"Before releasing the official Xbox console, Microsoft was skeptical whether prospective gamers would be able to keep their software image distinguishable from the new hardware venture. To ensure the inaugural gaming console would be perceived as a standalone product, the company created a prototype that looked radically different from a desktop product. At the 2000 Game Developers Conference, Bill Gates and Seamus Blackley showcased the X-shaped version to build the brand image."
"Made from solid aluminum, the prototype weighed 40 pounds and cost nearly $18,000 to manufacture at the time. It was not a functional gaming console and was only created to build the brand perception. The first-ever Xbox came a year after that, and the rest is history. Fast forward to the present day, as one DIYer wants to see if the X-shaped console would be an actual feasible product."
"Meet Tito Perez of the YouTube channel Macho Nacho Productions, who set out to make the functioning variant of the console prototype. The starting point for him was the reference images of the model taken from the rare one on display in New York. The next step involved building a 3D model of the prototype from the visual reference of every curve, screw hole, and other little details. Thereafter, the finalized file was sent to the PCBWay factory to craft the aluminum model,"
Microsoft created an X-shaped aluminum prototype weighing 40 pounds and costing nearly $18,000 to ensure the Xbox would be seen as a standalone product. Bill Gates and Seamus Blackley showcased that prototype at the 2000 Game Developers Conference. The prototype was nonfunctional and preceded the first retail Xbox by one year. Designer Tito Perez built a functioning replica using reference images from the rare museum unit, creating a detailed 3D model and having PCBWay craft an aluminum shell. Perez polished the shell, designed 3D-printed mounts and rails, and fitted original-era hardware alongside HDMI, USB-C power, and a high-capacity SSD.
Read at Yanko Design - Modern Industrial Design News
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