Alternate history: What if Xbox joined the console race a gen earlier?

[Manlytears]

In all seriousness... I think things would have been worse for them. There are three interconnected reasons...

1. They wouldn't have secured a partnership with SEGA (Dreamcast), nor would they have get introduced in the "intricacies" of the console market established by the Japanese companies.

2. Without the experience/connections gained with SEGA, they would have failed so spectacularly that their consoles would have been just two more insignificant western machines...

3. Two massive commercial failures might well have negatively impacted the bold decisions that paved the way for the Xbox 360's success. They might have lost faith in the Xbox's potential.