We built the $150 Xbox 360 made of Lego-like Mega bricks

theverge.com:

By Sean Hollister, a senior editor and founding member of The Verge who covers gadgets, games, and toys. He spent 15 years editing the likes of CNET, Gizmodo, and Engadget.

Have I mentioned recently that I have the best job in the world? This week, I spent three and a half hours building an Xbox 360 out of Mega Bloks, the Lego-like bricks produced by Mattel.

In September, we brought you word that Target would exclusively sell a brick-built $150 Xbox 360 replica, complete with a gamepad, internal Easter eggs, and a “copy” of Halo 3.

Now, ahead of an October 8th debut, I’ve built the thing, snapped some hasty photos, and shot a little basic video:

It’s a slick set that absolutely captures the essence of the console — even if it might not live up to The Lego Group’s exacting standards when it comes to build quality.

Mattel starts you off with an appetizer — the Xbox 360 Wireless Gamepad — and it perfectly illustrates what the entire build is like.

Pros: Mattel nails the overall profile, turns the iconic guide button, joysticks, and (terrible) D-pad into perfect-match custom parts, and lights it up with a button-battery powered light brick that glows for eight seconds after you tap the guide button.

The joysticks have soft, flexible rubber stems that let you move them around, too. Every part with letters is printed — unlike many Lego sets, there’s not a single sticker in the entire box.

I also love that the controller “doesn’t have power” when you remove its battery because that’s where the light brick is installed! Each trigger and bumper is printed, the sync button is printed, the charge-and-play port is printed, and there’s even a printed headset jack on the bottom.

Cons: The printing quality is pretty hit-and-miss.