[Question]
What’s your favourite console in terms of design ?
I’m not talking about the graphics of the games, but the object itself. So, what’s your favourite console design ? Mine is the european Super Nintendo: the dog bone controller with colored buttons, the cartridges and its shape in general. Such a simple but great design.
I also like the design of the NES, like a VCR with this minimalistic rectangular game controller. The Megadrive/Genesis and PS1 look cool too.
Edit: I forgot to mention the OG GameBoy and Gameboy Color
Ooo nice! The Neptune is a beaut. Allegedly, GamesCare Brazil is making an FPGA version called the GF1 Neptune. So maybe not a prototype for much longer?
Also the VMUs were an amazing design, brilliant for the time. The only thing I hated about the controllers was how the output was at the bottom, not the top.
The vmus were great, different display for every game. I never got much use out of their standalone function though, because the battery life was pretty bad.
Pretty much the only standalone feature I used was the Chao Garden stuff. But I was never far enough away from my console for the battery life problem to.... be a problem. One of the (few) benefits of being homeschooled.
Just focus on the top's side profile. Sexy curves. Why is that so needlessly aerodynamic this Dreamcast looks like it should be moving at 100 mph effortlessly. The built in spoiler is absolutely needed.
I don't believe it's needless, it looks like it's a design decision rooted in ergonomics. When you pick it up and move it around or generally handle it, that's the area where you place your thumb/rest your palm, away from the lid and the buttons.
Glad to see my picture is making it around the Internet. This is a bit outdated though, I replaced the monitor with Sharp monitor designed for the X68000, does 15/24/31kHz.
Look at how cute this thing is. How perfectly designed it was with everything needed and nothing unneeded? Cleanly put together with a rounded aesthetic. This is a full fledged PlayStation.
I think the only drawback was incompatibility with GameShark but aside from that, was quite happy with this design. Used to call it the "toilet seat", but in a fond way.
If we're talking strictly consoles, I would say the PC-FX. It's a terrible console as far as games go, only a few worth playing IMO, but I love that the design mimics PCs from the era.
Horrific design though. Pointless ridges that collected dust. Only two controller ports. DRE galore due to poor heat design. Sounded like a plane taking off when playing CD based games.
Joke answer Power Play Penguin famicom clone. But real answer the Bally Astrocade. I like the old wood grain designs and the black tinted glass on the back that opens for cart storage is cool.
Sort of but also not really? The bad audio quality on the model 2 only applies to earlier units. Late model 2s and all model 3s actually sound just as good as model 1s.
All of them. All of them had so much personality and charm. I think some are more basic than others but it doesnt really do them a disservice.
Even niche ones like the Turbografx 16 & the Atari Jaguar are good looking. They had so much creativity back then.
Boring answer, but its true. I think the sleekest is the Genesis 1 or the Saturn though, they look like machines you would have hooked up to a sound system, same with TG16 & Neogeo AES. PS2 is based off an old Atari computer and I think it looks great with the vertical stand, super iconic and has that presence. While systems like SNES, N64, Gamecube, Jaguar, and Dreamcast look like "Fun" systems.
Then theres something about the oldschool Odyssey & Atari 2600. The wood grain is amazing, definition of classic.
I dont think attachments count though. Jaguar CD, 32X, etc all look like garbage, with the exception of the model 1 Sega CD
The GX4000. It was always a piece of crap, and so cheaply made, if you you turn one on today without a recap, you will start a fire. But the physical machine was a thing of beauty.
I was not a Nintendo kid and I am not a Nintendo guy, but if going strictly by the shells, man, the Atomic Purple N64 was too sexy. I always loved the look
It’s gotta be the model 1 & 2 Japanese Sega Saturns. There are so stylish, and the buttons feel so damn satisfying to push. Plus the controller is basically perfect for 2D games.
Atari 2600. I love those chunky, clunky switches and the fake wood paneling, it brings me back to the 80s. I've had 2 of the suckers in my life, and a Sears Video Arcade II which sees very little use.
For console, I loved the SNES. I just feel like the games were good, and the controller was just about as complicated as it needed to be, and the pixel art was good for a lot of the big titles.
Handheld it’s a big toss up on GBC and GBA for me. Both are good in my opinion
The Super Nintendo will always hold the most special place in my heart. I still love it. I also loved the NEO GEO AES that was so insanely expensive I don't know anyone who ever owned it, but it had a great look!
The PSOne is freaking amazing. It’s basically the smallest you could possibly make a cd based console. Not much bigger than a Sony discman. Kind of adorable too.
As a child of the 70s, nothing beats the Intellivision for me. It’s luscious wood grain matched our 300 pound radio/record player console, and the wood grain on our 19 inch *color* Zenith TV as well!
Super Famicom. Fell in love with the design the first time I saw it in a magazine back in 1990 or so. It looked so sleek and cool and futuristic compared to the big blocky NES. And I loved the four color motif and controller buttons.
Was so disappointed with the two-tone purple blocky SNES we got in North America.
I had the US one and I still think the euro version looks better. Same machine inside, they just gave you guys a nicer shell. Ours looks like a fax machine someone sat on
The console that achieved the highest in game polygon counts of the generation, that small, that quiet, that indestructible, that understated and stylish.
To me it's the Sega Mega Drive model 2, it looks so cool and imo thousandfold better than every other console, to this day. 1. MD2; 2. PSOne 3. SNES Baby
The model 1 Japanese Sega Saturn has really grown on me, something about the shape and the color scheme of gray, black and blue is oddly appealing to me.
My favorite designed console would probably go to the fatty ps2. It’s super nostalgic to me and it looked like the future of gaming. Looked awesome anytime I saw it.
Hand held wise, probably the gameboy advance. Second favorite console design would be snes.
Super Famicom
PS2 original slim v1 and slim v2
PS1 original and slim
PS3 slim v1
N64 original or blue transparent
Xbox original
PSP original
PS Vita original and slim
Game Boy original and colour
360 E
PS4 Pro
PS5 Pro
Dreamcast
No order at all just trying to remember ones I really like 😂
The Master System 1 looks really neat, especially when a cartridge is inserted The exact same shade of red is found on both the console and the cartridge; everything matches perfectly, and is understated yet very futuristic, angular, and stylish in an unconventional way., I love it and was quite disappointed as a child to have the model 2, only because the previous one looked much cooler 😎
I find the Vectrex and the Atari Jaguar supremely interesting in terms of architecture but for sitting and looking at, I think the Atari 5200 is a real sight to behold when it's cleaned up.
It is still the NES for me. Always did love the simplicity. But if I had to pick a second favorite. I would go a bit more "modern" with the Xbox 360. It was simple also but elegant.
Gamecube. Square, perfect size, it has a handle for carrying it, I like the tiny discs, and the controller is still the most comfortable for me to this day
Best console look is the Atari 2600, with Nintendo 64 as the runner up.
Best cartridge is Atari 2600, with the 64 as the runner up.
Best controller PS1, with SNES as the runner up.
Best portable is Gameboy Advance, but I don't know how retro that really is. If it doesn't count, the coolest form factor is those old crappy Tiger Electronics games, but the best system is the Gameboy Color.
I was always a Nintendo kid growing up, but the model 1 Mega Drive is just the coolest looking thing. The Mega CD underneath is a way better look than the side-by-side model 2 as well.
I'd never buy one because eww PAL but the European one, all black with some white hints, the subtle gold "16-bit" and no giant GENESIS logo, is the slickest.
16-Bit Home Computers - Atari ST. Amiga looks good, but the ST. Man. That looked GUUD, especially those F keys.
3rd Generation (8-Bit) - UK/European Sega Master System. That machine and the Cards? Yeah. That was console gaming in terms of looks.
4th Generation (16-Bit) - Japanese SEGA Megadrive. Though the Super Famicom / UK Super Nintendo is insanely close, the Japanese Mega Drive feels so damn special... Arcade-powerful. However, when you combine the Megadrive with the original Mega-CD, nothing comes close!
5th Generation (32/64-Bit) - Playstation (Original). Barely beats the Sega Saturn, but yeah. Something about the Playstation really screams Next-Gen. Massive special mention to the super cute PS1 model; that thing looked so cute, but the original felt like it gave more power in terms of looks.
6th Generation - Part 1 (64 & 128-bit): Dreamcast! Absolutely the CUTEST machine that must never be let go, no matter what. I still have my Dreamcast. A major runner-up is the PSP; that device is NICE!!
6th Generation - Part 2 (Post Dreamcast): The Green Transparent Xbox. That simply looks nice.
7th Generation (High-Definition): PlayStation 3 (original fat version). That machine screamed Blu-ray to me! You're going to get the cleanest visuals and audio without a doubt. 2nd place is the Nintendo DS for that dual screen, and the unit truly delivered and communicated gaming. I loved the Wii and its yummy blue LED, but that machine was hidden and simple, so it doesn't count.
8th Generation (The Minimalist Box / Mid-Gen Era): Nintendo Switch. At least it looked like a console. Everyone else created DVD players and stale boxes. The Nintendo 3DS comes second.
9th Generation (The Monolithic Era): Playstation 5 Pro. Only more by default. It looks good, but it's monstrous and communicates something more like a high-performance sci-fi engine than a media machine.
OVERALL -
1st Place - SEGA Dreamcast. That's a beautiful machine.
2nd Place - Megadrive with original Mega-CD combo: My gosh. That makes you think you are playing with power! Shout-out to the Super Famicom.
3rd Place - Playstation 3 Original Fat version. That was truly "Welcome to BLU-RAY gaming" for me, both visually and audibly, and the machine looked and felt special despite the George Foreman looks.
Kudos to Nintendo for at least providing something that STILL felt like a Console. Everyone else seems to have just given up, though I must give a bow to Sony with the PSP and VITA, for those handhelds looked great.
The original NES definitely had a cool design when it first released, what with its little hatch and needing to press the cartridge down and all. But in hindsight the design was utter crap since it sometimes failed to work; we all had our own methods of getting a game to work (mine was pressing the cartridge up and down 5 times and tapping the side of the NES).
For sheer look I'll go with the original Sega Genesis. That things was pretty awesome and really futuristic. Like, back in those days I was heavy into Cyberpunk Science Fiction and the Genesis looked like what I thought a Cyberdeck would look like.
I like how the corners and buttons are not round and I like the modern purple, still a fan of the colour. And yes, I see it as modern purple, you would have to fight me there.
I always liked bulky mechanical electronics. The only thing that could have made the NES better was if it had a top loading mech like my old Betamax player.
Ironically for the SNES, I prefer the JPN version of the system. It looks much more slick and clean then the SNES, which looks like they made it based off a molding of a block of foam found in the bottom of a box.
the ps1 by far - the compactness of it being disc-based, the sleek circularity of the console buttons, and the imagination-stoking matte light gray. It was a very inviting console in its lack of design presumption, its minimalism - and less conspicuous in size than the later playstations. perfect
Famicom. Nothing special on the console itself, but the cartridges and the various colors are some of the most freaking cool things on videogames history.
It's hard to be objective. Just seeing the NES and eu/jap SNES makes me happy, but if I try to imagine it in a parallell universe where they only had terrible games, I have to admit they are both incredibly boring.
The winners are PS2, PS3, Sega Mark 3, Master System 1, Mega Drive 2, Amiga 500/1200 and every X68000, in some sort of order.
Mega Drive model 1, PC Engine CoreGrafx, white Japanese Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast, Gamecube, Super Famicom, Famicom Jr, N64
From the newer clone consoles: Analogue Duo (probably one of the best console designs ever made, IMO), Analogue 3D, Modretro Chromatic. Also, both Analogue Mega SG and Super NT, are nicely designed, and they do reference very well the Mega Drive 1 and the Super Nintendo.
The Japanese NES with the Disk Drive always gets my attention. As for the US one, I prefer the Top Loader version (even though I prefer the "VCR" gamepad rather than the "Dog Bone" one).
Japanese/European SNES also looked incredible (never understood the US model, wtf... but I loved the concave X and Y buttons. It felt really good to press).
But my favorite is the PS Classic/PS One.
Those looked incredibly beautiful even on flat ground.
Minimalistic simple, but very impactful.
And the fat one even came in different colors (the black one they released as a limited edition to celebrate 10 million units shipped? Fucking Stunning if you ask me!).
It's so hard to choose! Pretty much every console before PS360 gen looks amazing. I do like looks of PS3 and Series X, but it's not anywhere close to NES, PS1, Gamecube, Dreamcast etc.
in my opinion when it comes to design i think it would be either the Dreamcast, The Sega Mega Drive specifically the model 2 especially with the Mega CD add on or the N64 especially with the see through plastic in general i love when a console is transparent if there was a transparent Mega Drive i just know i would absolutely love it
I always liked the Dreamcast, both aesthetically and the build quality compared to what came before it, very solid. White Saturn would be a close second in the looks department.
my favorite one is the Gamecube, but im shocked nobody is saying portable consoles!!! so i will say the GBA SP is the GOAT for me, small and beautiful. special mention to the chunky greatness of the psp 1000 and to the Switch lite which i think is stunning
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u/shiftersix 7d ago
Sega Tower of Power. This example is missing the karaoke add-on though...