The modern entertainment center is as much a beauty contest as it is a money pit. With companies spending years designing the gadgets we crave, often times they produce some true works of art. However, there are also the unfortunate instances when a company, for whatever reason, decides to throw simple, effective design choices out the window in favor of something a bit... ugly. We'll explore both sides of the coin, as it relates to game consoles, but let's start with the more attractive of the bunch.

Beauty...

PlayStation 3

Catching eyes very early on as an extremely bold design decision, the Playstation 3 showed gamers everywhere that Sony was ready to play hardball. And, while some have criticized it for looking more like a George Foreman product than a games console, I've never heard anyone argue that a grill was ugly. In fact, out of all the consoles in our oversized entertainment center, the Playstation 3 has the distinct honor of being the only one that we have a special cloth for. Sporting a case glossier than a Cadillac's hood, a weight comparable to an equally-sized chunk of gold, and a format roll-call on the top spine that can take five minutes to read through, Sony's black beauty is one intimidating media powerhouse... just make sure you keep her dusted. She likes to be shiny... she doesss... ourrr preeccioousssss.

Sega Genesis 3

It only took SEGA two hardware redesigns to get it right with the Genesis. Cramming all the same functionality of the original Genesis into a decidedly miniature body, the Genesis 3 can be summed up in one word; cute. The power and reset buttons are integrated perfectly into the lines of the console, the shape is a subtle nod to the un-released SEGA Neptune, and the entire unit is almost as small as the controller you plug into it. This makes the Genesis 3 a serious trend-setter that future game companies kept in the front of their minds (PSone/PStwo, anyone?).

Atari 7800

Yes, it's old-school. Yes, it's an Atari. And yes, it also happens to be one of the sleekest pieces of game hardware you can find. When a system's design is so subtle that you're not quite sure how it works, it becomes something of a work of art. Black on black with a touch of chrome — it doesn't get much classier than that. 

Nintendo Wii

Keep it simple, stupid. That's what Nintendo had written on the walls of the Wii design room, or at least you'd think so by the way the system turned out. "Apple white", hidden controller ports, and a simple blue glow are just some of the things that make the Wii one of the best-looking game boxes we've ever had the pleasure of placing in our entertainment center. Now if we could just find some good games for it...

Sega Dreamcast

It's not often that a console that is seen largely as a failure experiences so much love after its death, but such was the fate of the Sega Dreamcast. Sending Sega out of the console business for good, the Dreamcast broke the hearts of Sonic fanboys the world over. And yet, nearly everything about the console was an answer to consumer demands. Great graphics, unique save systems, and even an integrated Windows OS, the Dreamcast may have been a bit ahead of its time. On top of all that, the Dreamcast is also one eye-catching piece of gaming goodness. Sleek lines, subtle touches, and even a sexy logo make the Dreamcast a perfectly gorgeous addition to any gaming set-up, new or old. 

And the Beasts...

Any console from the 70s

 

We know, we know, it's a pretty broad declaration to say that every console from the 70s was ugly... but it also just happens to be true. We can't place all the blame on the manufacturers though, as there weren't exactly as many technological possibilities as there are today. Most gaming boxes from the 70s relied on a single piece of hardware for both the processing of the built-in game data as well as the main method for controlling the movement on the screen. This means that the player(s) would be forced to sit within arm's reach of the system itself, which sometimes proved to be mighty inconvenient. In addition to having all the knobs and switches confined to the home base, the vast majority of the consoles were just plain ugly. Sure, at the time they might have looked like something out of a sci-fi movie, but with hindsight to assist us, we really can't fathom how any of them have survived to this day. With the amount of wood grain we see, we're just surprised every single one wasn't mistaken for a piece of firewood at some point over the last 30+ years and sacrificed in the name of warmth. 

PlayStation 2

Coming off the tail end of one of the most surprisingly successful consoles of the decade, the Playstation, Sony's Playstation 2 was certainly a hotly-anticipated announcement. Many intrepid artists drew up what they thought, or wanted, the console to look like and the anticipation continued to build. Then it happened — the system was revealed for the first time to a roaring crowd of gamers who muttered in a unified voice: "What the hell is that thing?" Looking like a cross between a radiator and 2001: A Space Odyssey's 'The Monolith', nobody really knew what kind of visual appeal Sony thought the system had. One thing was for sure though, whatever intimidating techy draw the PS2 had, it certainly used it to the fullest extent, as it is by far the best selling game console of all time. I guess looks aren't everything after all. 

Nintendo 64

Following the whole "black=tech" movement it had stood fastly against in its previous two consoles, Nintendo decided to attempt to mask a ridiculously horrible console design by making it dark enough that you might just lose it in a shaded entertainment center. A rounded backside, a raised front side and... two mini-pedestals? Whoever designed the Nintendo 64 needs a serious lesson in subtle electronics design. Oh wait, it had a RAM expasion port, that makes up for it... right?

Sega Genesis 1

If you took a passing glance at the original Sega Genesis back when it was released you may have thought it was a super-cutting-edge game console which used a disc-based medium, and therefore was miles ahead of the Nintendo Entertainment System or its successor, the SNES. However, upon further inspection you'd notice a not-so-subtle cartridge port cutting the "CD tray" area right in half. We're not sure why that particular design decision was made — perhaps they ordered the wrong plastic cases from the manufacturer and they didn't take returns — but with the console going through a total of three designs in its lifespan, SEGA obviously knew something was wrong, just as we did.

Panasonic 3DO

 

The 3DO was one of the most expensive consoles of all time, adjusted for inflation. And, if there's anything history has taught us, it's that the most expensive console rarely enjoys the success of its more affordable competitors... especially when its designers took most of their design cues from a workshop footstool. Seriously, if we had a 3DO sitting around the office and someone mistakenly used it for a boost to change a light bulb, we really couldn't blame them.

Perhaps starting with the pretty consoles was a bad idea after all. Those last five hideous contraptions may have permanently burned themselves into our psyche. This list of delicious conjecture is extremely time-sensitive of course. Today we may think the PS3 is the most sexcellent console of the block, but in just a few years we may be placing a cloth over it in disgust. Surely the consoles of the 70s were beautiful in their day as well. Wait, woodgrain? Nevermind, they were always ugly.

Did we miss anything?

Are there any beauties or beasts that you think we've overlooked? Let us know in the comments.

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