Topic: Artsy consoles

[Lumi Kløvstad]

So I've been thinking of buying an Xbox 360 again, many years after my beloved Xbox 360 Elite RROD'd, but I just don't care for the "black box" look that the new models offer. I, however, adore Microsoft's original design. White and green, with the modern curves... that was and still is for me the best look an Xbox 360 could ever offer.

Xbox 360 Pros are also far cheaper than more recent models. Double win for me as long as it doesn't RROD on me.

But it got me thinking about consoles and the looks they have sported over the years.

Design has come a long way from the Atari 2600, which while not the first console, was definitely the first and most prominent console that most of the older gamers in the world remember getting or lusting over.



The Atari looked very 1970's, with the plastic grille and the faux-wood paneling. It's a look I admire in many things, especially houses, but not really in consoles.

The Famicom and NES, by comparison, looked like giant bricks of highly compressed 80's cartoon futurism. It was awesome, and I STILL want an NES. Preferably one that works.




Console design actually reflects very well upon the times in which they are built.

Rather than fill up your browser, RAM, and upload/download limits with lots of pretty pictures, however, I will skip the 90's completely. I don't consider the 90's a particularly glorious age of console design, though.

Nor were the early 2000's. The PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube were... boxes. Nice, unobtrusive BOXES. Sort of blended in to your home entertainment setup, and you'd not pay it much mind unless you knew what to look for.

But in 2006, sleek curves and lighter tones were favored, and would only be boosted by a wave of Apple-mania that would hit the following year. This design was shown in the Wii and Xbox 360 Arcade and Pro models.




The PS3 used some elements of that, but was very... Playstation with how it did that.


The last gen of consoles was beautiful, artsy in it's own way, and something I could point to with pride and say "I BOUGHT THAT AND IT IS PURTYFUL".

And now, we're being treated to the next generation of console "art".
What will the Frank Lloyd Wrights and Michaelangelos of system design grace us with?



Oh.

Oh dear.

[crisis]

I always thought the SpiderMan 3-esque PS3 logo was cheesy. I still have my original 60GB model & it still plays ps1 & ps2 games perfectly.

I think I'm gonna skip this coming generation of consoles though. Design-wise they're boring as hell, Sony should've just reverted to their original grey-tone. And they really should consider using different names for future consoles. Are we really going to be stuck with PlayStation 5 & 6? Ugh.

Only thing that'll make me buy a PS4 or a Wii-U is a new Castlevania, honestly. Not even considering an X-Box One.

[X]

It was awesome, and I STILL want an NES. Preferably one that works.

You still can. There are people out there who've made it their business to get to know the NES hardware in detail (and even make improvements too), and they also make custom NES decks as well. James Rolfe the AVGN has himself a custom NES deck that acts just like a toaster.

[Ratty]

I would argue that, whatever you think of it's abilities as a system, the Genesis/Mega Drive was a very slick and stylish looking machine indeed, especially the model 2. And don't forget the waves on that N64, it really shines on the non-black editions of the console. I have an Atari 2600 and while I think it looks great it's somewhat annoying to use. Most people think the Atari had 1 button, this is not so. It has seven buttons, most of which will have an effect on the mode of the game you are playing, and SIX of which are on the console. The extension cords on the controllers are also tiny, though you can use a Genesis controller or buy an extension cord, but you're still gonna have to get off the couch to reset your game every time you die, or sit the console itself next to you. So the woodgrain models of the 2600 get an A for style but a C for functionality in my book.

Oh and the original phat PS1, mmMmm love those pointless fake vents, you can practically smell the 90s. I'm also a fan of the Saturn/Dreamcast/Gamecube designs. I suspect my love for the NES and the SNES designs is mostly nostalgia.

[Lelygax]

My second videogame (my first was an Atari 2600 from my father, we played it until the videogame died, I miss Superman in a actual Aari 2600 instead of emulation ) was a NES/Famicom clone, the difference is that its even better than an actual NES since it had 2 cartridge inputs, so you could play NES games and Famicom games. Also the controller input was the same from Mega Drive/Genesis and Atari, so it was not difficult to find a controller to boy. I think that the design was pretty cool.

I've found some photos of it:

[TheouAegis]

So sleek until the CD version came out. CD version looks like Saturn in black. 

[crisis]

Sure, it's artsy... but is it fartsy?

[Lelygax]

Neo Geo was like that? LOL
It looks like chocolate tablets, its not ugly, but is funny.

[Ratty]

My second videogame (my first was an Atari 2600 from my father, we played it until the videogame died, I miss Superman in a actual Aari 2600 instead of emulation ) was a NES/Famicom clone, the difference is that its even better than an actual NES since it had 2 cartridge inputs, so you could play NES games and Famicom games. Also the controller input was the same from Mega Drive/Genesis and Atari, so it was not difficult to find a controller to boy. I think that the design was pretty cool.

I've found some photos of it:

That's pretty neat, if I was rich I'd enjoy collecting all the various console clones.

[Lelygax]

That's pretty neat, if I was rich I'd enjoy collecting all the various console clones.

Me too, collecting games seems to be fun, but you need money and a LOT of space for it.

[Abnormal Freak]

I'm just not a fan of the 360's design. At all. Maybe its functionality and RROD'ing makes me hate the way it's modeled more than I otherwise would, but it's a POS console through and through.

The GameCube, on the other hand, I think is a really nice-looking console. When everything else was bulky and difficult to get around, the 'Cube was designed the way it was named. It was small, easy to store and carry, and even had a freaking HANDLE. So it was designed well both aesthetically and functionally, IMO, and the GB Player slips on real nicely.

That and I just really like that name: GameCube. Camel case has since become largely annoying to me, but when the GC came out, I thought it was really cool.

[Lelygax]

Well, now the Xbox One looks like a suitcase, so maybe they should add a handle to it (and a free space to put up to 5 games so you can always be with them LOL)

[Belmontoya]

I think the PS4 looks cool. Like a monolith.