eBay ALERT: 04-12-2012 Launch Team Edition!!

As of 2:56 a.m. EST there is a Launch Team Edition on eBay. $255.00 with 7 bids. The seller is "SeattleGoodWill". SEE HERE!

The Seller, "SeattleGoodWill" is the online version of the actual Good Will thrift store. That tells me that someone actually donated this Launch Team Edition to them. WOW! One of the rarest xbox consoles ever made and it shows up on the doorstep of a thrift store. I use to live in Seattle in '00 - '01 and visited that thrift store weekly. Hell, I even dumpster dived them for warm clothes in the winter...

I have not looked through the sellers other items for sale but a quick look on their front page will tell you that they're a good store for retro gamers.

I am not promoting them in any way, shape or form... I'm only pointing out that a freaking Launch Team Edition mades it's happy ass to a thrift store and is being sold (at the time of this writing) for ridiculously cheap. Only if I hadn't bought that Mountain Dew Edition last week, I would be bidding on this xbox myself!

After the end of auction, I will update you all with the final price.

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MY first mountain dew special edition!

On my way home with my very first Mountain Dew Special Edition Xbox!!

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Xbox Armour Prototype!

Developed in CAD & prototyped XBOX "Game Armour". Designed to protect XBOX gaming console in an extremely portable package.

Please refer to THIS SITE for more information.

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Composition and Inverses of Functions

I really don't know what all of this hoo-ha means, but a student at The University Of Georgia asks:
What is Function Composition? How can you prove a function is an inverse?

In his essay he writes:

Think of an assembly line. You are being brought a new Xbox. Your job is to place the Xbox jewel on the front of the machine. Then, you send to the next person to place the back on the machine. And then, on down the line until it is ready for purchasing by the consumers. If you think of these operations as functions, then you can imagine the composition of functions.

Read the rest of his paper HERE

I got a kick out of the fact that he referenced xbox and the manufacturing of xbox's in a college paper. I hope he got a good grade!

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Inside An Xbox Factory: Flextronics, Hungary

Obviously the original xbox is not being manufactured anymore, but for anyone who's interested here is a glimpse inside the Hungary Flextronics factory during the original Xbox's heyday.

Heres a quick historic overview of the original Xbox for anyone who has been living under a rock for the past 10 years….

Xbox was the first console to incorporate a hard disk drive, used primarily for storing game saves compressed in ZIP archives and content downloaded from Xbox Live. This eliminated the need for separate memory cards (although some older consoles, such as the TurboGrafx-CD, Sega CD and Sega Saturn had featured built-in battery backup memory prior to this). Most of the games also use the hard drive as a disk cache, for faster game loading times. Some games support "custom soundtracks", another unusual feature allowed by the hard drive. An Xbox owner can rip music from standard audio CDs to the hard drive and play their custom soundtrack, in addition to the original soundtrack of Xbox games that support the feature.

Original Xbox manufacturing stopped when Nvidia cease production of the GPU in August 2005, and in September of the same year Microsoft announced that they had lost Four Billion dollars selling the Xbox Console.

The Xbox will live on due to the huge homebrew and Linux scene that allows people to use the Xbox as a powerful media center amongst other things.

All in all its got to be a hardware and software hackers wet dream, a games console that runs on PC hardware.

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Xbox Hello Kitty Mission Rescue Edition

Units Available: 550
Retail Price: S$99 SGD with select Samsung TV purchase

The Hello Kitty Crystal Xbox was released with Sanrio in Singapore, to commemorate the release of Hello Kitty: Roller Rescue on the Xbox. The special edition console was translucent with a pink and orange Hello Kitty picture covering the X on top of the case. Included with the Hello Kitty Crystal console was a matching Crystal Controller S and a copy of Hello Kitty Mission Rescue.

Quote:

This is not a joke. The Hello Kitty Xbox is apparently so rare that it was only thought to be an April Fool's joke. Turns out it's very real. Limited to 500 (550) units, the console was available only to customers who purchased a US $5000 television at one specific retailer in Singapore. The console came with a Crystal colored Xbox controller and a copy of Hello Kitty Mission Rescue. If Hello Kitty is good enough for her own Dreamcast console, guess an Xbox one doesn't seem too far off. Hit the jump for the unboxing!

That's no sticker, but rather, that Xbox has been painted with Kitty-chan.

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Xbox Tony Hawk Underground 2 Edition

Units Available: 10
Retail Price: Not For Sale

The Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Special Edition Xbox was issued in October 2010 in conjunction with Activision and online skater magazine caughtinthecrossfire in the United Kingdom. This special edition console was only available as a winner's prize at skateboarding and gameplay competitions to commemorate and promote the release of Tony Hawk's Underground 2 on the Xbox. The artwork was airbrush painted by hand in an urban graffiti style with translucent matt lacquer finish. The artwork covered the top of the case and followed the X shape downwards on the corners of the Xbox. A very limited production run of 10 graffiti style units was commissioned and was issued "Not For Resale". Included with the THUG2 Special Edition console was a matching Crystal Controller S and a Tony Hawk autographed copy of Tony Hawk's Underground 2.

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Xbox Moutain Dew Edition

Units Available: 5000
Retail Price: $99.99 (in 2004)
eBay (loose) $120.00 - $150.00 (2012)
eBay (sealed In Original Box) $700.00 + (2012)

The Mountain Dew Limited Edition Xbox was only available through a Mountain Dew sweepstakes requiring loyal Dew-drinking Xbox fans to amass 550 points in order to "buy" the Limited Edition Xbox. The sweepstakes spanned 5 months – from April to August – in 2004. Production was limited to 5000 units. The price of this console if you wanted to buy it would go from 99.99 to 750.00. 750 would be for it still in the box not opened. Just to buy it used it would be around 100-150. There is only around 12-15 on the internet where you can buy them. Amazon has around 7-9 and Ebay has around 3-6. The Mountain Dew Limited Edition Xbox was neon-green colored and had a special jewel atop the Xbox that had the words "Limited Edition" and the Mt. Dew logo under the Xbox name. Included with the neon green console was one of two games: Project Gotham Racing 2 or Amped 2

This is a highly sought after console. Even though 5000 were made, collectors tend to sit on these and they never see the light of day. Avid xbox collectors as well as avid Mountain Dew collectors. At any given time you might be able to find 5 or 6 of these on eBay ranging in decent to excellent condition. These consoles go for roughly $120 all the way up to $700 PLUS (sealed). The very poor to poor condition consoles go for $90.00 - $100.00. In extremely rare cases... and I mean EXTREMELY rare... one of these will pop up on craigslist.

My suggestion, if you ever run across one, buy it! Already have 2 sitting there? So what.

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Xbox Dead Or Alive Ultimate Edition

Units Available: unknown
Retail Price: unknown

Similar to the Kasumi-Chan Edition with the exception of the words in the lower left corner on the top of the case, the color of the jewel and the "pillow". Some say "Dead Or Alive Online" and some say "Dead Or Alive Ultimate". Units available and Retail price are unknown due to the fact that it is undetermined how many of which console were made. However it does appear that the "Online" consoles have a silver jewel where as the "Ultimate" have a white jewel. Further investigation shows that the "Online" consoles came with a Kasumi Blue pillow and the "Ultimate" consoles came with a Kasumi Red Pillow.

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Xbox Kasumi Chan Edition

Units Available: 5000
Retail Price: ¥22'800

On March 25, 2004, a Kasumi-chan Blue Xbox console was released in Japan. The system was released simultaneously with Tecmo's fighting game, Dead or Alive Ultimate. The translucent blue case was based on the costume of Dead or Alives main character, Kasumi, and had "Dead or Alive Ultimate" written in white lettering in the lower left corner of the top of the case. Included with the translucent blue console was a matching Controller S, a DVD Playback Kit, an Xbox Live Starter Kit with a free one-year membership, a copy of Dead or Alive Ultimate, a copy of Digital Venus DVD, and a five-foot-long Kasumi body pillow.

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Xbox Halo 2 Edition (Canada)

Units Available: 5,000
Retail Price: $249

The Halo 2 blue console was released on the 18th of March 2005 to Canada and Asia only for approximately $249. the production is said to be limited to 5,000 however I do not know if this is 5,000 in total or 5,000 to Canada and 5,000 to Asia. The console is translucent blue in color similar to the Kasumi Xbox however the jewel badge differences for each continent. the Asian version has a black jewel with white text for the Xbox name whereas the Canadian version has a white badge with white text. Included with the console was a controller S matching in color, a Halo green headset and a copy of Halo 2.

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Xbox Halo 2 Edition (Asia)

Units Available: Unknown
Retail Price: $249

On March 18, 2005, an Ice Blue Halo 2 Limited Edition Xbox was released in Canada and Asia. The console was translucent blue and retailed for approximately $249. Included with the Ice Blue console was a matching Controller S, a special Halo green headset and a copy of Halo 2. The difference between the Asian and Canadian Halo 2 versions can be seen in the Xbox's jewel. The Asian version has a black jewel, while the Canadian version has a silver jewel. They were version 1.1 or 1.0

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Xbox Halo Combat Evolved Edition

Units Available: 200,000
Retail Price: $169 USD

On March 14, 2004, Microsoft released a special version of the Xbox in the United States, Australia and New Zealand. This version was translucent green and came with a copy of Halo: Combat Evolved and a matching translucent green Controller S. The console case featured the Halo logo and the words "Special Edition"; the controller had a jewel that had the Halo logo in place of the normal Xbox logo. The version of Halo that came with this bundle was identical to other versions of Halo, with the exception of a "NOT FOR RESALE" notice placed on the front of the game case.

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Xbox Crystal Edition

Units Available: 500-1200
Retail Price: €199/£139 (Mar 2004), €149/£99 (Oct 2004)

On March 14, 2004, the Crystal Limited Edition Xbox was released in Europe to celebrate the Xbox's European birthday. With a price tag of €199/£139, the Crystal Limited Edition came with a transparent console and two matching Crystal Controller S. It is unknown how many Crystal Limited Editions were produced, however; later bundles were released pairing a re-released Crystal Xbox with different Xbox games and Xbox Live subscriptions. The Crystal console was re-released on October 8, 2004 in a new bundle at the normal Xbox price of €149/£99. During summer of 2004 a special Crystal bundle was released to Zellers and Wal-Mart stores in Canada. The bundle included a crystal S Controller, and 2 games: Fable and Crimson Skies. There was a limit of 4 consoles per Zellers store.

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Xbox 50 Cent Pure White Edition

Units Available: 1
Retail Price: Not For Sale

Very sketchy details on this one. It was given away in a promotion in australis on "Channel V" (australian MTV type channel). It was signed by 50 Cent and given away with a copy of 50 Cent: Bullteproof, 50 Cent CDs and a 50 Cent poster. It is opaque white with a special white jewl badge that says XBOX as usual then just underneath and right hand aligned it says "Limited Edition" in a handwritten type font. The console also have the 50 Cent Bulletproof text on the top in gold. I do not know how many of these were produced if in fact it is even more than one.

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Xbox Pure White Edition

Units Available: 1000
Retail Price: ¥19,800 yen

On February 22, 2004, a Pure White Limited Xbox Console was released in Japan, to commemorate the console's two-year anniversary in that country. The system allowed purchasers to personalize their console with up to twenty letters (Japanese characters not allowed) engraved on the case. The words "Limited Edition 2004" were also carved into the jewel of the console, and into the exclusive Controller S (right below the Xbox name). The Pure White Limited Xbox was only available for purchase online at the Official Xbox Japan website between the dates of January 30 and February 6, 2004. Included with the Pure White console was a matching Controller S, a DVD Playback Kit, and an Xbox Live Starter Kit with a free one-year membership and voice communicator.

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Xbox Pepsi Hulk Edition

Units Available: 200
Retail Price: Not For Sale

Identical in color to the Mountain Dew Edition, the Hulk Xbox was a special promotional Xbox made to commemorate the release of the Universal Pictures movie "Hulk" in 2003 for the UK release. The console Featured a jewel on top with the promotional image of the Incredible Hulk's Eye and the Pepsi Logo. These Special editions were only available by having a winning Scratchcard when you Purchased a Popcorn and Pepsi meal in participating UK UCI multiplex cinemas. No other information about packaging is known.

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Xbox EA Xbox Live Thanks Edition

Units Available: 500 (not confirmed)
Retail Price: Not For Sale

The information on the Electronic Arts Xbox is hard to come by. I believe the console was given to members of the EA team as a present from Microsoft for their work on Xbox Live. It is a white console with EA branding in blue on the top right corner of the front of the console, the jewel badge is black with the normal xbox text in white but it also has the text "Xbox Live" below it in the Xbox Live style orange. The two white controller S it came with also had a special jewel badge, with the EA logo on it. I have been told that production was limited to 500 units but the rarity of this item makes me doubt that. It reportedly came with normal Xbox packaging, yet this is totally unconfirmed.



An unboxed EA Xbox Live Edition appeared on eBay around February 12th, 2009 and sold for just over $600

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Xbox European 1 Year Edition

Units Available: 20,000 Manufactured - 5,000 sold (Europe)
Retail Price: €229/£149

On May 2, 2003 a Translucent Green Limited Edition Xbox(rare) was released in Europe to celebrate Xbox's one-year European birthday. The console came with two matching Controller S and retailed for €229/£149. It had a limited munufacture of 20,000 units but only sold 5,000 units(in Europe). The styling of the Translucent Green Xbox is identical to Debug Units used in game development; of course, the retail versions lacked the words "Debug Kit" on the front of the case. The green Controller S was also sold separately. The Translucent Green Limited Edition Xbox was also released in Canada and came with one matching Controller S and two games, Crimson Skies and Project Gotham Racing 2.

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Xbox Panzer Dragoon Orta Edition

Units Available: 999
Retail Price: ¥35,800 JPY

On December 19, 2002, a Panzer Dragoon Orta Special Edition Xbox was released in Japan to commemorate the release of Panzer Dragoon Orta on the Xbox. The console's special features included a white case with the Panzer Dragoon Orta logo on the top in the lower left hand corner, as well as some artwork from Orta surrounding the Xbox jewel. Unit was only available to those who preordered on Nov 1, 2002, through Sega Direct. Included with the Special Edition console was a matching white Controller S, an Xbox Component A/V cable, an Xbox Component AV pack, a copy of Panzer Dragoon Orta with its soundtrack CD, and a dragon head necklace.

Some people have even tried to make their own. I feel that this perticular "replica" is pretty clever, however inaccurate:

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Xbox Skeleton Black Edition

Units Available: 50,000 planned - 10,000 sold
Retail Price: ¥35,800 JPY

In 2001, a Clear Black Limited Edition Xbox was released in Japan to commemorate the Xbox's Japanese release. Included with the Clear Black console was a matching Clear Black Controller S, an Xbox Component AV pack, and a key chain that had Bill Gates' signature and the console's serial number engraved in it.

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Xbox Debug Kit

Units Available: Unknown
Retail Price: Not For Sale

The debug and retail BIOSes do not differ much, and as a result hackers have been able to create hacked debug BIOSes which can be run on any retail Xbox. Thus, any Xbox can be converted into a Development Xbox. By further studying the debug BIOS, hackers have gained the ability to modify any Xbox BIOS in a way which allows them to load it from the internal hard disk, and then boot it 'on the fly'.

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Xbox Developement Kit (Final)

Units Available: Unknown
Retail Price: Not For Sale

The Xbox Development Kit (XDK) is a software development kit created by Microsoft used to write software for the Xbox gaming system. The XDK includes libraries, a compiler, and various tools used to create software for the Xbox. The XDK also includes a tool to record in-game footage, which has been widely used to create high-quality screenshots and trailers.

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Xbox Developement Kit Prototype (Black)

Units Available: unknown
Retail Price: Not for Sale

I do not know if this is just a color swatch mock up made by Microsoft, or if it was actually made and released to developers. This is the ONLY photo I could find for the black development kit. It has, until now, only been speculated to exist.

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Xbox Development Kit Prototype (Crystal)

Units Available: unknown
Retail Price: Not for Sale

I came across these just tonight. This appears to be extremely similar to the Dev Kits that we know and love. The first difference I saw was the jewel. It looks to be metalic green with an "X" logo as well as text that reads "Xbox". In some of the images it looks as if it has a wider than normal base attached to the bottom of the console. Also, it doesn't appear to be complete. It is unknown how many, if any at all, made it to the real world.

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Xbox Alpha I & Xbox Alpha II

Quoted from:
Hexigon
Next we have an Alpha Tower XBOX development system, which is basic looks like an ordinary PC. It's not at all and everything is highly custom. People in the past have tried to create one from scratch from "off-the-shelf" parts, of course without the custom BIOS and CPU it just wouldn't work. Yes, this one is also a beast!

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Xbox Partners Special Edition

Units Available: 14 (As Of 3/4/2012)
Retail Price: Not For Sale

The Xbox partners edition is a translucent green Xbox with a jewel that is silk screened with the message "Thanks for Partnering with Xbox" and signature from Bill Gates. This Xbox was given to hardware companies that produced components for the Xbox. This is the rarest Xbox and only 60 were ever made and only 14 remain today. There is only 4 known people who have this console on the internet showing proof.

The following photos are of a "Partners Edition" reportedly traded into a Gamestop where the employee who allowed the trade, in return, bought it.

QUOTE:
Don't know what you'd classify it as, some guy (defintiely without ties to MS) traded it in at the GameStop I used to work at. Needless to say I snatched it up.

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