Xbox game devs

The Xbox launched in the UK on March 14, 2002. It's strange to think that before then Microsoft was seen more or less as the company that made computers work - via Windows. Now it's impossible to imagine a games industry without the Xbox, such is the success of the second system, the Xbox 360. Here we look back at some of the original Xbox's best games and where those developers are now.

RalliSport Challenge 2 - DICE

Before DICE became the studio known primarily for FPS series Battlefield it was a dab-hand at creating superb racing games. The second game in particular is still fondly remembered as one of the system's true greats, combining what were cutting-edge visuals with genre-leading online integration.

Before EA fully acquired DICE in 2006 the studio worked on a wide variety of titles, including Shrek and the excellent Midtown Madness 3 for the Xbox. Now the studio is almost entirely focused on creating new titles in the Battlefield and Bad Company series, although it did divert its attentions to Mirror's Edge a few years back. A follow-up to RalliSport Challenge seems like a pipe dream (although Microsoft still owns the IP), but thankfully the DiRT series has picked up where it left off.

Ninja Gaiden - Team Ninja

There's a reason Ninja Gaiden has just been released on the Vita, some eight years after it first appeared on the Xbox - it's bloody brilliant. The tweaked Ninja Gaiden Black was even better. At the time Team Ninja was headed by eccentric video game rockstar Tomonobu Itagaki, who also took charge of the Xbox 360 sequel. These days Team Ninja is a very different beast, with Itagaki having left to form Valhalla Game Studios, where he's currently working on third-person action title Devil's Third for THQ - a game we've seen very little of since its debut showing at E3 2010, but is due early in 2013. Team Ninja has just finished work on the Itagaki-less Ninja Gaiden 3.

Halo - Bungie

Halo wasn't just a great Xbox game, it was the Xbox game. Without it the Xbox simply wouldn't be what it is today, and that is in no small part down to developer Bungie. Sure, Microsoft was able to push the game into the minds of millions of gamers thanks to its financial muscle, but the game had to be good enough to live up to the massive billing. Bungie's most recent release, Halo: Reach, proved to be one of the best games in the series, and was largely regarded as one of the most impressive games of 2010.

While Halo is still going strong, Bungie is no longer its master, with Microsoft's 343 Industries handling development on Halo 4 and all future Halo titles and services. A number of ex-Bungie staff are at 343, including franchise director Frank O'Connor, but Bungie as a whole is now separated from Microsoft and currently tied into a 10-year publishing deal with Activision - the first game under the new publisher yet to be revealed.