When Xbox first announced that they were making a handheld, I had high hopes. I know I spend a lot of time looking at modded consoles and quirky handhelds, but I thought that we might get something that looked as though it paid homage to the Xbox or the Xbox 360 in some way. Hey, call me a dreamer, but that's what I had in my mind.
The Rog Xbox Ally X looks very much like every other Steam Deck copycat on the market, and it's essentially just a handheld PC. I grew up in the days where handhelds had their own games like the Game Gear, the GBA, and the PSP. They were dedicated handhelds with their own operating systems, their own gubbins, and their own cartridges. It's why I connect with the Nintendo Switch so much because it's exactly the format I was introduced to as a child.
Modder James Channel clearly feels the same way and has taken the challenge of making an Xbox handheld into his own hands. Ok, it does look a little like a power tool once the disc is spinning on the front, but I'll get to that in a minute. James is a bit of an expert when it comes to taking broken things and repurposing them into wacky inventions, and his latest concoction is, quite frankly (or frankensteinly) amazing.
古の名機「初代Xbox」をポータブルゲーム幾に改造するビルダーが遂に登場!!
— 吉野@連邦(renpou.com) (@yoshinokentarou) September 17, 2025
「初代Xbox」は設計上ポータブルゲーム機化はむずかしいと言われ続ていたが、本作はまさかの「鉄騎」のコントローラーまで繋がるように設計されているンだッッ!!https://t.co/Gwg6LJlpgL pic.twitter.com/bq5cQ2lzw3
What I love the most about this handheld is that it actually uses original Xbox discs rather than relying on uploading ROMs to the system. Taking an old Xbox that's seen better days, he removed the DVD drive and repaired the necessary faults to make it a key feature of the handheld, pairing it with (and this is the bit that makes my mind explode) an old iPod dock that has an LCD screen.
And yes, it can run on battery power too, which is insane considering that the original Xbox coveted your electricity supply more than a gang of angry Pikachus. James shows the console running without the power supply connected for a total of 9 minutes and 40 seconds before it runs out of juice, which is an impressive feat.
Ok, this thing is never going to win any design awards, largely down to the fact that it's covered in duct tape and is made from an iPod dock, not to mention the fact that the spinning disc on the front could probably take your finger off, but I love the fact that you can stick your existing discs onto this frankenhandheld and play your games without any messing around. It's the same reason why I want an N64 handheld like the one Palmer Luckey told us about.
All in all, it's a fun project that's put a smile on my face, so it's done its job. Let's hope James keeps going back to the drawing board and comes up with something that's a little more stable and with a lot less duct tape! Check out the full video below!
