Perhaps tired of waiting for Microsoft to release the Xbox portable gaming console, modder Redherring32 decided to take matters into his own hands. He managed to assemble a complete portable device using the internal components of the original Xbox. The enthusiast described the entire process in a series of publications on his account on the social network X.
Image source: Redherring32/X
Note that this is not some kind of software emulation or homemade portable computer, but a real original Xbox, just in a non-standard design. To make this device, the modder needed certain hardware skills, an Xbox console motherboard, and special circuit boards. The appearance of the device is consistent with what Microsoft could have released if it planned to sell portable Xboxes.
«I built a portable Xbox. This is not a portable PC, this is not an emulation, this is a real motherboard from the original Xbox. It has a 9″ 480p display, pure digital video/audio, 100W USB-C for charging and playback, and I’m currently working on adding Wi-Fi 6 for Xbox Live wireless operation.” Redherring32 said in a statement.
It is known that the device is powered by a lithium-ion battery, but its capacity is not specified. At the same time, the design provides all the usual controls, making it quite convenient to interact with the device. According to the modder, he had to cut down the original Xbox motherboard, as well as design several circuit boards almost from scratch, which took more than four months.
«I had to take a deep dive into cutting down the Xbox motherboard from scratch, a task that took me just over four months. No one has tried this before,” the modder wrote in one message. He also added that the device was created thanks to 12 different “fully customized” circuit boards that he designed himself.
Note that the head of the Xbox division, Phil Spencer, has been hinting at the desire to release a portable Xbox for several years. So last June, he mentioned portable consoles such as the Steam Deck and ROG Ally, praising them. “I think we should have a portable computer too,” Spencer told IGN.