10 Amazing Hidden Console Details You Didn't Know

4. The Xbox's Apollo Echoes

When Microsoft launched their inaugural console, the Xbox, in 2001, the novel hardware presented many mysteries.

Was such a technical behemoth entirely necessary to run ports of Spider Solitaire and Minesweeper? Had Andre the Giant designed the chunky controller which required a handspan as wide as the Amazon? What eldritch horrors would be unleashed by breaking into said controller's central orb of doom? And just what were those echoey whispers haunting players who idled on the system's dashboard?

We actually - eventually - got an answer to that last question. It wasn't the tormented screams of souls trying to escape the orb, but in fact, according to Director of Xbox Live Programming Larry Hryb, audio from NASA's Apollo transmissions. The archival clips were adjusted to give them that otherworldly, interstellar sound - perfect for the console's Alien-esque BIOS. But also, very creepy.

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Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.