Would you pay for a “Design Lab” custom Xbox One S or Project Scorpio console?

2 min. read

Published on August 1, 2016

published on August 1, 2016

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The first 2TB Xbox One S are expected to ship to customers on tomorrow August 2nd, and Microsoft’s new gaming console is definitely a beauty. However, if you enjoyed the black coating of the previous generation model, the new Xbox One S will only be available in white as of now (well, unless you pre-order that custom-designed Gears of War 4 Limited Edition console).

While Microsoft has yet to reveal if it plans to sell non-white versions of the Xbox One S, it seems that some Xbox enthusiasts would like the company to allow customers to customize their console through the Xbox Design Lab. Reddit user Tastybread suggested the option yesterday and already received plenty of comments.

As a reminder, Microsoft introduced the Xbox Design Lab during its E3 2016 keynote: it’s a straightforward tool which allow customers to customize an Xbox One purchased from the Microsoft Store, with some eight million color combinations possible. We even used it to create our custom Xbox controller that we will give away as part of our rebranding to OnMSFT.com.

Overall, the comments on the Reddit thread are very interesting. It seems that some Xbox fans are definitely open to the idea of customizing their gaming console, but Microsoft would have to make it affordable for gamers. Others are saying that the limited edition consoles currently offer more value to fans, as some of these consoles actually feature pretty extensive customizations including custom system sounds.

As for Microsoft, the idea could well make business sense if custom gaming consoles could improve the average selling price of the Xbox One S. As of now, the cheapest Xbox One S with a 500GB hard drive sells for $299, which is pretty low when you remember that the launching price of the Xbox One was $500 (Kinect included) back in November 2013. Purchasing an Xbox Design Lab controller currently costs $79.99, which is 33% higher than standard controllers (an engraving option is also available for $9.99).

Do you think Microsoft should consider allowing customers to customize their Xbox One S if Xbox Design Lab controllers become a popular option for Xbox enthusiasts? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Radu Tyrsina

Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time). For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web. Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they're looking for.