise you will enjoy it so much, just like I did.
6 Reviews
Excellent view into the rise of Xbox & the recent history of the console wars.
simsamsuk14 December 2021
Highlighting Xbox's commitment to building a culture & paying homage to the history they have built as a brand, Power On serves as a fantastically entertaining, honest & informative doc for the hardcore gamer.
The story is well told by people who were there & follows the thread of the rollercoaster ride that is Xbox & the wider console market. Hearing how senior execs at Xbox responded to all the bumps in the road from online gaming to the red ring of death to motion controls is fascinating.
Can't recommend it enough, A must watch for gaming fans.
The story is well told by people who were there & follows the thread of the rollercoaster ride that is Xbox & the wider console market. Hearing how senior execs at Xbox responded to all the bumps in the road from online gaming to the red ring of death to motion controls is fascinating.
Can't recommend it enough, A must watch for gaming fans.
Excelent documentary for gamers
dany4k20 December 2021
If you like videogames you should watch this, even you prefer Playstation or Nintendo, this is still a great documentary to watch and learn how this great industry works and how much work it actually takes to build a console.
Amazing docuseries on reshaping the world of gaming
Eienkei23 December 2021
Legacy
thomasbavaria27 December 2021
What can i say. Xbox nailed it again. A documentary, that every gamer and non would find exceptional. Very emotional for every Xbox fan i would say as well.
Thank you Microsoft for this gem, which i will be more than happy to tell everyone that is a must see, if you really want to know the industry, as it is.
Thank you Microsoft for this gem, which i will be more than happy to tell everyone that is a must see, if you really want to know the industry, as it is.
Interesting but factually wrong on many points.
SithHunter24 January 2022
Nice story of Xbox's history, but plenty of blatant lies coming out of Xbox executives. Aaron Greenberg saying the 360 "basically won" that generation, just a stone cold lie. What does basically mean, because ps3 sold more consoles than 360. So ps3 won that generation, just like how ps2 sold more than the original Xbox. And how PS4 sold more than Xbox one and how ps5 is out seeking the Xbox series console.
Also when they talked about the Xbox one x having the best performance for a console, just factually wrong. Digital foundry has proven time and time again that Xbox had a resolution advantage over the PS4 pro, but not a performance advantage. Stats don't lie.
Same with the series x, they talk about power and performance, yet every test on games shows ps5 is hitting better fps than Xbox. Can't change numbers. Just because they built a on paper more powerful machine, real world performance is way different.
Guess Xbox is still waiting for the tools and that 30% advantage haha.
Also when they talked about the Xbox one x having the best performance for a console, just factually wrong. Digital foundry has proven time and time again that Xbox had a resolution advantage over the PS4 pro, but not a performance advantage. Stats don't lie.
Same with the series x, they talk about power and performance, yet every test on games shows ps5 is hitting better fps than Xbox. Can't change numbers. Just because they built a on paper more powerful machine, real world performance is way different.
Guess Xbox is still waiting for the tools and that 30% advantage haha.
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