The Original Xbox Prototype is Still Around

[rgMekanic]

Eurogamer is reporting that the original prototype Xbox, which was first shown at the Game Developers Conference back in 2000 is still alive and kicking. Dean Takahashi's book Opening the Xbox states that each prototype was machined from a solid block of aluminum at a cost of $18,000. The original prototype can now be seen at the Microsoft Visitor Center in Redmond, Washington.

Pretty cool. I wonder how many mortgages erek would take out in order to get his hands on one.

Of course, when the original Xbox launched later in November 2001, its design had come on a long way from this prototype. But the prototype has lived long in the memory because of how ridiculous it looks.

 

[Loose Nut]

Many thing in the world that should not have been created
this is one of those thing.

Imagine where the PC would be if the xbox was never created.


show me i'm wrong

List the positive effects of the Xbox on the world ?

 

[ManofGod]

Many thing in the world that should not have been created
this is one of those thing

Oh really? I think it looks cool and definitely worth being created.

 

[F.E.A.R.]

Agreed. It does look pretty badass.

 

[Slade]

Wow I remember that thing. The prototype developer boxes I actually played with when I was working for nvidia were just full tower computers.

 

[TangledThornz]

Still got my original XBOX that I bought first day of its release. Thankfully the line was shorter than expected Turned out to be a great system, loved HALO and KOTOR!

 

[chameleoneel]

Many thing in the world that should not have been created
this is one of those thing.

Imagine where the PC would be if the xbox was never created.


show me i'm wrong

List the positive effects of the Xbox on the world ?

show us you're right

 

[GoldenTiger]

Still got my original XBOX that I bought first day of its release. Thankfully the liner was shorter than expected Turned out to be a great system, loved HALO and KOTOR!

I loved KOTOR , but I never have played the second one. I must change that soon.

erek, you're famous now .

 

[spugm1r3]

They took that whole X-"box" thing rather literal, didn't they?

I loved KOTOR , but I never have played the second one. I must change that soon.

erek, you're famous now .

It is mostly for posterity's sake that one plays KOTOR II. Sadly, the magic simply didn't extend beyond the bounds of the first.

 

[Retronym]

Solid copper for the thermals.

 

[vegeta535]

Great hardware but they still have the same issue today. No games.

 

[DejaWiz]

Many thing in the world that should not have been created
this is one of those thing.

Imagine where the PC would be if the xbox was never created.


show me i'm wrong

List the positive effects of the Xbox on the world ?

Yep...the countless ports onto PC that were utter crap in both stability and image quality. So glad the latest gen consoles are x86-based that are striving to attain what the PC can already deliver (4k, high refresh, HDR, etc) instead of the opposite as it used to be (the consoles dragging down PC), so all those problems can now be forgotten.

 

[SomeoneElse]

I for one think that design looks pretty sweet. It would have been one iconic device and it hit mass production with the specific design.

 

[Armenius]

Yep...the countless ports onto PC that were utter crap in both stability and image quality. So glad the latest gen consoles are x86-based that are striving to attain what the PC can already deliver (4k, high refresh, HDR, etc) instead of the opposite as it used to be (the consoles dragging down PC), so all those problems can now be forgotten.

The original Xbox used an x86 CPU. It was a custom Intel Coppermine, also known as the Pentium III.

I also disagree with your assertion that consoles dragged PC down. At the time of its release the Xbox 360 was overall more powerful than PC hardware. The Xenos GPU was based on ATi's R520 which had just released for desktops months earlier. It had a slightly lower clock speed, but similar capabilities. NVIDIA Tesla and the venerable 8800GTX wasn't released until a year later. The PowerPC processor was a triple core unit while everyone on PC were still using single core. Clocked at 3.2 GHz, nonetheless. Intel's first dual core CPU for desktop didn't arrive until a year later, and they were clocked around 2 GHz.

What I will agree on is the life cycle of the 7th generation having a negative impact on PC releases. But one has to admit that we would not be seeing as many game releases on the PC if it were not for Microsoft's entry into the console market, and things have been vastly improving over the past 5 years. While the current generation of consoles are using weak mobile processors, it has also caused multithreading support to jump forward at a more rapid pace for games on PC.

 

[Cmdrmonkey]

Many thing in the world that should not have been created
this is one of those thing.

Imagine where the PC would be if the xbox was never created.


show me i'm wrong

List the positive effects of the Xbox on the world ?

True and while the 360 was somewhat successful, the XB1 has been a dud to the point where MS is sort of quietly supporting PC gaming again. In retrospect, the Xbox brand has been pretty pointless.

 

[Loose Nut]

show us you're right

Xbox has caused ( all consoles really cept for the first Nintendo it kicked ass )

1. Game makers design games for inferior hardware.
2. Parents have become lazy, lets the console's babysit their children.
3. Children get less exercise have more weight problems.
4. Children get worse school grades.
5. Has turned Microsoft from a software OS company into a kids romper-room, Game's R US sham of its former self.
6. Game makers now chop up their games it parts ( DLC's ) Consoles were the first to do this.
7. I'm still mad about Halo ROFL it would have been even greater on the PC.


I could go on for days but its really not worth it.


My son has a Xbox and a PC with a Titan X in it. I am happy to say his PC gets used a lot more than the Xbox does. related)
and wagons are better than trains
and trains are better that airplanes
don't get me started on iPhony's LOL

 

[TangledThornz]

Great hardware but they still have the same issue today. No games.

The XB1 had great games, though those great games eventually played and looked better on PC. Halo, KOTOR, and Riddick were some of my favorite ports to PC.

Microsoft's greatest sin with the XB1 was stealing Halo from the PC gamers.

 

[DejaWiz]

The original Xbox used an x86 CPU. It was a custom Intel Coppermine, also known as the Pentium III.

I also disagree with your assertion that consoles dragged PC down. At the time of its release the Xbox 360 was overall more powerful than PC hardware. The Xenos GPU was based on ATi's R520 which had just released for desktops months earlier. It had a slightly lower clock speed, but similar capabilities. NVIDIA Tesla and the venerable 8800GTX wasn't released until a year later. The PowerPC processor was a triple core unit while everyone on PC were still using single core. Clocked at 3.2 GHz, nonetheless. Intel's first dual core CPU for desktop didn't arrive until a year later, and they were clocked around 2 GHz.

What I will agree on is the life cycle of the 7th generation having a negative impact on PC releases. But one has to admit that we would not be seeing as many game releases on the PC if it were not for Microsoft's entry into the console market, and things have been vastly improving over the past 5 years. While the current generation of consoles are using weak mobile processors, it has also caused multithreading support to jump forward at a more rapid pace for games on PC.

Is it possible to run gen 1 XB games on PC hardware, as coded/written?

 

[ManofGod]

Xbox has caused ( all consoles really cept for the first Nintendo it kicked ass )

1. Game makers design games for inferior hardware.
2. Parents have become lazy, lets the console's babysit their children.
3. Children get less exercise have more weight problems.
4. Children get worse school grades.
5. Has turned Microsoft from a software OS company into a kids romper-room, Game's R US sham of its former self.
6. Game makers now chop up their games it parts ( DLC's ) Consoles were the first to do this.
7. I'm still mad about Halo ROFL it would have been even greater on the PC.


I could go on for days but its really not worth it.


My son has a Xbox and a PC with a Titan X in it. I am happy to say his PC gets used a lot more than the Xbox does. related)
and wagons are better than trains
and trains are better that airplanes
don't get me started on iPhony's LOL

Oh wait? Xbox is the reason some kids are overweight and lazy? LOL Or the Xbox is to blame for lower grades or parents not parenting? LOL Turned Microsoft into a Games R Us? LOL If these are the reasons you have then no, you do not need to go on, since...…. LOL

 

[M76]

The original Xbox used an x86 CPU. It was a custom Intel Coppermine, also known as the Pentium III.

I also disagree with your assertion that consoles dragged PC down. At the time of its release the Xbox 360 was overall more powerful than PC hardware. The Xenos GPU was based on ATi's R520 which had just released for desktops months earlier. It had a slightly lower clock speed, but similar capabilities. NVIDIA Tesla and the venerable 8800GTX wasn't released until a year later. The PowerPC processor was a triple core unit while everyone on PC were still using single core. Clocked at 3.2 GHz, nonetheless. Intel's first dual core CPU for desktop didn't arrive until a year later, and they were clocked around 2 GHz.

The PS3 also wasn't bad when it was new, but over their lifetime they did lock games in to that level of fidelity for years. Consoles have their peak in the middle of their lifetime, and by then they were nothing but dead weight for PC gaming. If anything the XBOX 360 / PS3 console generation was the worst for PC Gaming, because their architecture was so different. What the consoles did great, was not a strong suit of PCs at the time, and what PCs had (RAM and single thread x86 performance) consoles seriously lacked. XBOX 360 games that were later ported to PC had memory consumption around 3-400MB on a PC. Every serious gamer had 6-8GB RAM by then. So they tapped about 0.1 of the potential there.

What I will agree on is the life cycle of the 7th generation having a negative impact on PC releases. But one has to admit that we would not be seeing as many game releases on the PC if it were not for Microsoft's entry into the console market, and things have been vastly improving over the past 5 years. While the current generation of consoles are using weak mobile processors, it has also caused multithreading support to jump forward at a more rapid pace for games on PC.

I don't see how microsoft's entry into the console market has increased the number of PC releases. It is their failure in the console market that prompted them to port more and more games to PC.

 

[Minomine]

I could machine one of those if someone wants to buy the mats and my time

 

[sleepeeg3]

Guess you would have to forge the entire thing out of aluminum to prevent the RROD. Thermals on the original Xbox were terrible.

 

[Deleted member 133315]

Thing that worries me is.

How did they get to the conclusion that X = a box ?

Will admit.

My 8800gtx came in an X box.

 

[M76]

You are wrong stating that every serious pc gamer had at least 6GB circa 2006. I'd bet you anything that I was a far bigger PC gamer than you were then. I did more with less.

Well I don't know how big of a gamer you were, but you could pay more attention to reading before you post wielding such smugness. Clue : The middle of their lifetime

 

[twonunpackmule]

I had 2gb in 2006. That was more or less, enough. I think my GPU was the 7800 GTX 512mb edition. FEAR still ran like shit.

 

[tetris42]

show us you're right

Well, we have the obvious conflict of interest of Microsoft making the gaming OS for PCs, so resources devoted to Xbox got taken away from gaming on PC. If you look at all the titles MS was backing the late 90s and early 00s prior to Xbox, it was turning into an impressive roster. That all stopped (except for Flight Simulator). Instead, they dumped resources into making Xbox exclusives that couldn't be played on Windows of course. They didn't want you playing on your x86 box, they wanted you to buy another one instead that they could get an even better profit margin from while leaving their existing customer base out in the cold.

With them entering the market, that made it larger for consoles, which created a precedent for developers moving to console first and PC second. If they had kept pushing PC gaming the entire time (like they did prior to the Xbox), there's no telling how far ahead PC gaming could have come. Instead, we had shit ports with dumbed down gameplay for over a decade. Some examples of console leading the way are Deus Ex 2 and Supreme Commander 2. Both dumbed down sequels to PC exclusives created for console first. I'm sure there are many other examples.

Then of course we have the obvious with GFWL, which was very user hostile and functioned poorly, then kicked to the curb without any recourse. If they handled the Xbox with that level of incompetence, it wouldn't have lasted 6 months. Again, resources diverted.

If you have any doubt as to their resource drain, the number of titles published by MS before / after Xbox really says it all. It was a complete reversal. I particularly liked Alan Wake. Originally for PC, it was bought by Microsoft as an Xbox exclusive. The only reason it came to PC years later was because the devs were die hard PC fans and pushed it through after the exclusivity deal had expired. They were up to their old tricks as late as 2014 with Sunset Overdrive (another Xbox exclusive)'s devs stating they would love to to bring it to PC, but couldn't because of Microsoft. So, in other words, Microsoft paid to keep titles OFF the PC. Explain to me how that one benefits PC gaming.

Now granted, they've done an about face on exclusives since then, which I completely approve of, but holy shit, it only took them 15 years.


TLDR: Microsoft axed their PC gaming department to make Xbox exclusives and paid developers to keep titles off the PC.

 

[tetris42]

The original Xbox used an x86 CPU. It was a custom Intel Coppermine, also known as the Pentium III.

I also disagree with your assertion that consoles dragged PC down. At the time of its release the Xbox 360 was overall more powerful than PC hardware. The Xenos GPU was based on ATi's R520 which had just released for desktops months earlier. It had a slightly lower clock speed, but similar capabilities. NVIDIA Tesla and the venerable 8800GTX wasn't released until a year later. The PowerPC processor was a triple core unit while everyone on PC were still using single core. Clocked at 3.2 GHz, nonetheless. Intel's first dual core CPU for desktop didn't arrive until a year later, and they were clocked around 2 GHz.

What I will agree on is the life cycle of the 7th generation having a negative impact on PC releases.

Few things:

-The original Xbox most definitely did hold back PC gaming. Deus Ex: Invisible war was a good example of this. All the levels are smaller in that because the Xbox literally didn't have enough RAM compared to what Deus Ex original had to work with on the PC.

-I agree the Xbox 360 was pretty top of the line when it came out, though it didn't do the PC favors down the line.

-Almost any PC game during that time that has
1. A zoomed in FOV
2. Unmappable controls
3. Inability to use the mouse for menus
4. Mouse acceleration
5. Chunky-ass HUDs designed for gamepads
6. Elimination of private servers for multiplayer games

Can be thanked to Xbox.

But one has to admit that we would not be seeing as many game releases on the PC if it were not for Microsoft's entry into the console market

This is the Kool Aid talking. Microsoft published more games for the PC PRIOR to the Xbox I want to say than the entirety of the Xbox + Xbox 360's entire lifespan. They held PC gaming back substantially. If Microsoft never made the Xbox and continued making games for Windows, we would have seen MORE titles come out PC, god knows how far ahead it would be today. In other words, imagine if all the resources that went into Xbox, went into PC gaming.

On the plus side, maybe it was a mixed blessing since Steam basically stole their lunch from neglecting the platform.

 

[Master_shake_]

i guess the good news is Gabe Newell wouldn't be a billionaire today if microsoft hadn't made a console.

and we wouldn't have massive libraries of games some of which are sitting at zero minutes.

 

[TheBuzzer]

there will be less game developer companies if consoles were not around. so there will be less overall games.

However might be good and bad in which that less crappy games but also less great games.

 

[dgz]

List the positive effects of the Xbox on the world ?

Many dudes and their bros finally got some game

 

[Etherton]

I could go on for days but its really not worth it.