A limited edition original Xbox themed after Marvel’s 2003 Hulk film has been donated to a UK charity shop despite being worth thousands.
The British Heart Foundation is selling the console on eBay, where bids have so far risen to more than $2,300 despite the auction not ending until June 15, 2024. The BHF estimated it could bring upwards of $11,000 for the charity, which funds medical research of heart and circulatory diseases and aims to raise public awareness of these issues.
A collaboration between Xbox, the Hulk film, and Pepsi saw 50 of the consoles made to give away to winners of a competition. UK residents tasked with watching Hulk at the cinema, who purchased a Pepsi and popcorn meal deal, received a scratchcard which offered a chance of winning the bright green hardware.
Only 36 people actually won a console, and only around 20 of them are known to exist today, more than two decades later, according to the BHF. The Xbox bears resemblance to a limited edition Mountain Dew console released in the U.S., but as 5,000 of those were made, the Hulk version is much more rare.
The console was confirmed to be fully working by the BHF’s Paul Smith, who is thankfully an avid gamer and noticed the console was particularly unusual.
“We test all the electrical donations we receive, and this one really caught my eye,” he said. “I’m a games enthusiast myself but the rare green color combined with the Hulk and Pepsi logo really stood out. Whoever is lucky enough to snap this up will make their friends green with envy.”
If this incredibly rare piece of bizarre Xbox history isn’t enough to entice a bid out of fans, it even comes with five games: Tony Hawk’s Underground, Tony Hawk’s Underground 2, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie, and a French version of Bilbo the Hobbit.
Microsoft is still a fan of releasing ridiculous limited edition consoles via competitions 21 years later, as its current Xbox Series X and S consoles have received myriad wild and wacky colorways. These include designs based on Fallout, SpongeBob SquarePants, Bluey, and sticking to the Marvel theme, X-Men ’97.
On the weirder side comes a Final Fantasy 14 Xbox Series X that doesn’t actually work and a Dune: Part 2 special edition with a floating gamepad. Other Xbox Series X and S generation highlights include red and blue fluffy Sonic the Hedgehog gamepads, one made out of actual Jade, and even an edible controller.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
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