Review: American Girl + Xbox Gaming Set

I don’t quite remember when my fascination with miniature video game console replicas began.

I do, however, remember when my interest was kicked up several notches. Back in 2017, Game Dave took a close look at what a gachapon (capsule) machine PlayStation from Japan brought to the table:

There were just two problems with getting into this. One is the cost — these things command a premium on eBay. The other was that these were foreign versions of the consoles — nothing wrong with that, but in cases like the Nintendo Famicom and Super Famicom, I think I’d rather have the Nintendo Entertainment System and Super NES I knew and loved, at least to start. For what it’s worth, the SEGA Mega Drive versions hit somewhere in the middle — same form factor, slightly different detailing.

Suffice to say that I was over the moon to discover earlier this year that such a thing does exist here in North America, at least for one console. Or rather, one console brand.

It was only after I discovered that Mattel’s American Girl brand was releasing an “Xbox Gaming Set” based around the Xbox Series X that I also learned that there had previously been a similar set released in 2018 around the Xbox One S, and it was discontinued in 2020. Maybe I’ll still be able to get one someday… or at least some of it, since carving up these sets and selling them piecemeal seems to be the thing to do on eBay.

But I digress; we’re not here to talk about the Xbox One S, we’re here to talk about the Xbox Series X, which — at least, in my eyes — is the centerpiece of the new American Girl + Xbox Gaming Set.

While not quite as small as the PlayStation Game Dave shows off above, the scale is still somewhat comparable, if we’re to go by the size of the discs for each. That said, while the gashapon toys are meant to be stand-alone, the American Girl toys are meant to, well, go with American Girl dolls. Makes sense.

But, that doesn’t mean they aren’t enjoyable on their own. Or with other toys of appreciable scale. To help demonstrate, I’ve used several of the items with my recently reviewed Banjo and Kazooie plush toys, as well as my Ori and Ku plush toys from Game Legends, which only seemed appropriate for reasons that will soon be made clear.

First up, we have the star of the show: the miniature Xbox Series X.

“Don’t talk to me or my son ever again.”

Standing at around one-third the height of an actual Xbox Series X, this version is a faithful recreation of the actual console. Even the back mostly follows the design of its real life big brother, albeit with some slight embellishments which help this replica to go the extra mile: in addition to a molded American Girl logo, there’s a battery compartment and power switch.

Once you’ve pulled the tag from the battery compartment and switched the power on, pressing the Xbox power button on the front of the console will cause the very same chime sound to emanate, complete with the same blinking of lights the Xbox Series X makes when it starts up. Press the sync button, and it will begin playing music from one of the two game discs included; press it again to switch to the other game. You can actually take either of the discs and slide them into the disc slot, and remove it with the eject button above the slot. Finally, the toy system will power down if left alone for a short period of time, or by pressing the power button on the front again (just don’t forget to flip the switch on the back to the off position when not in use!).

Here’s a quick demonstration of it in action:

Next up, there’s the Xbox Wireless Headset:

“You’re breaking up, Honey Bear, I need you to repeat that last transmission, over!” “Guh-HUH!”

The headset is made of a sturdy, yet more flexible plastic than the Xbox, and presents a snug (if not tight) fit around the head of whatever doll, plush, or figure can wear it. The microphone is a little more of a softer, gummier plastic, and doesn’t fold up into the headpiece like the real deal.

Then we have all this other fun included:

Comes with everything you see here.

From left to right, top to bottom, there is: an actual one-month subscription to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, a water bottle with working snap-shut lid, a box of generic fruit candy, a sheet of stickers for customizing the Xbox Series X, two Xbox Series X controllers, an attachment bracket for connecting the included smart phone to one of the controllers, a real-working miniature fidget spinner in Xbox green, my Canadian quarter for size comparison (it’s the same size as an American quarter), miniature disc cases for Ori and the Will of the Wisps and the made-up “Camp Quest” (both of which have music that plays from the mini console), a mini smart phone, three interchangeable screens for the phone (including an Ori screen), a mini pretend Xbox Game Pass Ultimate card, and miniature discs for Ori and “Camp Quest.”

That’s not even all of it, but it’s the majority, so let’s go over some of it in more detail.

“I’m glad Kazooie’s not here right now, she loves to throw these!”

Two matching controllers come with the set, and they’re static pieces of solid plastic — no moving analog sticks or clicking buttons or anything. As you can see, they’re intricately detailed, and replicate an actual Xbox Series X controller almost perfectly, right down to the battery cover on the back.

Each one has two rotating “cuffs” on either side, which are handy for American Girl dolls to place their fingers through for a better grip. For my purposes, they made a handy point to use to attach some clear elastic bands, allowing me to strap them into Banjo’s hands in the pic above (as well as other accessories for him and his friends in further pictures here).

They just keep making phones smaller and smaller these days.

The small American Girl-branded phone also comes with three interchangeable screens — thin pieces of somewhat-sturdy (don’t go testing it, but it should hold up to light use) paper stock or cardboard that slide in through the top of the phone. These consist of a home screen, a screen from Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and presumably “Camp Quest.”

Cloud gaming: an outside-the-box solution for an inside-the-box gamer.

Using the included bracket, you can attach the phone to one of the controllers by first clipping the bracket to the underside of the controller, then pulling back on the spring-loaded latch to allow you to place the phone within. Perfect for gaming on the go, especially if you’re not a fan of touchscreen controls.

About the size of a Switch cartridge, and better tasting, too! (Warning: Do not eat toy game discs.)

Then we have the games. Ori and the Will of the Wisps‘ case replicates the real thing at a micro scale, both front and back, in pretty exacting detail. The only thing that feels missing is the bar code. The American Girl game “Camp Quest” isn’t quite as convincing, but it still makes a neat extra to help fill out the toy game shelf a bit.

The discs inside are removable as well, and it’s a little surprising that the Ori disc isn’t as accurate as the box. It isn’t a huge deal, though, since you can still see the Ori box art pretty clearly on the disc.

Everything here is Ku.

Last, but not least, we have the big piece of this set, which takes up most of the box space: a fuzzy blue chair with gold legs.

This one took me a few minutes, as one of the clasps did not want to grab hold of the big ring. I tried rotating the ring and tested out different spots, and it did work after a couple of tries. Getting the cloth portion to stretch over the frame took a bit of doing as well. It wasn’t too hard on the whole, but I wouldn’t want to put it away and reassemble it again repeatedly in short order.

As I said, it’s a pretty big piece. It just fits in my photo booth setup on its own, and when I started putting plush toys in… well, there’s a reason I moved the backdrop out of the way for Ku’s picture there.

In addition to the American Girl + Xbox Gaming Set, American Girl was also kind enough to send me their Game On Outfit set, which also carries an Xbox theme — the hoodie, in particular.

These are better clothes than half my closet.

Included in this set are a red French terry hooded sweatshirt with Xbox controller design on the front (if you’re reading this, then you probably want a full-size one. Admit it.), a pair of black denim pants with distressed details printed on, and a pair of gray canvas sneakers.

In case it wasn’t clear by now, I don’t own any American Girl dolls — my interest in this set is primarily as a fan of Xbox and miniature game consoles. That doesn’t mean I can’t make use of this, though.

Fashion show!

While I couldn’t find anyone who could wear the pants well, the shoes and hoodie were another matter entirely. Ori sort of worked with the shoes, but they fit Kazooie pretty snugly. She just looks ready to bust a move now, so watch out.

As for the hoodie, it has an opening in the back with a Velcro strip to close it up, and a hold in the back of the hood as well, making it extremely versatile. I had to work a bit to get it over Banjo and Ori’s arms, but beyond that, it was easy. Ori can close up pretty well in it, but Banjo is a different matter, unless you decide to cut his backpack off to remove it (I can’t guarantee it will work if you do, so do it only at your own risk). Even so, you can see it above with the back open, and it makes our favorite witch-whackin’ bear look pretty snazzy.

“Ha! I just gave you a full scholarship to Chump University, noob!”

So, the verdict? This stuff is pretty awesome. If you’re an American Girl collector and an Xbox fan, I probably don’t even have to tell you.

But in case it wasn’t clear, I’m not an American Girl collector — just a big Xbox fan, and fan of stuff like miniature console replicas and the like. And to be honest, that’s all you need to be in order to enjoy this set. As I demonstrated throughout the article, a lot of this stuff can work with other plush toys, maybe some figures, depending on their size.

I really can’t recommend this set enough. You might not have a use for every last piece of it, but it’s still great to have. As it is, I’ve got Banjo, Kazooie, Ori, and Ku on the shelf behind me, not doing a whole lot. But now I’m going to see about at least getting them set up to have their own game night.

The American Girl + Xbox Gaming Set is a part of the American Girl Gaming Collection, which includes a real working scale Pac-Man arcade machine (albeit one with some unfortunate shipping issues outside the contiguous United States. Bummer).

The American Girl + Xbox Gaming Set is available only through the American Girl website, and will run you $60 USD (plus whatever applicable taxes and fees). As of this writing, it’s on backorder until May 5th, 2022, but it looks like you can still purchase it now in order to receive it then.

The Game On Outfit is $28 USD (plus the other stuff), or you can order both together for $88 USD (you get it by now).

Thanks for reading!

The American Girl + Xbox Gaming Set and Game On outfit were provided for review by American Girl.

With the exception of the banner at the top, all photography featured herein is my own, except where noted otherwise.

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David Oxford is a freelance writer of many varied interests. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.