The five best and least looking consoles

[BlackDS]

I think the five best looking consoles are (in no order)

Model 1 Master system
N64
Pal SNES
PC Engine Shuttle
CDX

five ugliest

Playstation 1 fat
Playstation 2 fat
Model 1 SNES
Atari Jaguar
OG Gameboy (even if it is a handheld)

[dedalusdedalus]

Here are my votes.

Ugliest consoles:
1. Original Xbox - Needlessly bulky--I get the impression that the people at Microsoft weren't even trying. And that green "jewel" on top sticks out like an ethnic person in an Abercrombie & Fitch catalog.

2. Atari 2600 - Iconic? Yes, but faux wood grain isn't exactly timeless design.

3. Atari Jaguar - Shaped like some kind of futuristic toilet seat. Are you supposed to play it? Take a shit in it? Beats me.

4. Sega Genesis Model 1 - I love Genesis as much as the next guy or gal, but this objectively isn't an attractive console. A lot of useless switches clutter up the interface. Also, do we need to be reminded that it's "16 BIT"? Because sometimes I forget how many bits a console has, and it's really helpful to be able to see it right on the console. And the add-ons just make the console look worse, it's like Sega just couldn't stop beating this one with the ugly stick.

5. Sega Master System - Not a bad looking machine overall, but do we need the schematic cluttering up the front? It's like an otherwise beautiful woman with some kind of weird birthmark on her face.

Sexiest Consoles:
1. Nintendo Gamecube - Clean and beautifully understated. It seamlessly combines aesthetics (it's shaped like a cube!) with functionality (and it has a really small footprint!). This is applied design at its pinnacle. Genius.

2. Sega Dreamcast - Like the Gamecube, it's got a clean and minimalist design. This is what I imagined consoles in the year 3000 would look like.

3. PSOne - Again: clean and minimalist.

4. Neo Geo AES - Pure badassery. I don't need to say more.

5. Nintendo 64 - It pulls off the "motor sticking out of the hood of a car" look much more effectively than the 32X.

[TheyCallMeTheSwede]

Best Looking:
PC Engine
Dreamcast
Genesis Model 1
GameCube
JPN Saturn

Ugly Looking:
Virtual Boy
Jaguar
Atari 5200
US Saturn
Genesis with the CD and 32X

[Snickerd00dle]

Ugliest
Fatt Ps2
Nintendo 64
Sega Genny Model 1
Xbox
Atari Jaguar

Best Looking

Xbox 360
Gamecube
Ps3
Wii
Model 2 Snes


I think that this generation of systems looks real slick

[RBT]

Best Looking:
PC Engine
Neo Geo AES
Mega Drive II (PAL)
PSOne
Super Famicom

Ugly Looking:
PS3
Super Nintendo (US)
Atari Jaguar
TurboGrafx-16
NES Top Loader

[lisalover1]

I think the five best looking consoles are (in no order)

Model 1 Master system
N64
Pal SNES
PC Engine Shuttle
CDX

five ugliest

Playstation 1 fat
Playstation 2 fat
Model 1 SNES
Atari Jaguar
OG Gameboy (even if it is a handheld)

How can you think the PC Engine Shuttle is one of the best, while the Jaguar is one of the worst? They look mostly the same!

Anyway, here's my list:


Most Beautiful:

1. Gamecube: Simple, compact, elegant, and still runs as quiet as a churchmouse. Everything the aesthetics of a game console should be.

2. Wonderswan Crystal: Smooth, yet bold in its appearance, the Swancrystal combines form and function to make a handheld that really looks sturdy and reliable.

3. Virtual Boy: A bit of an odd choice, but I believe that the Virtual Boy's design is so outlandish and radical, that it is charming in its own way. I like to leave it out on the coffee table as a conversation piece.

4. Playstation 3 Slim: Sleek and classy; a very formal-looking machine. As such, it seems to fit in very well, especially in a fancily-decorated room, something other consoles have a hard time pulling off.

5. PC-Engine: The height of engineering efficiency, the PC Engine is an extremely compact and elegantly-designed system. Its small size and powerful form are enough to make it a real attention-grabber.


Ugliest:

1. CDi 910: This thing is barely a game console. At best, it is a gargantuan CD player that just happens to have more interactive menus than normal. Th console is far and away bigger than it needs to be, and doesn't even look good for the space it takes up.

2. Turbografx-16/CD: The console may look pretty good alone, but once you know that NEC made the console bigger for American audiences, with no beneficial purpose, it really makes the thing seem ugly compared to the PC Engine. And the CD unit just looks completely tacked-on.

3. Model 1 Lynx: Bulky, heavy, and has a tiny screen. It may be packing some impressive hardware, but I really think that Atari could have done a much better job at making this system more portable. As it stands, it just looks like a brick.

4. Playstation 2: What is going on here? Obviously, absolutely no symmetry or design thought went into making this. There is no other way to say it, this thing was ugly. It is probably just a prototype unit that no one remembered to change before release.

5. Atari XEGS: It looks like a computer, plays like a computer, types like a computer, acts like a computer, and for the most part, it is a computer. Atari just put a new shell over it, bundled it with a joystick, and called it a console.

[yomomma1]

BEST

1Panasonic Q
2Gamecube
3Pokemon XD gamecube
4Gamecube gameboy player
5 Gamecube

Worst/ones That I like as consoles but don't look so good

1 NES 2, It looks weird but still my favorite way to play nes games
2 Sega Genesis model 1, Also my favorite way to play genesis games
3 SNES Mini, Actually I don't like this at all
4 Xbox, TOO BIG
5 Wood grain atari 2600, Hate the wood grain.

[Flake]

5 Wood grain atari 2600, Hate the wood grain.

You make me sad on a Saturday morning, sir.

Best Looking:

Wii (sleek)
NES2 (functional)
Dreamcast (good compact build)
Gamecube (it's symmetrical)

Worst Looking:

Original PS3 (Huge glossy black, smudgy mess)
NES Toaster (What were they thinking?)
US version of SNES (Now with more yellowed with time plastic action!)

[yomomma1]

I still like the vader though.

[MidnightRider]

You know you're in geek territory when you have to discuss the aesthetics of the machines you use...

best:
NES
Genesis
Saturn
TurboGrafx 16
Atari 2600

worst:
Master System
Gamecube
Arcadia 2001
Intellivision
Playstation line

Not all the time(as noted with some of Sony's Machines and the Master System), but black tends to look good on video game consoles.

Btw, RBT, love the classic Castlevania logo in your sig.