There are some pieces of gaming hardware that become much more than the machine sitting underneath the television.
They become part of gaming history.
And 25 years after Microsoft first entered the console wars with one very large black box and an equally massive controller, the original Xbox is getting rebuilt in a rather unexpected way.
Brick by brick.
Mattel Brick Shop is celebrating the 25th anniversary of Xbox with a massive new premium building set recreating Microsoft’s original console at full 1:1 scale.
And when we say massive, we mean it.
Coming in at 3,509 pieces, the set recreates both the original Xbox console and its wonderfully oversized controller, affectionately remembered by players as “The Duke.”
Yet this isn’t simply a giant brick-built Xbox destined to sit untouched on a shelf.
Mattel has packed the model with interactive elements, lights, sounds and hidden tributes to some of the games that helped define Microsoft’s earliest years in the console business.
Because you cannot celebrate the original Xbox without “Halo.”
Inside the console are three removable modules inspired by “Halo: Combat Evolved,” “The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind” and “Psychonauts.” Each contains its own miniature scene, and all three can be removed from the console and displayed individually.
There are even 12 NanoWorld figures included, allowing fans to recreate moments inspired by the three games.
But things get considerably more interesting once you pick up The Duke.
The brick-built controller actually acts as the key to activating the model’s interactive features. Pressing its buttons brings the hidden game scenes to life with lighting effects and corresponding music from the games.
And because apparently Mattel knows gamers far too well, there is even a secret button combination hidden inside the experience.
Enter it correctly and the Xbox activates an exclusive lighting sequence.
It is the kind of Easter egg that feels right at home in a building set celebrating gaming history.
The original Xbox launched in 2001 and marked Microsoft’s ambitious entrance into a console space already filled with established giants. But alongside that enormous controller came games and franchises that would help establish Xbox as one of gaming’s major platforms.
Twenty-five years later, it is rather difficult to imagine the gaming landscape without it.
And there is something fitting about turning that original machine into a building experience.
Gaming nostalgia has increasingly escaped the screen, becoming something fans can collect, display and physically interact with. For the generation that remembers booting up an original Xbox for the first time, this is essentially a chance to build a piece of their childhood — only now with thousands of bricks and considerably more patience.
The Mattel Brick Shop Xbox set is available for presale through select retailers worldwide, including Amazon, Best Buy and Mattel Creations.
So dust off those memories of LAN parties, “Halo” matches and that controller which somehow required your entire childhood hand to operate.
Xbox is turning 25.
And this time, some assembly is definitely required.