Description
One of the Most Unique Zephyr XDKs
This is a typical Zephyr XDK from the hardware side — but what makes this console truly unique is it history — it’s the unmistakable writing all over the shell, giving it a look like no other Zephyr out there.
The story on how I got this is is
It came from a bulk buy — a pallet of over 200 consoles. I wasn’t expecting to find any dev kits, but I lucked out and ended up with around 20. This one immediately stood out.
It originally came from the offices of Nuts magazine — the infamous British lads’ mag that ran from 2004 to 2014, packed with “girls, gadgets, footy, and laughs.” From what I can gather, they likely used this dev kit to review games for upcoming articles.
The console is covered in handwritten messages and notes — from warnings to insults — and even a faded sticker that reads:
“Dear thief, there’s no point nicking this. As you can see, it’s out of shape. This is not a regular Xbox — you can’t play normal games on it. So please keep your robbing hands (cant read this part)Ta.”
It likely died of GPU failure (a common fate for Zephyrs with gpus that are not fixed ),
Then it seems a group added the own thoughts to the console and a final FU xbox lol
Across the shell, written in pen, are phrases like:
• “RIP”
• “Shit Box”
• “Get a PS3 lads”
and when it was to be recycled or returned to Microsoft not sure which (most likey it was ment to be returned but it never happened) the hard drive was forcefully removed — tearing off the SATA and DVD power connectors in the process.
Despite the damage, I restored it and brought it back to full working order. I considered adding a sidecar to complete it, but ultimately decided to leave it just as I found it — because the story it tells is far more valuable than the hardware itself.
If anyone out there used to work at Nuts and remembers this exact console — it’s impossible to miss — I’d genuinely love to hear from you.
if you would like to read a more detailed info on the spec click here
