The Xbox One is coming up on its third birthday. And though thousands have bought and used the gaming console, one of the most interesting stories about the console has just come out.
One man told Business Insider recently that back in March 2013, he ordered a laptop from Microsoft. Instead of receiving his laptop, this man received a prototype of the Xbox One. The console came two months before Microsoft even announced that it would be releasing the Xbox One.
Here’s how this whole situation went down.
25-year-old Jia Li, from Miami, ordered a new laptop from the Microsoft Store website. When the packaged showed up at his door, however, he noticed the box had security tape on it. “So I was wondering, ‘What is that?’ I opened it, and it’s something I’ve never seen before,” he said.
According to Li, the console had a zebra pattern on it and was called Kryptos at the time. The package didn’t include any controllers but did have international plugins.
So, if Microsoft had so many ways to hide this prototype, how does it end up in the hands of a 25-year-old who ordered a laptop? Business Insider has some theories.
In an attempt to throw off Microsoft’s own employees, the beta versions of the Xbox One were stored in the open, in a less-than-secure part of a Microsoft shipping facility. And that’s how one accidentally got shipped to Li in place of the laptop he’d ordered, which would’ve shipped from the same facility.
Maybe the wrong shipping label got put on a box with an Xbox One prototype in it. Maybe it was a computer error that switched his laptop order for an Xbox One prototype. Maybe it was something else entirely! Either way, off one went.
As is also pointed out, the Xbox 360 was also accidentally leaked prior to its release. This seems almost commonplace for any big-time tech release.
After realizing he had Microsoft’s secret console, Li ended up calling the company. As a reward for his honesty, Li ended up getting a new Xbox 360 and his laptop.
The biggest question here: How come whenever I get the wrong package it’s something lame and not the prototype for a gaming console?
