Microsoft Unveils ‘Game of Thrones’-Inspired Xbox One

Three gamers in France will win this console that barely looks related to HBO fantasy hit

Before Microsoft switches over to its newer, sleeker Xbox One S, it’s giving the original big black box one last hurrah with a special sweepstakes in France. Three people who enter will win an Xbox One with a design inspired by “Game of Thrones,” although how exactly it’s inspired by the show is unclear.

The side of the box looks like the show’s title card, but there’s no noticeable images that actually link to Westeros lore or the imagery of the series beyond the animal sigils of the major houses circling the logo. Protruding from the box is a big, curvy basket handle that’s clearly meant to resemble the astrolabe sun that appears in the show’s opening credits, but what’s the functional purpose of having that? Is it a handle, or is it just a cumbersome addition to an already bulky console?

Also, if the renderings in the video above are any indication, the handles don’t even have the detail of the astrolabe in the opener. If you look closely at the astrolabe when the camera passes over, it shows an engraving depicting the Baratheon Rebellion through the sigils of each house. First we see the Targaryen dragon watching over the destruction of Valyria before being shown the Baratheon stag leading the Lannister lion and Stark direwolf into battle against the Targaryens. Finally, just before the title card is shown, we see all the sigil animals bowing before the Baratheon stag, signaling Robert’s rise to power.

Perhaps if there had been more attention to detail, this “Game of Thrones” console might have been a really cool tie-in. Instead, it just feels like a generic fantasy console overlay with the name of the most popular show on TV today slapped across it. Still, if you disagree and would love to have this in your living room, you can try entering at Xbox France’s Twitter, Instagram and Facebook pages.

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