Man orders laptop and gets an Xbox One instead - two months before it was even announced

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Here's a new twist on an old riddle for you: If a console leaks and no one reports it, does it make a sound? Actually, you can just ask Miami resident Jia Li. See, back in 2013, Li ordered a laptop from Microsoft's website and received a prototype Xbox One instead - two months before the console was even announced.

Li's version of the console was covered in zig-zag patterns, came with no Kinect or controller, and displayed the word "Kryptos" when plugged into a television. Business Insider reports that the error was due to Microsoft trying to contain leaks by hiding its then-upcoming system out in the open. Only the strategy worked too well, and apparently no one thought twice about packing up and shipping off a top-secret device.

Less than a month later, Li and Microsoft worked the situation out, with the prototype Xbox One returning to Microsoft and Li receiving the laptop he'd ordered, plus an Xbox 360 and Kinect for his trouble. The world was none the wiser. Well, until now.

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Sam Prell
Sam Prell
Former News Editor

Sam is a former News Editor here at GamesRadar+. His expert words have appeared on many of the web's well-known gaming sites, including Joystiq, Penny Arcade, Destructoid, and G4 Media, among others. Sam has a serious soft spot for MOBAs, MMOs, and emo music. Forever a farm boy, forever a '90s kid.