When Microsoft took to the Game Developers Conference in 2000 to drum up interest in the original Xbox, it used a prototype console that was, basically, a giant X.
This prototype was used for the hardware reveal at GDC by ex-Microsoft boss Bill Gates and head of the Xbox project Seamus Blackley. Microsoft took this unit to trade shows and events such as GDC to help give developers an idea of what they’ve be working with and present demonstrations to press, despite it not offering the power the retail unit would.
According to Dean Takahashi’s book Opening the Xbox, each prototype unit cost $18,000 to manufacture because they were milled out of a solid block of aluminium. In a recent tweet, Seamus Blackley, one of the key players in Microsoft’s Xbox, said the prototype was a working unit.
Interesting little bit of Xbox history.
The wheels on 2 of my custom motorcycles are milled from a solid block of aluminium and cost nowhere near $18,000, I call bullshit on that one!
Yes, that was poorly worded. I fully believe the prototype cost $18,000 to build, but NOT because of the case. That probably only added a couple hundred bucks to the price tag. It’s actually fairly cheap as prototypes go, but then prices on that sort of hardware has dropped tremendously over the years. When I competed in the US Skills Olympics back in 1981(ish… it’s been a few years), IBM made prototype kits for us to do the practical test with, and each ran $100,000 (and we got to KEEP THEM!). The same thing today I can custom build from scratch (much better in fact) for less than $100.
Edited 2018-07-04 16:28 UTC
Interesting story.
Anyone remember that Microsoft was using Apple PowerMac G5-hardware for the development units of the XBox 360?
https://www.anandtech.com/show/1686/5
Wonder if there are still working units around 🙂
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