A unique Xbox console changed hands on eBay for over 9,000 euros. The 19-year-old special edition in the unique Hello Kitty design was worth that much to a bidder despite its defect.
The first Xbox was released in late 2001 in the USA before becoming available in Japan and Europe a year later. In 2005, the Xbox 360 was released as a successor.
However, in the same year, a special edition of the original Xbox was released by Microsoft, which has now become a coveted collector’s item due to its design and low production numbers.
One of these special editions in the Hello Kitty design was recently sold on eBay for over 9,000 euros, even though the console can no longer be turned on and is therefore defective. Our colleagues at 3DJuegos.com also reported on this auction.
Defective Hello Kitty Xbox Worth Over 9,000 Euros
Which console is it? The Xbox that was auctioned is a special edition featuring a pink Hello Kitty design on the top. The console’s casing is made of transparent plastic, allowing a cloudy view inside the Xbox.
The console also includes a transparent controller and the game “Hello Kitty Mission Rescue.” The packaging was also specially designed for this Xbox and is completely pink with a matching Hello Kitty motif.
What makes the Xbox so valuable? The console from Microsoft was only sold in 2005 in Singapore and exclusively by a certain retailer. According to the seller’s description on eBay, only 550 units were produced.
If that wasn’t exclusive enough, the Hello Kitty Xbox could only be obtained if one was willing to buy a television that cost around 4,600 euros at that time.
Combined with the low number of units and the significant purchase barrier due to the expensive TV bundle, the Xbox was already a rarity 19 years ago and is for this reason very popular among collectors.
How did the sale go? Since the auction on eBay took place only a few days ago, the bidding war can be tracked in detail through the individual bids. The starting price was set by the seller at just under 1,400 euros.
Within the first two days, 2 remaining interested parties ended up outbidding each other. The auction was won by a person who was willing to pay almost 9,300 euros for the special edition of the Xbox.
Since the seller has repeatedly stated that the console is defective and cannot be turned on, one can only assume that the new owner is primarily interested in the console as a collector’s item and does not intend to actively play with it.
Console manufacturers repeatedly produce special editions of their devices. These are often produced in limited quantities and sometimes are not sold publicly, but given away or raffled off for certain occasions. A tinkerer has built an Xbox that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world: A tinkerer invested 1,500 euros and months of his life to create the strongest Xbox in the world – now he wants to sell it
