On Friday, 12 March 2001, many important things happened across the gaming industry, but the hottest topic by far was the clash between Apple, Microsoft, and ZAGE. Today, Apple would finally hold the full showcase for their iPlay console with Steve Jobs personally presenting it to the world. anwhile, Microsoft would release the final trailer for Xbox since its official release date was already tomorrow. At the sa ti, ZAGE YouTube had also announced a special trailer event for ZAGE's March ga lineup.
The entire internet was practically in chaos.
Forums, gaming websites, television channels, magazines, and online communities were all discussing which showcase would dominate the public's attention. So people were excited about Apple entering the gaming industry seriously, others believed Xbox would beco the strongest new competitor against ZAGE, while many ZAGE fans were simply waiting to see what kind of insanity Zaboru prepared this ti.
Thankfully, all three broadcasts were scheduled at different tis instead of directly overlapping with each other. Because of that, people could still watch every event properly without needing to choose only one.
And honestly?
That made the anticipation even bigger.
In the morning, the first major event among the three companies was Apple's showcase. Steve Jobs was already standing in front of the cara, ready to present iPlay properly to the world. Compared to the first trailer, this showcase was far more detailed. It did not only show the console design again, but also explained Apple's vision for gaming, online play, digital purchases, profile customization, and the overall experience they wanted players to have.
Steve Jobs spoke with his usual confidence, making iPlay feel less like a simple ga console and more like a stylish entertainnt device for the modern household. The presentation had that clean Apple feeling, with bright visuals, smooth transitions, and dramatic pauses that made even normal features sound important. Every ti Steve touched the console or ntioned how simple it was to use, the cara made it look like he was revealing so sacred object instead of a gaming machine.
Then Apple finally revealed the launch gas. Apparently, iPlay would have five titles available around launch, and while the lineup was not huge, each ga clearly had a different target audience. Apple was trying to show that iPlay was not only for hardcore gars, but also for families, casual players, racing fans, RPG fans, and people who wanted sothing more relaxing.
The five launch gas were White Wand, a JRPG with bright fantasy visuals, magical kingdoms, and a story focused on a young mage trying to restore a broken world. The gaplay showed turn-based battles with stylish spell effects, and the graphics looked surprisingly polished for Apple's first serious console lineup. The second ga was iRace 2001X, a racing ga using real cars, glossy tracks, and clean city environnts that looked designed to show off iPlay's graphical power. It was clearly made to compete with other serious racing titles while still carrying Apple's clean visual identity.
The third ga was Pippin, a colorful platforr with a small mascot character exploring bright stages filled with gadgets, bouncing platforms, and toy-like enemies. Zaboru would probably laugh if he saw that na, because Apple sohow still managed to save the old Pippin na by turning it into a mascot instead of using it as the console na. The fourth ga was Boxing Mutants, a fighting ga focused on strange mutant boxers with exaggerated designs, heavy punches, special moves, and over-the-top arenas. It looked ridiculous, but in a fun way, and the impact of every punch seed surprisingly satisfying.
The final ga was Relaxio Village, a peaceful farming simulator clearly inspired by the ZAGE Harvest Moon style of gaplay. The trailer showed players planting crops, raising animals, fishing, decorating houses, talking with villagers, and slowly building a calm countryside life. It was very different from the other launch titles, but that was exactly why it stood out. Apple clearly wanted iPlay to feel softer and more lifestyle-oriented compared to Xbox's heavier action-focused image.
These gas honestly looked quite interesting. Not only did they have surprisingly strong graphics, but the overall iPlay features and specifications were also very similar to what Microsoft was offering with Xbox. The biggest difference was not really raw power, but philosophy and presentation.
Apple clearly wanted iPlay to feel more personal and stylish.
One of the features that imdiately attracted attention was the ability for players to add custom music playlists directly into their profiles. Users could organize their favorite songs, show them publicly, and even customize how their profile pages looked. Compared to Xbox, iPlay's profile customization system looked far more advanced and visually expressive, at least from what the public currently knew.
Players could change thes, profile colors, backgrounds, icons, and music presentation layouts.
And surprisingly?
A lot of younger audiences loved it.
Then Steve Jobs finally revealed the price.
289 USD.
The mont the number appeared on screen, gaming forums imdiately exploded.
Because compared to Xbox's planned price of 299.999 USD, Apple had intentionally made iPlay around eleven dollars cheaper.
Honestly?
It almost felt like a direct insult toward Microsoft.
Not a massive difference financially, but psychologically?
People imdiately noticed it.
Especially because Steve Jobs revealed the number with a very calm expression, as if the pricing decision had absolutely no hidden aning behind it.
Still, despite the obvious rivalry, many people admitted that iPlay genuinely looked like a solid console overall. The collaboration between Apple, ZUSUGA, and Philips had clearly produced sothing far more serious than most players initially expected.
According to the showcase, iPlay itself would officially release on Monday, 15 March 2001.
Not long after Apple's announcent ended, Microsoft released its latest Xbox trailer. Unlike Apple's polished showcase, Microsoft's presentation was shorter, louder, and much more focused on impact. It was not a full stage presentation with long explanations. It was a trailer designed to hit players directly with graphics, explosions, gaplay cuts, and the feeling that Xbox was built for power.
The trailer showed that Microsoft would have six gas available for Xbox at launch. The first and most obvious highlight was HORI, a post-apocalyptic FPS shooter with impressive graphics, heavy weapons, ruined cities, mutated enemies, and a bleak atmosphere that imdiately made it look like Xbox's main killer app. The footage showed large open battlefields, detailed weapon models, and smooth shooting animations that made many viewers imdiately understand what Microsoft wanted Xbox to represent.
HORI was not trying to look cute, stylish, or relaxing.
It was trying to look powerful.
After that ca ELF Adventure, an RPG-platforr with colorful fantasy environnts, magic-based movent, and a young elf protagonist traveling through forests, ruins, and floating islands. Compared to HORI, it looked much softer, but the trailer showed strong level variety and enough charm to attract younger players or families.
Then Microsoft showed X Miracle Race, a racing ga using real cars and sharp-looking tracks. The trailer focused on speed, reflections, weather effects, and detailed car models, clearly trying to prove that Xbox could handle realistic visuals better than most players expected. After that, Furious Fight appeared, showing monsters and robots fighting each other in destructible arenas with heavy punches, energy blasts, and extrely loud impact effects. It looked chaotic, but also very fun for players who simply wanted to beat strange creatures with even stranger machines.
The fifth ga was Agent Jordan, a third-person shooting and stealth ga about a secret agent infiltrating enemy bases, using gadgets, silencers, disguises, and environntal takedowns. This one imdiately attracted attention because it looked more cinematic than the others, almost like Microsoft wanted to show that Xbox could handle serious spy-action storytelling too.
Finally, the trailer ended with Madden 2001, an Arican football ga clearly aid at the United States market. The footage showed stadium crowds, player tackles, team formations, and comntary-style presentation. It was not the flashiest ga in the lineup, but for many Arican players, having a strong football title at launch mattered a lot.
Overall, Microsoft's six launch gas were HORI, ELF Adventure, X Miracle Race, Furious Fight, Agent Jordan, and Madden 2001. The lineup felt more aggressive than Apple's, with a stronger focus on action, sports, racing, and graphical power.
These were the gas Microsoft prepared for the Xbox launch tomorrow, and honestly?
They did not look bad at all.
In fact, many viewers were genuinely impressed.
The trailer heavily emphasized graphical power, lighting effects, smoother animations, larger environnts, and more aggressive action scenes. Compared to Apple's calr and more lifestyle-oriented presentation, Microsoft's showcase felt louder, heavier, and far more intense. Xbox clearly wanted to position itself as the "power console" of the new generation.
And from a technical perspective?
A lot of players admitted Microsoft had succeeded.
Between Apple and Microsoft, both companies had managed to showcase surprisingly strong launch lineups. Apple arrived with five launch titles, while Microsoft pushed six gas with a stronger action-focused identity. Because of that, many players online imdiately started debating which console they should buy first and why.
Honestly, both systems looked genuinely interesting.
iPlay attracted players who liked stylish interfaces, customization, casual-friendly experiences, and Apple's clean ecosystem approach. anwhile, Xbox attracted players who wanted raw power, stronger performance, action-heavy gas, sports titles, and a more aggressive gaming-focused atmosphere.
Still, from the overall public reaction so far, it seed the majority currently viewed Xbox as slightly superior.
Part of that ca from performance. Even if the difference was not massive, many people felt Xbox had slightly stronger hardware overall. But another important reason was the UI presentation itself.
While iPlay's interface looked clean, smooth, and elegant, Xbox's UI sohow felt more "cool" to gars. It had darker aesthetics, sharper sound effects, tallic nu designs, and a more futuristic feeling that many younger players found extrely appealing.
It felt less like a ho entertainnt device...
And more like a gaming machine.
anwhile, Zaboru was genuinely excited about the eleven gas revealed between Apple and Microsoft. Knowing him, he would definitely buy both consoles and play every single one of those titles himself, not only as a businessman observing competitors, but also as a gar who simply wanted to enjoy new gas and ZABORU THE GAR will co back soon..
For now, Zaboru was still in the United States, watching the industry react in real ti. Apple had shown style and personality through iPlay, while Microsoft had answered with power and aggression through Xbox. Both companies had done well enough to make players seriously consider their choices.
However, the day was not over yet.
That night, ZAGE would release its own March ga trailer event on YouTube, and unlike the recent trailers from Apple and Microsoft, this one would be completely different.
To be continue
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