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 talking about the Xbox. Would you believe me if I told you that Microsoft had plan to eliminate wires? Let Next Generation magazine lay out what all this means in today's episode of 30 Ridiculous Retro Rumors.


This is a real rumor taken directly from the February 2000 issue of Next Generation ...

As Electronic Gaming Monthly proclaimed that the Xbox had been canceled, Next Generation found itself going the complete opposite direction. Microsoft's first game console was not just alive and well, but using technology that would revolutionize wiring forever. In a rumor that even the magazine dubbed a "stunner," the Xbox will be completely wireless.

It would be easy to think they are talking about a wireless controller, but Next Generation seems to think Microsoft's console will go one step further. The idea, believe it or not, seems to be hooking the console up to the television without using the usual cords and wires. How will they accomplish this futuristic task? Unfortunately, the magazine doesn't elaborate. They just throw that in with the rest of the normally reliable news.

As cool as it sounds, the Xbox didn't go wireless. You still had to hook the console up with the typical cords, a reality we're still living with 15 years later. Not even the controllers are wireless, though that's something Microsoft would adopt five years later with the Xbox 360. Also, just for the sake of accuracy, the Xbox wasn't a "DVD-playing, web-surfing, game-playing super-console," since it never offered a web browser. Oh, and Quake III didn't make it to the original Xbox. Beyond that, Next Generation nailed it.