Aha, the mysterious Project X, we meet again. Back in the summer of 1997, veteran programmer Jeff Minter (who wrote the Jaguar's key game, Tempest 2000) let slip on his homepage that he was helping out with an amazing interactive entertainment platform in development at VM Labs.

Minter claimed the technology - codenamed 'Project X' - was far more advanced than current consoles, and had enabled him to create some breathtaking demos. Further hints and rumours followed but it wasn't until the 1998 Electronic Entertainment Expo held in Atlanta in May, that VM Labs officially unveiled their Project X technology to the world.

Five months later, the company announced the product's true name: NUON. It's essentially a digital media centre as much as a console - in the same way that Sony hopes the Next Generation PlayStation will become THE home entertainment centre. In fact, has anyone mentioned NUON since the PlayStation 2 specs were released? Didn't think so...