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Out of all the possibilities that Microsoft and Xbox would have considered before the launch of the Xbox Series X, battling a bizarre trend involving vape smoke was probably not on the list.
Soon after the launch of the much-anticipated consoles, several videos of the Xbox Series X releasing a cloud of smoke from the air vents went viral.
However, these videos were quickly debunked as fake after eagle-eyed fans spotted the smoke going inwards, which wouldn't be the case if the Xbox was blowing out smoke.
In response to this, Xbox recently posted a tweet urging fans to not blow vape smoke into their new consoles, which is most likely the source of the smoke in the videos.
Microsoft urges fans to now blow vape smoke into their Xbox Series X
Given the time that Xbox has spent crafting each little detail and integrating new technology into the next-gen consoles, it is highly unlikely that the console would be equivalent to a small active volcano or a miniature steam engine.
This is why the videos of smoke billowing from the console were suspect from the start, and vape smoke was identified as the culprit. Reactions to Xbox's tweet have been equally hilarious, with many fans in awe of the sequence of events that has unfolded after the console's launch.
The original tweet was punctuated by another fitting response from Xbox with a nice little plug for their other non-vape related products.
While this isn't necessarily how Microsoft projected the Xbox to receive publicity, a meme in 2020 is about the most assured form of publicity there is.
The Xbox bellowing steam from the vents will certainly go down in console history as one of the most bizarre launch-day occurrences.
