Sins of the Silicon and Console Curios - The Bear and Badger

Minnesänger

Isn’t the Wii on a stand even more of a rectangle? I like the Wii but, design wise, it’s pure inoffensive Ikea bullshit, designed to not stick out when your mum and dad finally decide to buy one.

RedDave2

My dislike for the wii visual is more based on all the wires that it accumulated - sensor bar, multiple nunchuks, the horrible silicon grips ruining the look of the remote. Too much wires ruin the nicest clean console designs. That said, the red one for Mario bros was lovely.

retroking1981

Mega Drive II is very nice, but they got it so right with the first it just kinda makes it pointless.

davyK

The Wii on its stand slopes back a wee bit - dare a say a jaunty angle? Ok I won't. The blue glow from the disc drive was nice too when there was an online message.

The MD Mk2 is OK but looks cheap "in the flesh". The original for me every time with its sliding volume control.

davyK

cockbeard wrote:

That bottom one is so Bang and Olufsen, yet more lovely

My Star Chess console is missing the lid unfortunately but it still looks swish, The 2nd silver section is just a little container holding the paper manual.

davyK

The short lived SNK Colour handheld was a nice little item.

cockbeard

One of the few times that a transparent housing has aged well, no idea why really. XBOX crystal variants look tacky as fook, but that smokiness was great

LivDiv

I really like the phantom half transparent controllers MS are doing for the bone.

davyK

There's a smoky Saturn but as much I love the Saturn it's just a box.

RedDave2

davyK wrote:

There's a smoky Saturn but as much I love the Saturn it's just a box.

Loved my saturn alright but it's probably the ugliest console I owned. That or original ps2.

Minnesänger

Are you all crazy? The Wii looks good but the OG PS2 is ugly? Have I entered fucking bizarro world?

retroking1981

If I was to do a top 10 I think most of them would be top loaders.

Like @Cockbeard said on the previous page you had a bit more interaction with them loading the games and because of that they tended to be on display more. Because of this more effort was put into they're design.

Now days they're hidden for the most part, reduced to a disc loader that are all the same basic shape. They dont need to be anything but a rectangular box sadly because no one really sees them.

Functional yes, but it doesn't make them pretty. There's not gonna be a lot of people voting for the PlayStations (outside of the first) and XBoxes because of that.

Ironically the NES fits into the modern design ethos more that any console between it and the PS2, and let's remember that was specifically designed not to look like a console but something to blend in with VHS players.

Consoles have looked shit for the most part since PS2 because they've stopped looking like consoles. It's all got very boring.

Roujin

This thread reminded me I need to buy a Wii mini to retire off.

davyK

Fat PS2 is as ugly as sin - though it had a vertical option that would have improved matters. I love it like I love an ugly dog though. The PS2 slim is cute but soulless.

Was there a black Wii or am I confusing it with Wii U?

cockbeard

I loved my phat PS2 at the time. A colour changing LED and a swivelly PS logo to match how you stood it. That was mindbusting to me

Diluted Dante

Minnesänger wrote:

Are you all crazy? The Wii looks good but the OG PS2 is ugly? Have I entered fucking bizarro world?

My man. This fucker looked like it came from the future.

LivDiv

I remember seeing the ps2 dev kits on work experience at a studio.
Comically large versions of the retail unit.

cockbeard

davyK wrote:

Fat PS2 is as ugly as sin - though it had a vertical option that would have improved matters. I love it like I love an ugly dog though. The PS2 slim is cute but soulless. Was there a black Wii or am I confusing it with Wii U?

I seem to remember a limited jobby with a red slot (oo-eerr) looking all Vader-esque, but I may be cobflating that with the WiiU if that's what happened there instead

LivDiv

There was a standard black Wii.
I seem to remember a LE with a red light as well, possibly a Star Wars version?

Speaking of I still want that R2D2 360 with the C3P0 controller.

davyK

Now I want a black Wii. PS2 does look better vertical. Maybe I should look around for a stand.

RedDave2

Ps2 is an ugly slab no matter how you turned it. Granted the huge og xbox wasn't much better and if I'm honest the game cube never grabbed me as a design.

That generation can fuck off from a looks point of view. But oh the games they had.

acemuzzy

davyK wrote:

Now I want a black Wii

A diet of licorice and Guinness awaits

cockbeard

Dude??!!

I only ciplain as it makes me want to test the theory

RedDave2

acemuzzy wrote:

Now I want a black Wii

A diet of licorice and Guinness awaits

I cant attest to that but I once over did it on a booze cruise with alcopops (Mickey Finns I believe) and I vomited out the equivilant of this lovely Green See-through X-Box.

davyK

acemuzzy wrote:

davyK wrote:

Now I want a black Wii

A diet of licorice and Guinness awaits

heh. I can certainly vouch for the back door wrt Guinness consumption.

A friend of Wifey's wee and stools both turned blue one holiday due to Blue Curacao consumption.

LivDiv

Jump ahead for the bit worth watching the whole video, I have a lot of time for Joel, his collection is absolutely amazing.

Unboxing a brand new, sealed M82 NES demo box.

Edut:maybe should have gone in the retro thread but meh.

Kara_Jane_Addams

I’m still desperate to get hold of a Daewoo Zemmix MSX console, it’s the holy grail for me, considering the number of models released I really wish more of them had made it to the west.

The CPG-120 is one of the most beautiful bits of plastic out there.

poprock

That is utterly bizarre. Looks like an extra from The Black Hole.

RedDave2

I was thinking it looks more like a part of one of the old zoid toys.

poprock

It’s certainly the same cheap silver plastic.

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