A pre-launch leaked Microsoft document from 2012 has revealed the company’s original plans for the Xbox One, dubbed Xbox 720 at the time.
The aforementioned document was initially leaked back in 2012, but was taken down back then “at the request of Covington & Burling LLP,” a major IP law firm that represents Microsoft. It has now resurfaced, and it’s interesting to see how the Xbox One turned out compared to the pre-launch plans for the console.
Back in 2012, Microsoft aimed to transform the console into an all-in-one entertainment device. The Xbox 720 was projected to be six times more powerful than its predecessor, the Xbox 360. Based on the original pricing strategy, Microsoft had aimed to sell the console for $299 at launch. T
he Xbox 720 was intended to function as a hub for all devices, enabling users to cast their phones and play mobile games on the TV. Full backwards compatibility with the Xbox 360 was originally part of the console’s hardware design. Microsoft’s plans also featured a portable VR headset named “Foral Lasa,” using 4G to play Xbox games on the go. Several of these ideas never came to fruition.
Interestingly, the original plan was for the Xbox One to only include 4GB of RAM, and the console maker was looking to offset the limited pool using the Cloud as an additional resource. This plan was also dropped, as it’s unlikely that the cloud infrastructure would have been able to handle it.
The Xbox One succeeded the Xbox 360 and served as the third console in the Xbox series. It was officially announced in May 2013 and saw its initial release in North America, parts of Europe, Australia, and South America in November 2013. Subsequent releases followed in Japan, China, and other European countries in September 2014. Microsoft named the console “Xbox One” in order to position it as an “all-in-one entertainment system.” Classified as an eighth-generation console, it primarily competed with Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Nintendo’s Wii U.
