Before the Xbox, Microsoft had found success publishing video games for its Windows PCs. However, Microsoft CEO Bill Gates saw the upcoming PS2 as a threat to Microsoft's line of Windows PCs, worrying that the all-encompassing system could eliminate consumer interests in PCs and drive them out of the market.
In 1998, four engineers from Microsoft's DirectX team began discussing ideas for a new console which would run off Microsoft's DirectX technology. The projects codename would be “Midway”.
