A designer’s journey from arrowheads to Xbox One

It’s 11:47 p.m. on a Thursday, and Carl Ledbetter is 29th in line to buy a new Xbox One.
Which is kind of funny, considering he designed it.
“How could I resist? You spend years working on something, so it’s pretty special to be there at the moment it’s launched into the world,” Ledbetter said. “It’s cool to be around other people who are as excited as I am.”
The Nov. 22 waiting-for-midnight launch line goes out the door and around the corner of Seattle’s University Village Microsoft Store. It’s freezing – verifiably so – and the crowd’s collective puffs of breath hang in the air like a foggy force field. A force field that smells vaguely of … Cool Ranch Doritos?
“They’re passing out gamer food — Doritos and Mountain Dew,” Ledbetter said.

The rest of the crowd is decked out in puffy coats, hats and scarves, but Ledbetter wears only a black T-shirt (adorned with a stylized 16/9 to represent the standard aspect ratio of HDTV), jeans, Adidas sneakers and a black A Bathing Ape hoodie (designed by Japanese DJ Nigo). Ledbetter’s hood provides a dome for his close-cropped, silver-sprinkled hair. His hands are thrust deep in his pockets.
“It feels like a ski lift line,” Ledbetter said, shuffling from one foot to the other to generate heat.
In a poetic coincidence, it was eight years ago to the day Ledbetter was waiting in line for the launch of Xbox 360. He and a handful of gaming devotees spent the night outside a local Fred Meyer, which only had 12 consoles to sell (luckily, he was number eight). The excitement and anticipation is similar, he said, as is the significance of each launch in gaming culture. Otherwise, much has changed.
Last time, Ledbetter was joined by a lone coworker. This time, he’s flanked by dozens of colleagues from the Xbox design team, many of whom are taking breaks from the cold, drinking hot toddies at a nearby pub. Eight years ago there was no such thing as pre-orders or midnight launches. It was also before Microsoft Stores, smartphones and tablets existed.
“It’s not the line it was eight years ago. There’s a heated tent, a DJ, they’re throwing out swag, there was a “Killer Instinct” tournament and everyone is posting updates to social media,” Ledbetter said. “That’s what’s so cool about all of this. That’s what makes it …”
He pauses for effect, assuming a deep announcer voice, “THE NEXT GENERATION.”

 ''You spend years working on something, so it’s pretty special to be there at the moment it’s launched into the world.''

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