Welcome to 30 Ridiculous Retro Rumors, a brand new series that will run daily between November 26 and December 25, 2015. This is a series where we debunk some of the craziest rumors and predictions of all time. Today we're taking a look at the Xbox 360's hard drive. While this may sound like a boring, rumor, we guarantee Electronic Gaming Monthly's Quartermann will leave you scratching your head. See for yourself in the second episode of 30 Ridiculous Retro Rumors.


This is a real rumor taken directly from the October 2005 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly ...

Sometimes reality can be crushing. As much fun as it is to speculate about hardware innovations leading up to a big console reveal, the truth is often disappointing. This was certainly the case in 2005, when Quartermann posted this rumor suggesting that the Xbox 360's hard drive would double as a full-fledged portable entertainment device. With a screen and MP3 support, the EGM editor seemed convinced that you could watch movies and listen to music while on the go. This feature alone would have made the Xbox 360 the system to own in November.

Like everything else that comes out of Quartermann's keyboard, this rumor was too good to be true. As cool as it would have been, the Xbox 360 does not have a detachable iPod-like hard drive. Sure, it can be removed from the console, but it's not going to do you a lot of good when it's not plugged in. You can't hook it to your stereo or watch movies on the go. It doesn't even have a screen; it's just a run-of-the-mill propriety hard drive.

Of course, Microsoft did eventually come out with an iPod-like device that does this very thing, only it has nothing to do with the Xbox 360. Released in 2006, Zune was Microsoft's failed attempt at biting into a chunk of Apple's lucrative market share. Due to poor sales and increased competition from smart phones, Microsoft discontinued the Zune in 2012.

Even without the invent of Zune, this rumor was completely impractical. It's difficult enough bringing brand new hardware to market at an affordable price, so bundling a portable device with a screen and hard drive to the mix would have easily added at least $100 to the package. And it's not like Microsoft is going to doom their chances by forcing expensive and completely unnecessary hardware on gamers. I mean, besides the Kinect.