After posting about the Officially licensed Xbox Merchandise lineup some time ago, Numskull was so kind to send us a few items for review. With packages arriving at the house on a daily basis for my wife and the kids, it’s a nice change of pace to also get something delivered for myself, for once. After quickly taking everything out of the box, I couldn’t wait to give these items a closer inspection.
Official Xbox Merchandise – Wallet | £14.99/€16.99
Let’s start with the one that will have to hold the money you’ll have left after spending it all on officially licensed Xbox merch: the wallet. This came as a blessing because my old leather wallet was getting rather worn out. What better container for your hard-earned “green” than this green Xbox branded wallet? Let’s take a closer look:
Visually, I love the colours used and all the nice spot-on touches, like the holey grid resembling the top of the Xbox Series X console. This obviously isn’t a wallet you’ll buy if you’re not a fan of the Xbox branding but if you are: it’s bound to get noticed whether you like it or not.
Practically, there are plenty of slots to put your credit cards or loyalty cards, I’d just advise to not overdo it as the wallet will be hard to fold closed. This is common sense, but I did notice I had to scale down on the amount of things I usually carry in my wallet to keep it comfortable. (but it’s not a bad thing to clean up the unneeded clutter every now and then). There’s also the two folds to keep your bills in, with a separator in between: about what you’d expect. I guess the only real complaint I have is the coin pouch: it’s a weird design choice to put this behind the card slots on the right and will make it so carrying anything more than the amount needed to buy a loaf of bread will feel like it’s pushing the limits of the wallet.
Price Vs Quality, this ranks pretty well. €16.99 is definitely a price I’d pay for this, with some custom branding that says to people “I play games and I’m proud of it” . The materials used are solid, if anything there is a bit too much stitching making it hard to close when you keep to many things inside, but it definitely feels sturdy.
Official Xbox Gaming Locker | £24.99/€29.99
Next, we’ll be looking at the Gaming Locker, a useful storage device for up to four controllers, a headset and up to 10 Xbox game cases. In my house, most of the storage in cupboards is already claimed by the kids, so I was happy to have one all to myself, however small. And this did look might fine in the pictures I had seen… Let’s see how the real-life item lives up to the expectations:
Visually, I’m an even bigger fan than I thought I would be. I found the perfect location for it next to my Xbox Series X and they’re about comparable in size, which makes it look aesthetically pleasing. It would have been cool if the head-part that holds the headset could light up, but that’s sadly not the case. It did fit my HyperX Assassin’s Creed Valhalla headset nicely. The controllers look nice on the side and the double locker doors with the Xbox logo really draw the attention in a good way.
Practically, I like how it holds up to four Xbox controllers (that’s exactly the amount I own). It’s important to note that a PS5 controller will not fit in the included holders though, these are really made to fit Xbox One or Xbox Series X|S controllers. When you open the doors, you can easily slot in up to ten Xbox games (pick wisely!) and there is a small drawer below that I’m personally using to hold an external drive full of games (so in a way, this locker is currently holding about 80 games instead of 10)
Assembly was easy. You just had to fit all the parts together and you only need a few screws: to screw in the headset module (which you could leave out if you don’t think you’ll use it) and to screw in the doors. It’s pretty self-explanatory but I did think it was an odd decision not to include a simple manual. If you need help assembling it, here’s a video:
Price Vs Quality, this is about what you would expect for something that costs less than ~€30 or less. I was scared it would be too flimsy when I was holding all the separate pieces in my hand after unboxing. But when I assembled the entire thing, it was considerably more sturdy. The doors have a nice magnetic closing system, but they do look cheap because you can see the support lines on the inside. The drawer is just plastic on plastic, so don’t expect to get a nice feel when opening or closing it. The plastic used for the headset rest is also pretty thin and wobbly, if you’re an adult that takes care of your stuff, this will be just fine. Just keep it away from curious kids who could break it.
If I saw this in a store as I was walking by it, I’d have probably decided not to get it. But seeing it fit into my own gaming set-up, I kind of fell in love and it really gives my own little corner in the living room more of a gamer-vibe.
Official Halo USB C LED Charge Cable | £9.99/€12.99
Last in the list today is the Halo-branded USB to USB-C charging cable with green LED lights. It looks pretty cool in the pictures, but if you’ll be a fan of this will depend a lot on where you use it. Let’s plug it in!
Visually, this has an immediate appeal to it and is sure to draw the attention in a dark environment. The green lights aren’t on permanently but they pulse, which depending on your tastes could be pro or a con. I certainly liked how it looked when I plugged it in and tested it in the dark, I’m just not sure if I want the green lights fighting for my attention all of the time, especially when gaming. Normally I would also use a USB-C charging cable for my phone, but I can’t really see me using it in the bedroom as it would keep me up. Note: the lights start at the USB end and travel to the USB-C end through an optic wire, so it will be brighter towards the base. Still looks cool though. Oh, and let’s not forget about the cool Halo design on the USB ports.
Practically, it does its job: it charges whatever needs charging, but I wouldn’t use it every day to play games with my controller connected to the console. The 1.5 meter length is simply too short for that purpose.
Price Vs Quality, I guess is alright. I don’t often buy charging cables as whatever device needs them usually comes with one included. While you could definitely get a cheaper model, you’re probably getting this particular one for the nifty lights or because you’re a diehard Halo fan.
Would I get it? Depends. I don’t think I’d consider buying one myself as I’m more looking for practical items and sometimes you want a dark room to stay dark and this will make it look like a disco. It’s pretty cool to show off when someone comes over though, but it probably ends up in the drawer afterwards.
Do you have any cool gaming-related merch?
Hit me up on Twitter and show them off, I’d love to see it ❤️
