Mad modders recreate exotic 25-year-old Xbox prototype with a solid block of metal — modern $6,000 makeover combines real Xbox hardware with an HDMI upgrade

Microsoft released the original Xbox back in 2001, a whole year after Sony debuted the PS2, but what we saw at launch was a very different console from what was first showcased. The initial design was starkly different—a metal monolith built literally in the shape of an “X”—and served only as a proof-of-concept. It was unique, expensive, and most importantly, unlike a PC, but it never left the prototype stage. That was until now, as Macho Nacho Productions has just brought back the console in an…