I can trace my nerdom back to the original Xbox and Van Halen’s ‘1984’ album as Microsoft turns 50

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I’m known for being quite intellectually focused, and it would be hard for anyone with average intelligence to argue against the label of ‘nerd’ being fitting in my case.

I have a wide range of passions, just like many others, but if you delve deeper, you’ll discover that video games, music, literature, and technology form the heart of my interests. These areas are where my love for all things nerdy is most evident.

The interests that drive me now as an adult, as well as my entire work history, can be traced back to my past, and one of the early milestones in my life was connected to the original Xbox and the first album I ever purchased on my own.

As the sun dips below the horizon on Microsoft’s first 50 years in business, it seems fitting to reflect and reminisce about this journey. Perhaps I’m not alone in having walked a path towards geek-hood.

Humble beginnings with the original Xbox and a handful of games

Growing up, I didn’t live in opulent luxury and there weren’t many toys to play with, but eventually, we did get an original Xbox and managed to accumulate just a few games for it.

It’s hard to imagine the numerous hours I invested in those games. For instance, I played the Halo 2 campaign repeatedly for days on end, and I remember spending countless hours fighting against my family members on every multiplayer map. Their strategies became deeply ingrained in my mind after those battles.

I’ve played Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II numerous times, each round seeing me craft various characters to explore diverse playstyles, ranging from the wicked to the virtuous.

In Tony Hawk’s Underground 2, my two younger siblings and I invested countless hours, crafting numerous custom levels, writing narratives, and developing characters for these levels (I unfortunately didn’t manage to complete the main storyline of the game).

To be honest, I wasn’t entirely clear on why our Xbox game collection was filled with numerous sequels, but we managed to make the best out of it. We utilized our creative minds to transform even the simplest games into endless hours of entertainment.

After I turned ten years old, my identity as a gamer solidified and I formed some of my most cherished memories around our old Xbox. That’s when my father gave me my first album, Van Halen’s ‘1984.’ We were playing classic games at an arcade called “1984,” and he thought it was quite clever because he turned ten in the year 1984 as well.

It wasn’t until after the 2010 launch of the Xbox 360 Slim that my family became part of the gaming generation which had started with the release of both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 earlier. During this gap, I collected numerous memories by utilizing one distinctive feature of the original Xbox – its capacity to extract music from CDs and customize in-game soundtracks.

In my past gaming sessions, I’ve had plenty of Tony Hawk’s skateboarding games, numerous Super Bowl wins in NFL Madden ’06, and countless adventures set to the rhythm of Van Halen’s music. To this day, hearing any song from their 1984 album evokes a powerful wave of nostalgia.

As I progressed, I continuously expanded my collection by incorporating more albums from Rush and Megadeth. This expanding assortment, along with our old Xbox, were constant companions during my elementary and middle school years. Additionally, I had a PlayStation 2 that I utilized often; however, I frequently revisited the original Xbox instead.

Of course, that was just the beginning.

My evolution as a nerd through Xbox, Windows phone, and books

At roughly the same period when my affection for Xbox became clear, so did my fondness for reading develop. I can hardly recall where I procured it from, but in third grade, I delved into Terry Brooks’ ‘Sword of Shannara’. Since then, I’ve immersed myself in numerous other books, counting well over a hundred.

Playing on our Xbox 360 Slim opened up a fresh universe of video games for me, with titles like Minecraft among them. As a family, we invested countless hours enjoying games such as Mario Kart, Super Mario Bros., and Wii Sports on the initial Nintendo Wii console.

My affection for technology truly blossomed when I got my hands on my initial high-quality smartphone, the Nokia Lumia 520. Though it was an affordable option, it ignited my passion for technology.

Subsequently, in the evening hours following my school day, I delved into reading a multitude of reviews, editorials, and news articles from diverse websites covering topics such as Windows and its mobile counterpart, Xbox, PlayStation, Android, iOS, and more. To clarify, I was already an enthusiastic reader of Windows Central, a fact that predates my current membership on the team.

Initially, my passion for technology was solidified, but my first full-time job gave me an opportunity to delve deeper into my interests. This led me to become part of the Xbox One generation in 2016 with the Xbox One S. I remained loyal to Windows phones, starting with the Nokia Lumia 830 and eventually upgrading to the Microsoft Lumia 950 and 950 XL.

Currently, there are numerous topics concerning technology that excite me so much I dive deep into each one as soon as they catch my interest, often finding myself fully absorbed until my curiosity is quenched or the subject becomes an enduring fascination.

Prior to launching my professional journey with Windows Central, I fully committed myself to the development process of Windows 10, becoming a part of the Windows Insider program using the affordable Surface Pro 4 I had saved for over several months.

A few years have passed since then, and I’ve been utilizing the Surface Pro 4 to pen down my initial pieces for Windows Central. It has been more than five years now.

Now I’m here, celebrating Microsoft’s 50-year anniversary

Over time, I’ve transitioned from playing only a few games on a console that lived way beyond its lifespan, to being deeply interested in technology from afar, to writing just three articles per month about one game, to now having a full-time job in the field of tech and gaming journalism.

It feels appropriate that I’ve chosen this career path at Windows Central, given that my story began with the original Xbox, and surprisingly, the music from that album that accompanied countless hours of gaming.

Beyond just Minecraft, I span a much wider range of topics now. In fact, Microsoft, with its half-century presence, has solidified itself as a leading player across various domains such as personal computing, gaming, cloud services, web navigation, productivity tools, and many others – except for smartphones, unfortunately.

I’m immersed in exploring it all, with no signs of letting up anytime soon. I’ll carry along my Xbox Series X, the ever-changing landscape of new PC hardware, and a pile of accessories as I embark on the next 50 years of Microsoft’s journey. It’s my responsibility, as someone who loves technology, to stay engaged with it all.

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2025-04-01 14:10