Quick Summary
IKEA and Xbox announced a collaboration during Gamescom in Germany for a range of furniture and furnishings to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the gaming giant's first console.
Starting at just £12, the collection is reasonably priced and better than expected.
I've seen a fair few launches in my decade or so of attending Gamescom in Germany, but never anything like the YXSTABY home furnishings collection from IKEA and Xbox.
Situated in a corner of the Xbox booth at the show, the mock living room was as popular as any game or gaming device. And, I'll admit, rightly so. The collaboration to celebrate Xbox's 25th anniversary could have turned out, well, a bit naff. But I actually came away wanting at least one of the items for my own gaming zone.
Funny enough, that was one of the cheapest items of the bunch – a green D-pad cushion at £12. But I was also impressed by many of the other items too.
The second D-pad is a mirrored platter that's designed around the equivalent on the Xbox Elite 2 controller. It looked equally at home on a table as it did hanging on the wall.
One of the priciest items in the range is a gaming lounge chair, on which the cushion was sat, but unfortunately I didn't get to try it myself. It seemed comfortable enough, but my attention was rather drawn to the gaming thumbstick stool instead.
Available in black or green (the version on the Xbox stand), it's actually quite small, and a bit plasticky. However, it also has a rocking bottom to emulate the way a real thumbstick swivels on a controller. This a neat addition, although I'm not entirely sure how long you'd want to sit on one.
It looks good though. And as it's compact it'd happily sit in the corner of a room, ready to be employed when a gaming guest comes round. And at £35, it's reasonably priced, too.
As for the rest of the collection – there are nine pieces in total – it's largely anonymous. The green accents run through most of them to continue the theme, but apart from that they are standard furniture fare. Yes, you do get the ability to hide cables, but you can do that with many alternatives, including other items from IKEA.
So, for me it's the cushion and platter – which cost a total of just £24. And on this evidence I'll be placing my order when I get back, that's for sure.
All of the YXSTABY collection will be available online and in stores from October "while stocks last". Just save a cushion or two for me.
Now I'd better go look at some games while at Gamescom, even though my trip might have been justified already.
