There’s an interesting column at Next Generation about console design and its effect on a system’?s popularity. Since I think Sony’s system looks exactly like the bloated joke that it is, I thought I’?d share my thoughts.
After walking us through a history lesson of consoles past (wood-paneled Atari 2600’s anyone?) columnist Eric-Jon Rossel Waugh says console design is as important as the games. Sony started a trend with the Playstation towards more adult themes, 3D games, and encased its systems in bland entertainment center camouflage to hide the fact you owned a gaming system. As a result, gaming has become a niche; much more so than when I first squeezed the trigger of the Zapper back in 1986 anyway.
It’s unfortunate, but at least now we’?re getting back to the all-inclusive mindset necessary to grow gaming and promote competition. The Wii may look like an Apple product, but both the controller and Nintendo’?s campaign with the DS to get everyone involved is a great sign for the future.
From the article: “What, then, is the ideal design for a game machine? [?] Doing the math, it would seem the ideal game machine would be clearly a game machine (Genesis). It would be distinctive and attention-grabbing (Master System), without being a nuisance (Xbox). […] It would be warm and inviting (Dreamcast), without seeming trivial (GameCube). Failing much of the above, you can’t go too wrong with simply being as nondescript as possible (NES, Wii) ? though that’s the safe route. You know what they say about the safe route.”
Sure I do. With the safe route you don’t end up looking like a George Foreman waffle iron. Oh, and since when is introducing a wildly new control scheme and then basing your console’s entire future on it the “safe route”?? So now I turn to the masses: Did the appearance of a gaming console ever influence your decision to buy it?
while I agree with the point that he's trying to get across – that console design influences the audience it captures, and therefore, sales – I found the article itself badly constructed. the argument he attempts to present is all over the place, jumping from one subject to the next and making the logic difficult to follow at times.
What a question!Obviously appearance completely influenced people to purchase PSP's, else the similarly specced Gizmondo (which with the exceptions of wipeout and lumines, had about the same number of worthwhile games) would have sold just as well. Or at least that's my fractured take.
I also thought his article was, odd, to say the least. He seems to be particularly enamoured with Sega, but doesn't quite explain why. For some reason he argues that their old consoles had a pure game design behind them and were great for that (I think master system looked like a tape deck), and that dreamcast was the antithesis, but is somehow great for all the same reasons. He fails to give Gamecube credit for actually being the pure games player he talks about (though he does like the colour), and makes out the dreamcast to be exciting and promising of new ways to play, when, in my opinion, it's the most non-descript, basic system ever developed (from a fashion sense).On a side note, he fails to remember the dreamcast's orange swirl became blue in pal territories.Missing was a clear description of the roll of colour in system design, which I think is a massive influencer. Further, there's a complete ignorance of portable systems, which have become rather exciting in recent years.He also doesn't clearly de-lineate the differences accross territories, nor exactly why games systems should look like games systems. It seems he tries to say they shouldn't look like anything else, but I don't see why not.And yeah, I think Wii is actually a bold design. The blue line will go down in huistory, and apart from being practical, the diminuative size actually serves to make it a focal point on a rack instead of another hulcking box. So in all, I disagree
Your last paragraph is hilarious and very true. Kepp up the good work!
Hell no the appearance of a game console didn't. I'd buy the Wii even if it looked like a load of staplers duct taped together.
"game consoles have somewhat lost their sense of identity" And other gadgets have such a sense?If all devices in our modern households would claim their function through their design as loud as the original XBox or the Famicom, there'd be a lot of visual screaming, not exactly increasing the comfort of your living room. So, a more modest design like the Wii got is much easier on the eye.
no… but it matters… bet your arse if it looks like a dildo i'm not putting it in front of my tv…