Best and worst console designs in your opinion

BEST

• Even though I wasn't a Dreamcast owner back in the day, I do think it's one of coolest looking consoles. Sturdy, compact, four controller ports, and a badass controller.

• The Gamecube was pretty cool too. Four controller ports, super compact, and I liked the handle. The controller looks weird, and is small, but was perfect for Smash Bros lol. I liked that the discs were tiny.

• The PS2 slim is a winner. Probably still Sony's best design. I can't believe how slim this thing is. Was easy for portability. Very reliable too.

• PS Vita - definitely one of Sony's best designs, and one of the best portable designs ever. They really nailed it with the hardware. I think it's better than Switch as far as ergonomics goes.

WORST

• PS3 Fat - lol at the Spider-Man font. It was sleek and had a nice texture to it, but it was bulky and loud. The power adapter was also three pronged which I didn't like. Controller originally didn't have rumble. The controller was so uninspired.

• Wii U - it was so plain. Looked like a DVD player lol. The controller was a huge let down. Worst battery life. But in terms of design, I guess it was ok.

• Xbox Series X - it just looks like a PC tower. I also think they should've done more with the color scheme. Like how Sony seems to be going with the PS5. The PS5 controller looked gorgeous. The controller here just looks samey.

What about you, SW? Best and worst console designs in your opinion

Best: Atari Jaguar

Worst: PS3

Series X looks like best design console because simply it looks like a PC.

not a fond of any of console designs.

I use to like fancy and somewhat eccentric looking consoles when I was younger but nowadays I prefer something more simple. Currently my favourite is the Xbox One S/X design, simple and compact. My least favourite is probably the Atari Jaguar.

Best:

• Xbox 360 Slim
• PS4
• XSX
• Switch

Worst:

• Xbox One base
• Gamecube

Do you think you would get one? Or just sticking to PC?

The Xbox One X does look nice. A bit plain, but I appreciate the compact form.

Best... Genesis/CD model 2

Worst... Atari 2600 (hated the wood look) or the XSeX. What's up with it looking like a cheap fridge?

The coolest design is probably still the original Sega Megadrive (Genesis in the USA). Take a look here https://www.google.com/search?q=sega+megadrive&client=tablet-android-samsung&source=android-browser&prmd=isvn&sxsrf=ALeKk02-UroxKIJgg_E-pyf7BwZr1Ms6ag:1591563326857&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwif9u-1y_DpAhXimIsKHV1zD1IQ_AUoAXoECAoQAQ&biw=1024&bih=768#imgrc=VOaveYefRj47PM

The worst design must be the Virtual Boy. I didn't own the damn thing, but as gamers such as the Angry Video Game Nerd have pointed out, the console couldn't even fit properly on your head, and you needed duct tape or something to play.

Best:

• SNES
• PS4
• Gamecube

Worst

• PS3 Fat
• Xbox One
• Atari Jaguar

Best: XSX (fyi, laid on its side looks bad ass), Xbox 360 Slim

Worst: (if the rumours are true) PS5, PS3, NES

Honestly, why do they always debut consoles vertically? No one places them like that.

I know it may seem like I’m nitpicking here, but I don’t think there is anyway I can fit that in my tv stand lol Would definitely have to put it up top.

PS2 was te best, gamecube by far the worst.

Design as in looks ,or do we account ergonomics, how it cooled the components inside, or if kept roaches away?

Lol you can account for the technical details if you want to. I'm not too tech savvy but I do appreciate good form factor and ergonomics.

@SolidGame_basic: The worst is the Xbox 360 OG design. RROD all around. Runner-ups would be the PS3 and PS4(just because it was more susceptible to roach infestations.), Philips CDi, the Pippin.

Best ones IMO are the PS4 Slim, Gamecube, One X.

I'm reserving judgment for the PS5 and the Series X as they haven't released yet.

The ones I like

• PS2 Slim
• PS4
• Xbox One S/X
• Xbox Series X
• Gamecube Black
• Dreamcast

The ones I didn't like

• Xbox
• Nintendo 64
• PS1
• WiiU

Woah, you were serious about the roach thing. Didn't know that was a real thing.

I'd take PS3

@SolidGame_basic: Of course. There are multiple reports of roach infestations for the PS4. That or the owners are just dirty people.

original xbox controller was extremely uncomfortable if you had small hands.

Yeah I agree with all three of your good looking console designs.

I love how compact PS2 slim and gamecube are, they are just asking you to take them everywhere!

I also love the PS Vita and I still play it occasionally.

As for worst designs: I vote OG Xbox and Xbox 360

The original Xbox was good for lifting weights. Get your biceps pumped up.

Agree on your good design list except for the gamecube. Idk the gamecube always seemed too weird for me. I rather fond of the SNES and the PS1(not the bulky PSX).

On worst list I want to add the Wii and the PS4 Pro. Wii because the console is way too bland and the PS4 pro idk seems like a lazy redesign from the slim.

@Sevenizz: I bet you're right - the green top vent facing forward? Probably looks pretty cool

Yeah people said the same thing about the controller :P

Of those that I've owned:

Best:

• Gamecube
• PS2
• Xbox One X
• Nintendo Switch

Worst:

• Xbox 360 (original)
• Xbox
• Wii U

I absolutely love the Gamecube's design. It's easy to take around, the controller feels great in my hands, and it has expansion slots on the bottom for things like the Gameboy Player. I still have it hooked up to my TV with four wavebirds. After all these years, nothing on it has broken. The build quality is excellent.

The original Xbox 360 has the worst design of any console I've ever owned. Sure, it looked okay aesthetically, but I couldn't keep the damn thing alive. After my 4th one red ringed, I gave up. The system was out in the open. It's not like I had it crammed into a dusty, crowded entertainment center. The fans and disc drive were obnoxious as well. If the machine didn't keep dying on me, I could have probably overlooked those.

Even though the Wii U Gamepad felt great in my hands, it was also cumbersome and power hungry. The console itself used that glossy plastic that, even if you handled it with kid gloves, would still get all scratched up. And the fingerprints....god, the fingerprints. Then there was the bloated, slow, horrible operating system that was a problem for a while.

I left the Wii out because it's a bit in the middle. The console itself was on the simple side. I didn't care for how the GC ports were on the top, but where else were they supposed to put them? The Wiimote and nunchuck controller felt great in my hands. The classic controller, on the other hand, felt like a cheap afterthought; like they didn't even try.

Damn, I'm surprised you waited until the 4th one to give up lol. Yea that Gamepad has a horrible battery life. Worse controller batter life of all time.

@SolidGame_basic: I had an extended warranty with Best Buy at the time, so it never cost me anything to get a new one. If I didn't have that, I would have gave up after the 2nd.

The Gamepad's battery life out of the box was pretty terrible. It got better with the larger battery you could buy from Nintendo's web site. It should have shipped with that battery in the first place. The battery was only part of the problem, though. Most games didn't make good use of the screen. Some, like Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze and Breath of the Wild, outright ignored it for anything other than handheld play. Two games that used the Gamepad well were Xenoblade X and Deus Ex. Of those two, only X ran well.

@SolidGame_basic: Should of waited on this thread until you saw the PS5.

You might be in for a surprise when its shown.

lol, true, I can always update it. But I think Sony is going to go for something edgy. We'll see!

Ooo, I didn't know Nintendo released a better battery for it. Maybe one day I'll try to hunt one down. Yea, the screen was a gimmick for the most part. I remember they were trying to use it for Starfox. I will say the Switch is like the first real gimmick that worked for Nintendo lol. Cause it's not really a gimmick. Even the joy cons at least have some real purpose, although I don't really use them as a regular controller.

@SolidGame_basic: You obviously haven't seen Sony's latest patent.

Don't you find it odd that they've dumped the specs, shown the logo (lol) and even the controller but not the machine itself?

Or does Sony usually do it that way?

I just finished work for the day - You're really going to make me think right now? 😜 Isn't that patent just for the development kit? I really don't know what they will do. I think they will try something different.

It's hard to say because I like and dislike a lot of designs. But if I had to pick-

Best: GameCube

Worst: PS3 (Maybe PS5 is the leaked images are true and final.)

Also, I disagree on the Series X part. It's PC tower design makes it look sleek yet powerful at the same time. Almost as good as the GameCub imo.

Best- Phat PS3

Worst- Purple Launch Box

The patent is new, the dev kits have been out for a while now. So do they usually show the control, console etc all in one, did they do it like that for their last 2 consoles?

I fell out of gaming for a while so I only bought the PS2 new then the Xbox 360 a few years in and then the PS4 recently

it's amazing how much better the design of the PS2 was in particular as it didn't have a motorized automatic disc tray and was so simple and robust

The addition of a more complicated loading system creates moving Parts designed to have a shelf life

It's painfully obvious that the new systems are designed to stay online and clearly have an artificially short life thanks to mechanical loading systems and online dependant formats likley comming soon

BEST

Sega Master System II (PAL)

Sega Saturn (Japanese)

PSone

GameCube

WORST

Amstrad GX4000

Virtual Boy

Xbox

X360

You have to consider some designs in their time periods.

I'm not a fan of the fat PS2, and the PS4 slim and the PS4 Pro. I'm kind of on the fence about the original Xbox. It wasn't great, but it wasn't unusual for the time for consoles to look a bit strange.

It's strange to me, that Sony doesn't always have the best designed consoles. Their DVD players and HiFis over the years have looked stunning. The PS3 slim was one of the few that came close to that standard.

Don't know.. is this a trick question or are you don't know either? 😀 What if it looked like this? Would you like it?

@Random_Matt: X360 is bad or good?

@Jag85: Thanks for posting pics. Interesting choices! The Sega Saturn one looks cool to me.

I don't know, it looks much bigger than GameCube to me.

@SolidGame_basic: That's the Japanese Saturn. The Western Saturn looked horrible in comparison. No wonder the Saturn flopped in the West yet became a hit in Japan.

PS2

Switch