Microsoft video gaming brand Xbox has created an officially recognised tartan, to mark the 20th anniversary of its launch in Scotland.

But while it was seen as a way of bringing tartan to a younger audience, it has not gone down well with some, with one PC gamer magazine reviewer going as far as to describe it as a "crime against good taste".

Gordon Nicolson Kiltmakers, one of the leading tartan makers in Edinburgh has designed the custom Xbox controller from the consols own iconic colours to create a green and black pattern.

The kiltmakers previously designed the official tartans of the Scotland national football team.

It has been endorsed by the Scottish Tartans Authority and has been entered into The Scottish Register of Tartan.

The Herald:

The design was woven by Lochcarron, the oldest weaving mill in Scotland, in the Scottish Borders town of Selkirk.

Gordon Nicolson, founder of Gordon Nicolson Kiltmakers, said “When I started this business I had no idea I was going to work with Xbox. We do get asked bizarre things to do but this has been one of the most exciting.

"I was very excited and very honoured to be asked in the first place. We looked at it as a challenge to get a tartan which is going to be quite unique on tour controller. It’s an honour to work in partnership with one of the biggest technology brands in the world.

"It’s certainly a collaboration that hadn’t sprung to mind for us, connecting kilts and games consoles, but we actually have many shared values – innovation, expression of creativity and a sense of heritage. "

But it has not gone down well in some quarters.

A review by Fraser Brown, online editor of PC Gamer says in a review:"Please do not blame Scotland for this."

He adds: "Dear God. My eyes, they burn.

"There are many ugly controllers out there, and I'd argue that it's nearly impossibly to make an Xbox controller actually look beautiful, but that does not justify the crime against good taste that's been committed today.

"I'm normally a fan of green tartans. After all, there's plenty of green in my clan tartan.

"This, though, isn't a favourite. And look, I'm not going to get protective about tartan, of all things.

"But this is just an eyesore. And, since it looks like might be actual fabric, maybe even wool, it's definitely not going to play nice with the inevitably sweaty hands grasping it.

"I do, at least, appreciate the extra level of authenticity earned by having an Edinburgh kiltmaker design it - the same one that designed the tartans for our national football team. "It's also apparently been entered into the Scottish Register of Tartans, making the embarrassment nice and official."

Not all concurred with the take on the design.

One Twitter user responded saying: "I genuinely think that looks really nice."

While another said: "I would buy that, not because it looks good, but because it's ridiculous."

Kiltmaker Emma Wilkinson from Gordon Nicolson said: "When we first saw the finished controller, we were buzzard. We've created something totally contemporary that was somehow stuck in the past at the same time. And we love that.

"Tartans had such a long history in Scotland and I think we're seeing re-emerge as something new and exciting.

"It allows us to bring it to a younger audience that may have just seen the kilt as something that a dad would wear to a wedding and open it up to a young audience and even a more global audience."

As part of the launch, fans across the UK were invited to take part in an online competition to be in with a chance to win one of the ultra-rare custom controllers, which feature the newly-designed tartan.

Graeme Boyd, Xbox's Europe, the Middle East and Africa social media marketing manager said: “We are so pleased that we can celebrate the anniversary for Xbox in Scotland in a fun, authentically Scottish way.

"It’s fantastic that we’re able to work with innovators in a grand Scottish tradition like Gordon Nicolson, whilst giving something exceptional to gaming fans.”

The Xbox Tartan thread shades echo the Xbox shades of RV Green, Viv Green, Apple 13 and Black and White.