Early evening, March 2000.

March 2000.

In a suite at the five-star Hemphill Hotel in London, Jay Allard, heaves a heavy

PC out of a freight case and onto the table. But this is no everyday Tower PC.

It's one of just four prototype X-boxes

and fashioned from reflective aluminum to resemble a giant X.

Allard rubs his shaved head and pauses to admire the prototype.

He's an extreme sports fanatic and famed within Microsoft for convincing

co-founder and chairman Bill Gates to embrace the internet.

Three weeks ago, the project cod named Xbox was just an idea,

an idea that will cost Microsoft a billion dollars.

But tomorrow it goes public with coordinated announcements in California, Tokyo, and London,

and it's down to Allard to ensure its European unveiling goes without a hitch. He connects the Xbox to a TV and then

plugs its power supply into the wall socket. The Microsoft PR man helping Allard practice tomorrow's announcement, checks his notes and looks up expectantly at Allard.

Okay, Jay, from where you're left off?

Allard stands.

We don't have the real thing here today,

but we do have this to show you how amazing it's going to be.

The PR man interjects.

That's when you pull away the sheet covering the Xbox and TV.

We'll have someone nearby to take the sheet from you.

Gotcha.

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