An old Xbox 360 Dashboard could conceal your console’s Serial Number

I absolutely love this admission from behind the impenetrable iron curtain of Xbox 360 era Microsoft. It comes from Twitter user @Cullen who is (or was) an engineer working on the 360. The tweet speaks for itself but in the numerous replies he adds a few more details: this was only happening as late as 2010 and was implemented to identify folks leaking games and features who had signed a non-disclosure agreement.

As a fan of visualizers and mesmerizing animation, I think it’s just great that we potentially had our own unique display of rings alongside our customizable Avatars and Themes, and didn’t even know it. It’s this era of Xbox I miss the most, when ideas like streaming trivia game shows, the curated Summer of Arcade, and dedicated apps for self-identified women were happening all the time.

I look forward to more stories of clandestine engineering amid the 7th Console Generation seeping out over the coming years!