Best (and Worst) Looking Consoles?

[high voltage]

How can someone say 'best looking' NES, the original Famicom looks like cheap tat 'made in Japan' and the original NES looks ugly like a brick. Nothing good looking there whatsoever.

[so_tough!]

How can someone say 'best looking' NES, the original Famicom looks like cheap tat 'made in Japan' and the original NES looks ugly like a brick. Nothing good looking there whatsoever.

 

original Famicom looks cool!

[kroogur]

Best: Atari 7800 - Compact,clean,simple

 

Worst: Magnavox Odyssey 2 - They can take that %^&$#$#! "keyboard" and cram it...

[ACrystal2011]

Best = Jaguar Cd Mod

 

Worst = Sega Genesis with Addons

 

[so_tough!]

Jag with normal cd looks cool too, Genesis 2 is not bad..

[AlvinKarpis]

 

 

Worst = Sega Genesis with Addons

 

 

 

I agree the model 2 Genesis looks horrible, and with all the add on's I am for sure not a fan

 

However I think the original Sega Genesis model 1 (came packed with Altered Beast) the one that says "High Definition Graphics" across the top looks awesome

 

I think my Sega Master System looks better, but for sure having my SMS and original Genesis sitting side by side is a thing of beauty

[so_tough!]

 

Japanese Megadrive is cool!

[hunged13]

worst

 

mattel hyperscan

 

and this monstrosity ,gakken compact vision (tv boy) ...

[BassGuitari]

Bah, I forgot about the Hyperscan! Agreed, it's pretty bad.

 

[BillyHW]

worst

 

mattel hyperscan

 

and this monstrosity ,gakken compact vision (tv boy) ...

 

What's that handle on the left, a telephone? LOL.

Edited January 15, 2012 by BillyHW

[TwinChargers]

worst

 

mattel hyperscan

 

and this monstrosity ,gakken compact vision (tv boy) ...

 

What's that handle on the left, a telephone? LOL.

 

If I recall, its just a handle so you have something to grab onto while using the joystick on the right. I think it was to keep the console from moving around while in use.

[twoquickcapri]

BEST:

 

 

Neo Geo CDZ

 

 

WORST:

 

Any CD-I

[BassGuitari]

I like that CD-i, actually...

 

[MagitekAngel]

I can't pick out a best or worst-looking unit, so I'll do some mini-reviews! I'm only covering consoles I have actually owned and used for a significant length of time.

 

Atari 2600 4-Switch Woodgrain: This is the only Atari I've ever owned. It has a nice clean look, and looks handsome on my shelf. The textured linework on the top of the unit masks dust and nicely fills space that would otherwise look like, well, a waste. Controller ports in the back are a little strange and irritating, but I get that home consoles were in their infancy and the design choices we take for granted now were not yet set in stone.

8/10

 

NES Model 1: Functionally aside, this design is the stuff of legends. The US/EUR model was designed to look like a VCR on purpose in an effort to attract post-crash customers wary of market-saturated "toys", and it worked. The NES looks like a sleek, mature piece of equipment in your A/V cabinet. There's no stupid crap sticking out of the top or sides, the linework and physical profile makes excellent use of ratios, and the gray-dark gray-black color scheme was light-years ahead of PCs, which would mostly remain a sickly beige for another decade. A masterpiece.

10/10

 

Master System Model 1: The original Master System is too long - it doesn't fit properly on my 8-segmented console shelf. That aside, the sloping, pyramid-like shape contributes to a look that is equal parts sleek and sturdy. The faux electrical diagram on the front dresses up what would otherwise be a boring and poorly-placed power light. The original Master System also has what I consider to be the nicest cartridge slot ever made - deep and sturdy, with a silky-smooth single-hinge door.

9/10

 

Genesis Model 1: The perfect antithesis to the NES in terms of design. The angular, gray NES is directly contrasted by the round, black Genesis 1. I have a thing for asymmetrical consoles, and the original Genesis features what I would consider to be a perfect 2:3 ratio in terms of the rightward positioning of its cartridge port. Like the NES, the Genesis makes excellent use of textured linework to fill in dead space. The volume slider, admittedly of dubious utility to today's critical eye, nonetheless looks extremely cool - it suggests that the Genesis is a complicated machine - in a word: sophisticated. Another masterpiece of design.

10/10

 

Genesis Model 2: I don't like the Model 2. Inferior internal hardware aside, the Model 2 is too thin and feels flimsy as a result. While the console does make excellent use of lines like its predecessor, the overall shape of the console is an uninspired square. The squishy buttons are a downgrade from the Model 1 switches, and the cartridge port isn't deep enough or sturdy enough.

5/10

 

SNES Model 1: A blocky, purple and gray mess. The North American SNES has too many corners. It looks like something my four-year old cousin would build out of legos. The console has nice proportions and a good weight, but utterly fails to fill its surface area with anything but corners. The wavy lines around the bottom don't mesh well with the rest of the design, either. I really have no idea what Nintendo was going for here.

2/10

 

Turbo-Duo: A much cleaner and more efficient design than the original North American TG16. The little hatch for the Hu-Card is a fantastic touch, and the CD hatch feels more deluxe than, say, the one on the Playstation. The Duo is very thin, for which I faulted the Genesis 2 but, coupled with its sturdy weight, this choice feels right considering the console's HuCard and Disc-based media. I don't care for the wavy lines around the edges, a la American SNES, but other than that, the design is perfect.

9/10

 

Sega Saturn: If the original Playstation is a Honda Accord, the Saturn is a Cadillac. It's big and boxy, but the graceful blend of lines and curves puts that size to good use. Also very cool is the balance between glossy segments and matte ones. The Saturn gets a bonus award for the nicest controller ports I've ever encountered.

8/10

 

N64: The N64 is. . . okay. Much better than the SNES, and I dig the curves, but the 64 is a bit too wide. I don't really care for the wide "feet" that extend beyond the basic trapezoidal shape of the console. The giant power-brick thing that plugs into the back of the unit is an eyesore. I also don't appreciate all the vents on top of the thing that seem to constantly suck in dust. My N64 is by far my most difficult console to get to load a cartridge, and that includes both of my NES toasters.

5/10

 

Dreamcast: The Dreamcast is a decent design. I like how compact it is, and I like the little orange light. Other than that, however, the Dreamcast is pretty boring from a design standpoint, and the disc hatch feels flimsy and looks cheap. The Dreamcast is missing something: perhaps a tailpipe?

6/10

 

Playstation 2 Original: I love this console's use of lines. I love its asymmetry. I also love the front-loading disc tray. I wish they had thought of something better to put on the top of the console than a giant blue "PS2" logo. Also, when stood up vertically, the PS2 looks like an ugly skyscaper. Still, though, the original PS2 looks awesome.

9/10

 

Playstation 2 Slim: When it first came out, I was blown away by how tiny it was. Now that the honeymoon is over, I still appreciate that the slim is quieter, but miss the front-loading disc tray. It's size also contributes to the slim looking a bit flimsy compared to the original. It also still looks ugly when stood up vertically. Overall, however, most of the design strengths of the original are carried over to the slim.

8/10

 

GameCube: The much-derided "Fisher Price lunchbox" may have that ridiculous handle sticking out of the back, but I appreciate how compact this unit is. The cube form-factor suggests a machine of the future, and the disc hatch is buttery smooth and satisfyingly thick and sturdy. The console doesn't really have a whole lot of interesting linework, and that handle is pretty silly.

7/10

 

Xbox: Microsoft must have designed the original Xbox for severely myopic schmucks like myself. That's the only possible explanation for why all of the hardware is so fucking huge, and is adorned with proportionally huge green "Xbox" jewel logos. The big X on the top looks stupid, and even the linework is so proportionally large that all it does is attract dust. To be fair, I like the front-loading disc tray, and everything about the front of the unit except its size. I usually appreciate weight, but in this case, the Xbox simply fails to disguise the fact that it is basically a bunch of off-the-shelf PC components thrown together to make an inefficient, albeit powerful, game console.

3/10

 

Xbox 360 60GB Pro: I've had this console for four years and it hasn't broken yet. Knock on wood. Anyway, the 360 is still very large and heavy, but its concave silhouette makes it look infinitely sleeker than the convex original Xbox. The heat vents look neat, the metal parts of the casing feel great, and the chrome disc tray is a nice accent. Giant freaking power supply notwithstanding, the 360 is a triumph of design over the original.

8/10

 

Wii: The Wii looks cool. It's sleek, its compact, and the whole lopped-off corner thing gives the unit personality. I love the blue light around the disc slot. I have a love-hate relationship with the glossy finish: love the shine, hate the dust and fingerprints. The vertical stand it comes with is hideous and takes up too much space.

9/10

 

Playstation 3 Slim: For a "slim" console, the PS3 is too large. The front looks ultra-sleek with its minimalist, curved design, but the convex, matte top is big, empty, and ugly. Other than that, the console is quite plain, and pretty boring. I prefer the design of the original.

5/10

[ls650]

BEST:

Neo Geo CDZ

 

WORST:

Any CD-I

 

Ummm, what's the difference? Two very similar-looking rather anonymous grey boxes...

[Catsmasher]

Best:

Atari 7800 - That thing looks futuristic without being tacky. Perfet for its era.

Vectrex

Original Odyssey - It looks cool still and even manages to work in a little bit of woodgrain.

 

Worst

ALL of the Nintendo systems! They look sooo cool in Japan, then they went and uglied them up when they made them for the US.

Intellivision - Yuck

[+5-11under]

I'm on a Microvision kick lately, so I'll add my vote to it for both good and bad looking...

 

Pretty decent: Microvision with a North American cartridge inserted. The matching of colours with the name of the game, the screen overlay, and the keypad overlay is what I like. the European cartridges, some of which are brightly coloured rather than just beige/brown, perhaps have a cleaner look, but don't look as fun to me.

 

About as crappy as you can get: Microvision without a cartridge inserted.

 

 

Pics: North American, without cartridge, European:

[Rex Dart]

ALL of the Nintendo systems! They look sooo cool in Japan, then they went and uglied them up when they made them for the US.

 

When you say ALL... do you mean "two"? Pretty much every Nintendo system other than the NES and SNES looked exactly the same across regions.

[A_Locomotive]

Best

I'd say its a between the Neo Geo AES and the PC Engine Duo-R. Both are low, sleek and drop dead sexy. The Duo-R gets a slight lead though since the AES looks rediculous once a cart is inserted.

 

Worst

Easy, the original Nintendo Famicom, its oddly shapped and absolutely garishly colored.

[Catsmasher]

ALL of the Nintendo systems! They look sooo cool in Japan, then they went and uglied them up when they made them for the US.

 

When you say ALL... do you mean "two"? Pretty much every Nintendo system other than the NES and SNES looked exactly the same across regions.

 

Yeah - those two!

[BillyHW]

I'm on a Microvision kick lately, so I'll add my vote to it for both good and bad looking...

 

Pretty decent: Microvision with a North American cartridge inserted. The matching of colours with the name of the game, the screen overlay, and the keypad overlay is what I like. the European cartridges, some of which are brightly coloured rather than just beige/brown, perhaps have a cleaner look, but don't look as fun to me.

 

About as crappy as you can get: Microvision without a cartridge inserted.

 

 

Pics: North American, without cartridge, European:

 

What the heck is this? Is it even a console?

[+5-11under]

I'm on a Microvision kick lately, so I'll add my vote to it for both good and bad looking...

 

Pretty decent: Microvision with a North American cartridge inserted. The matching of colours with the name of the game, the screen overlay, and the keypad overlay is what I like. the European cartridges, some of which are brightly coloured rather than just beige/brown, perhaps have a cleaner look, but don't look as fun to me.

 

About as crappy as you can get: Microvision without a cartridge inserted.

 

 

Pics: North American, without cartridge, European:

 

What the heck is this? Is it even a console?

 

Um, sure, it's a portable console, if that makes any sense

[Catsmasher]

I'm on a Microvision kick lately, so I'll add my vote to it for both good and bad looking...

 

Pretty decent: Microvision with a North American cartridge inserted. The matching of colours with the name of the game, the screen overlay, and the keypad overlay is what I like. the European cartridges, some of which are brightly coloured rather than just beige/brown, perhaps have a cleaner look, but don't look as fun to me.

 

About as crappy as you can get: Microvision without a cartridge inserted.

 

 

Pics: North American, without cartridge, European:

 

What the heck is this? Is it even a console?

 

It is the first hand held video game with interchangeable cartridges - but they are not "really" cartridges, more like the whole front of the system. The resolution was one-color and a whopping 16x16 pixels. Gotta start somewhere. Great fun back in 1979!

 

 

http://en.wikipedia....iki/Microvision

 

It was designed by the same guy who designed the Vectrex.

Edited January 16, 2012 by Catsmasher

[+5-11under]

It is the first hand held video game with interchangeable cartridges - but they are not "really" cartridges, more like the whole front of the system. The resolution was one-color and a whopping 16x16 pixels. Gotta start somewhere. Great fun back in 1979!

Pretty good fun in 2011 and 2012, too.

[high voltage]

Microvision, Epoch Game Pocket Computer, Palmtex SuperMicro, all important forerunners of Game Boy.

 

As for good looking handhelds and an excellent libray of games to boot:

Nokia N-Gage