What If... Outside Xbox Went Inside Xbox?

Jane Douglas was a very popular games YouTuber best known for working for Gamespot and Outside Xbox; but also very popular with male viewers thanks to her English charm and gorgeous half-Asian, half-white looks, and her extensive knowledge of video games: the ultimate girl next door.

She was excited for today; she'd been invited to a demo of a very hush-hush up and coming gaming device. Allegedly, technology had been developed that went beyond even virtual reality, they were claiming you could literally enter the game. For some you'd play as yourself, others, you'd find yourself in the body of someone else, of something else... but surely this was all just exaggeration and hype for some kind of top-end VR headset. Jane knew developers were always promising more than they could ever deliver, but it was always nice to hope that maybe she'd be able to get the first scoop on the gaming technology of tomorrow.

Arriving at the address she'd been given; she found a boring-looking R&D building in the middle of a business park, walking into a dingy reception without so much as a secretary manning it. Jane stood for a moment, ink-black hair pulled up under a grey beanie, in her blue jeans and a black t-shirt with a SNES controller on it. Was she in the right place? Was this it?

But in no time, a side door burst open, and a dishevelled scrawny looking nerd bustled out. "Oh, Jane, hello. So sorry, we're still looking for investors, so y'know, skeleton staff here except for the development team. I hope you got in OK, no problems?" Introducing himself as Brian, he led her into a small side room with dusty blue walls, and a cabinet with a TV, a few games consoles, and on a table in front of it, a strange pyramid shaped device.

"Is this it?" Jane asked Brian. "Where's the headset, or the controllers?" She seemed confused. It wasn't even connected to anything, a wire connected it to the mains but that was it.

Brian chuckled, proud of their ingenuity. "Well, this is the prototype, but there are no controllers. This isn't some elaborate joke, you actually will enter the cyberspace of our games. We even constructed some demos to show off to investors; mainly based on existing franchises, but y'know." He tapped one side of his nose. "Solely for demo purposes, we obviously can only release games if the developers who own the rights, want to do it!"

Jane was still sceptical, an eyebrow arcing over one of her trademark big dark eyes. "Well... I think I need to see how it works." The technician lifted a flap on the side of the smooth device, bringing out two diodes, and applying them to Jane's temples.

"OK so, when you're ready, press the red button on top of the console. In any game or menu you're in, you'll have access to us by voice or chat; it'll just feel like you're carrying a phone. So, do you..."

Jane chewed on her lip, the weird devices on her forehead. This seemed suspicious, but... if they were right... she'd be one of the first to use the coolest games console ever! With one hand, she reached out, hitting the button.

And it was as if she'd jolted and sneezed, suddenly finding herself in a vacant black void, looking around. "What the fuck?" She looked down at herself. She looked normal, but... was this cyberspace? Jane raised her head, seeing a wall of icons to one side. Something buzzed in her pocket, and she reached in, pulling out an unfamiliar phone-like device. 'PICK A GAME OFF THE MENU AT THE SIDE - BRIAN' read an incoming message from a user profile named CyberITSupport.

She turned, looking up at the tech demos some of the developers had made, some clearly rip-offs of popular games, some a little more obscure, but still just... absolute possibility!