Good systems. Bad designs

[Nero 99]

Anyone have a console that you love to play but you hate the design of it? I know I do, and for me its the NES. God I wish they just wouldve made it a top loader. Its a pain in the ass to clean the pin connectors because you have to take the whole thing apart and the inside collects dust way too easy. i mean i love the NES but they really f***ed up on the design of it. If they woudve just made it a top loader they coud of had smaller carts, more functionality, and we wouldnt have to deal with replaceing the pin connectors. By the time they did release a top loader it only came with RF and there pretty pricy now since so little of them were sold.

[otoko]

No arguments here. I kinda dislike the design of the Colecovision. I love the system, but it's way too big for my taste. I don't have room for it being one of the few systems bigger than a Xbox.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

The original X-Box.

It's got all the aesthetic appeal of a late 90's cable TV converter box ... and the (original) controllers compliment it's fugliness.

[ssjlance]

Anyone have a console that you love to play but you hate the design of it? I know I do, and for me its the NES. God I wish they just wouldve made it a top loader. Its a pain in the ass to clean the pin connectors because you have to take the whole thing apart and the inside collects dust way too easy. i mean i love the NES but they really f***ed up on the design of it. If they woudve just made it a top loader they coud of had smaller carts, more functionality, and we wouldnt have to deal with replaceing the pin connectors. By the time they did release a top loader it only came with RF and there pretty pricy now since so little of them were sold.
I love the Top Loader. Even if it is RF only. Loads better than the initial design.

[ooXxXoo]

NES Model 2 totally bad design....When the NES Top Loader is modded to composite /audio A/V jacks.Its Glorious!..

[Nero 99]

I love the Top Loader. Even if it is RF only. Loads better than the initial design.

I know, I my self woud like one but Ive noticed that some nes games the connectors get slightly bent over the years so when you put them in a top loader they lean for ward a little bit and dont connect right so you haveto find a way to stop them from leaning forward to play them.

[DefaultGen]

.....

[TheDomesticInstitution]

I hate that the controller sockets are in the back of the 2600 Jr. Why you would put the RF socket and power outlet on the same side as the place you plug in the joysticks is beyond me.

[Superman]

I don't really mind how any system looks; they are what they are. The only complaint I can think of is the Atari 5200 was too big.

[Poofta!]

all of them.

i have problems w/ every design of a console ever. nothings perfect. i have to say though, the pspslim and dslite are on top at the moment.

[Bojay1997]

all of them.

i have problems w/ every design of a console ever. nothings perfect. i have to say though, the pspslim and dslite are on top at the moment.

Really? I thought the 3do FZ1 and the PS3 were pretty cool from a design perspective. I agree with you on most of the others.

[alec006]

I do like the design of the PS3,but,the only problem is,its sphered at the top,so you cant stack anything on top of it,like a PS2 or another smaller console.

[Damaramu]

Super NES. I loved the early pics I saw when I was younger of the Super Famicom...and was quite shocked to see it completely redesigned for the US (and other countries too).

Still wouldn't mind getting my hands on a SFC.

[guitargary75]

The first Atari 5200, it's HUGE!!!

[mr.soul]

I definitely agree about the 2600 controller ports in the back. WHY? The cords on the joysticks are already so short to begin with, why would the ports be farther away from you?

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I hate that the controller sockets are in the back of the 2600 Jr. Why you would put the RF socket and power outlet on the same side as the place you plug in the joysticks is beyond me.

They were on the back of the original 2600 ... so the Jr. was just following in form and function (even if the form was kind of strange).

I think that early consoles weren't meant to sit in "entertainment centers" judging by the cord length alone. Compare the length of the 2600's standard controller cord to that of it's AC adapter ... and you'd see that they were meant to be kept close to the couch, so quick game swapping wouldn't be a get up and walk around affair.

I digress. I'm not disagreeing with you. Controller ports in the front for the win.

[Cryomancer]

Game Wave. Wave shape makes it need to be the top of any stack, the logo is just a sticker, overall pretty ugly thing. However the remote holder is nice.

[Fuzzball24]

The Xbox and N64 look like pieces of crap. :]

[k8track]

By "design", are we talking aesthetics or functionality/flaws? As far as the latter, I'll go with the Bally Astrocade with its tendency to overheat and destroy itself. (But it looks great!) As to the former, I'll go with the American SNES with its ugly grey-purple color scheme (and in many cases, the now-yellowed plastic)--the Japanese Super Famicom is far cooler looking.

[diskoboy]

Definitely the Jaguar.

It looked a little better with the CD drive attached. But it was so...... Round.

And the original Gameboy was one damn ugly thing, looking back on it now. The original PlayStation was pretty ugly, too, come to think of it....

[swlovinist]

I would have to say top of the list was the 5200...it looks like a large pimpmoble. The Intellivision/Colecovision and its phone cords....yuck. For moden consoles, I thought that the Xbox was pretty huge and ugly. All the consoles that I mentioned I enjoy to play though...they just have ugly asthetics.

[boatofcar]

By "design", are we talking aesthetics or functionality/flaws?

Good question-it's important to make that distinction.

Bad aesthetics - I hate big consoles, so the obvious losers here are the Xbox and 5200. I also don't like the rounded top of the PS3 or the general looks of the SNES.

Consoles with good aesthetics for me include the NES, Atari 800, and Atari 1200XL. I don't like to see my carts sticking out of the top of my system. It's distracting.

Bad functionality- All the obvious ones of course--the NES pin problem, any system with controller ports in the back, and the cartridge port in the back of the Atari 130XE.

EDIT: I forgot the ol' Pause button on the system on the SMS. Ugh.

[staxx]

The PC Engine Shuttle, what was NEC thinking ?_? You can't even plug the CD addon to it.....

[graciano1337]

The Genesis/Mega Drive and all it's really ugly peripheals...

[kedawa]

North America gets shafted on pretty much any game system that is designed differently for different territories.
I always hated the SNES, with its awkward shape, disgusting color scheme, and pie-tin trim.
The TG16 just doesn't do it for me either.
I do like the SMS better than the Mark III, however.

[Press_Start]

The Turbo Grafx CD and Sega CD should have been separate consoles from the start.

Their libraries has A+++ games (Lords of Thunder and Lunar :D:D:D), but the biggest gripe with them is BOTH add-on and console are needed. Plus, they need their own power source EACH.

Any bad game console is most likely the result of poor marketing research and strategy.

[cosmicpsycho]

Alot of people think the TG-16 is ugly, but I've always kind of liked the look of it. The single controller port is another story. For most of the older systems I find that the ugliness is part of the charm and nostalgia, but thats just me.

[ApolloBoy]

Never mind.

[debian4life]

Hand held - Sega Game Gear - Controls are terrible for games like Ms. Pac-Man. Would have been a lot better if it had analog stick.

Console
Colecovision - Controller is way to flimsy, wears out quickly

Sega Genesis with Cd Rom attachment - To large and power adapters were huge and couldn't easily plug into outlets due to size of them. Also CD games were really choppy.

Regards,

Brian

[Cryomancer]

Anyone who thinks the Xbox is big should see a Laseractive. here they are side by side: http://kevlargibs.net/cryomancer/laseractivehueg.jpg

[Iron Draggon]

well I think the Atari 5200 should win this one by a landslide, because of its totally shit standard controllers, and its many other design flaws... I know of no other console in history which REQUIRES 3rd party controllers, because the standard controllers are so POORLY DESIGNED... if you used the standard controllers to play it, THEY WOULD ALWAYS END UP BROKEN, and this was solely because of their absolutely piss-poor internal design... this to me is the epitome of this thread's topic... the games were mostly great, making the 5200 a good system to play, but the design of its standard controllers would alway make it unplayable, sooner or later... not to mention the fact that it lacked Atari 2600 backwards compatibility, while its main rival Colecovision had that backwards compatibility, which proves that the system itself was poorly designed... what idiot at Atari decided to hand Coleco a license to kill them on every level? first they let Coleco make games for the 2600, and then they let Coleco make 2600 games run on Coleco's new system, while Atari's own new system could only play its own games... EXTREMELY BAD DESIGN! then of course there's the aesthetic design category, and most people agree that the 5200 failed on this level as well, making it an all-around LOSER, and thus also making it the all-around WINNER of this particular thread, IMHO...

[k8track]

I'm gonna be the lone ranger here and say that, aesthetically, I love the design and look of the Atari 5200. I seriously do. It's a huge, sleek, black and silver behemoth. Maybe it was because I longed and lusted for it so much when I was a kid, flipping through the pages of Atari Age magazine. I also love the way the trackball looks and feels, and I even think the controllers look cool. But there's no disputing that the controllers are otherwise horrible. Bad, bad choice. You really have to go to some trouble to get a third-party alternative that works for you. Which is a shame, considering how excellent the 5200 library is.

[jahvybe]

I like my 3do and turbo grafx but i hate how they both have the single controller port. At least with the 3do you don't have to have an adapter like the turbo grafx but how lame is it to have and extra wire coming out of your controller for the other guy.

Also Diskoboy, I like the way the jaguar looks without the cd toilet seat on top.

[jb143]

If were talking about bad engineering designs then I'd say the Jaguar. It was powerfull but nearly impossible to develop for unless you really understood multi-processor programming.

[Damaramu]

Anyone who thinks the Xbox is big should see a Laseractive. here they are side by side: http://kevlargibs.net/cryomancer/laseractivehueg.jpg

Well, to be fair the Laseractive is a laser disc player after all.

But yeah, my LA came shipped in a PC monitor box.

[Push Upstairs]

American SNES. Looks like some shitty 1970's rejected spaceship design.

[The Old School Gamer]

I'll agree with those that say the 5200, Its just way too big. And of course the controlers are trash. My Genesis with cd and 32x looks far worst plus with 3 AC adaptors its just a nightmare to hook up when i want to play it.

[Cinder6]

Aesthetics: Well, there are a few I don't like. The 5200, TG16, and original Xbox all stand out for me (actually, I don't like the look of the 360, either; it looks like one of those cheap Dell computers, only white). Also, CD-based systems that use a lid instead of a frontloading assembly annoy me, since you can't stack and they need more head room.

Design: A lot of people are bringing up the Sega CD and 32x, and while it's really annoying to need to use up to 3 power cords, I still like them (well, I like the original Sega CD, that is). The pause button placement on the Master System has always been baffling, and the frontloading NES has that atrocious connector. Then, early-model PS1s had the melting drive assembly (or was it ground down, not melted?).

The N64 Expansion Pak was pretty annoying, since only a couple games actually needed it (and unfortunately, one was Perfect Dark). But what has always bothered me are N64 memory cards. Why do they exist? Well, besides the obvious "to make more money". But seriously, cartridges can hold data (and most 1st-party N64 games do this).

Another thing that's baffling is the fact that random N64 games use battery backup instead of whatever nonvolatile method the other games use for saves (is it flash?). For example, Ocarina of Time uses nonvolatile memory, but Majora's Mask uses battery backup. IIRC, the blasted memory card also uses one.

[Aussie2B]

But what has always bothered me are N64 memory cards. Why do they exist? Well, besides the obvious "to make more money". But seriously, cartridges can hold data (and most 1st-party N64 games do this).

When they were first released, it seemed like the main purpose behind them was to be able to pack your files with you wherever you want so you could use your file on a friend's copy of the game or what have you. I'm sure the last thing Nintendo would've wanted was yet another reason for their system to be considered inferior to PlayStation when that system had its own tiny portable cards. Although, if memory serves, I don't believe there's any way to transfer files from one controller pak to another, so the advantage is kinda moot, especially with N64 carts being fairly small themselves.

But, yeah, later on it seemed to be the territory of third-party developers that didn't want to shell out the cash to include a battery in each cartridge.

[otaku]

Both Xbox systems. Ataris. Lots of systems really especially older stuff.

Wii/GC looks great
DC looks fine
PS2/ps3/psp/psone all look nice

[boatofcar]

well I think the Atari 5200 should win this one by a landslide, because of its totally shit standard controllers, and its many other design flaws... I know of no other console in history which REQUIRES 3rd party controllers, because the standard controllers are so POORLY DESIGNED... if you used the standard controllers to play it, THEY WOULD ALWAYS END UP BROKEN, and this was solely because of their absolutely piss-poor internal design... this to me is the epitome of this thread's topic... the games were mostly great, making the 5200 a good system to play, but the design of its standard controllers would alway make it unplayable, sooner or later... not to mention the fact that it lacked Atari 2600 backwards compatibility, while its main rival Colecovision had that backwards compatibility, which proves that the system itself was poorly designed... what idiot at Atari decided to hand Coleco a license to kill them on every level? first they let Coleco make games for the 2600, and then they let Coleco make 2600 games run on Coleco's new system, while Atari's own new system could only play its own games... EXTREMELY BAD DESIGN! then of course there's the aesthetic design category, and most people agree that the 5200 failed on this level as well, making it an all-around LOSER, and thus also making it the all-around WINNER of this particular thread, IMHO...

Actually...you're right. I think the 5200 is the winner, or loser I guess of this thread :)

[j_factor]

Not one mention of the Virtual Boy or Sega Pico.

Oh wait, that wouldn't fit the "good systems" part.

Seriously though, I can't stand the Colecovision design. The controllers may be better than the 5200 travesties, but they still suck. And the console itself is huge for the sole purpose of accomodating a large controller holding tray built in to the unit. The bay in the front for the expansion modules seems to be very loose fitting and also has poor contact. And the #1 problem I have with the system is that every time I've played one, it always feels like it's on the verge of breaking down. And yet, it's all worth it for Pepper II.

[DeputyMoniker]

INTV 100%. Those controllers are total shit. Did anything work on those things? To get any response; my kid hands had to squeeze those side buttons as hard as I could. 50% of the strategy involved with playing SNAFU or Auto Racing is working that damn disc. Put an overlay in it and good luck using the phone pad. I guess that's something better left to a "bad controller" discussion. However, I didn't like the cart placement either. It was a pain digging those carts out of the system with my kid hands and mashing them back in wasn't any easier at the time. Furthermore, lets talk about trying to stuff controller cords into their holding slot. Anybody enjoy doing that?
So that covers the controller (disc, side buttons, cords, and overlays) and cart slot. Discussing physical limitations brings the INTV to mind every time. Man, what a beautiful disaster. All that aside; I love me some INTV. Burgertime, Mousetrap, Tron: Deadly Discs, Beauty and the Beast, Popeye, SNAFU, Auto Racing, Astrosmash, Night Stalker, Utopia, etc. Yeah, I love me some INTV for sure.

[jb143]

I never understood the intellivision controllers either untill I saw an interview with the developers telling how they played their games. They held one controller in each hand using different fingers for different buttons.

Well...I'm still not sure I understand their design decision but it sure does make the games a heck of a lot easier to play.

[Steve W]

And to think Atari was planning on updating the Atari 5200 console by coming out wiht the Atari 5200 Jr. design. A much better looking console, closer to the Atari 7800 but more blockly. But the controllers shoot the console in the foot, unfortunately.

The Atari Lynx model 1 wasn't exactly a beauty. It looked too much like a skateboard without wheels. The model 2 was a far better looking design.

I never liked the pastel colored buttons on the Atari XEGS.

The Sears Telegames version of the Intellivision wasn't exactly a visually pleasing design. A bit too fugly for my tastes. However, I regret that the Intellivision III console never came out (I'm not talking about the one INTV put out years later). The Intellivision III was a pretty smart looking machine.

[The 1 2 P]

For systems, the 3DO FZ-1 was an over sized lunch brick. It has some good games but it's big and bulky, no doubt a prototype for the Xbox.

As for controllers, I will never for the life of me like the N64 controller. The system has tons of great games but I could never get use to that three-pronged plastic thing they pass off as a controller.

[Xizer]

I'd have to say the slim PS2. The super-thin power and disc cover open buttons are just flat-out annoying. You have to physically grab the system and hold onto it when you press them too or otherwise it will go flying back like ten feet because it's so light.

Why do PlayStation controllers have to have such wide plugs as well?

Best designs: GameCube and Xbox. Microsoft really did a good job packing in all the Xbox's components into a neat case. It's not a boring plain rectangle. The GameCube's just adorable, the perfect cube shape with attached Game Boy Player is neat and that handle is really useful.

Most of the cartridge systems are just average in design in my opinion. The N64's probably the most stylish of the cartridge systems with its unique curvy design. I like it.

[ApolloBoy]

I'm gonna go with the Colecovision on this one. A little over half the system is hollow plastic, and it's just there for storing the controllers. It also didn't help that Coleco used substandard parts in the CV's construction (bad controller ICs, bent controller ports and bad RAM anyone?).

[Ze_ro]

If all we're talking about is the aesthetic look of the console itself, then who cares? All it does is sit there with wires coming out of it. In that case, I'd have to go with poor choices in functionality... specifically, the NES for it's awful cartridge loading mechanism that doesn't work well.

If we're talking about generally poor design choices, then the 5200 wins it for sure with it's awful controllers. I don't even care that the system is a giant tank (I love my LaserActive), it's got a lot of excellent games that are ruined by terrible controllers that don't even work well when they DO work!

The Virtual Boy is in a league of it's own. I love the idea of actual 3D, but they just made so many terrible design choices with this thing that it makes the Game.com look like a marvel of engineering.... the stand that never manages to be appropriate, the lack of a head strap, batteries in the controller, dust covers on the cartridges (despite the design of the cartridge slot being self-cleaning), link cable never released...

--Zero

[alexkidd2000]

Although I loved it, the Coleco Vision was a pos. So easy to blow the controller ports so that it auto moves you control left or right or whatever. Also you always get the white lines all over the screen. The controllers wear out fast too.

[Gentlegamer]

While I've grown used to it, the US SNES is . . . weird looking. I had actually rented a Super Famicom before the US model was previewed (had a cool video store that would import stuff like that), and when Nintendo Power finally showed the SNES I was . . . puzzled.

[BydoEmpire]

I'm a little surprised at some of the responses. I never thought of the SNES as an ugly console - I kind of like the grey and purple. Plus, it had the best controllers ever.

Funcionality: the Intellivision 2. They took the imperfect but still decent Inty controllers and made them worse in every possible way. I also disliked holding the power switch for 2 seconds to turn it off. The stock 7800 sticks are the worst controllers ever made. I also find the CV stock controllers horribly uncomfortable - moreso than the original Inty and 5200 controllers.

Aesthetics: never been a big fan of the big silver brute, the O2. It's big an blocky, just like the system's sprites. :) I do like a lot of the games, though. I don't particularly care for the look of the Jaguar, either.

I also like the 5200 - both in looks and functionality. Despite the failure rate, the 5200 controllers are reasonably comfortable for most games... I also like the controllers having a keypad and start/pause/reset buttons right on them.

[Ruudos]

Super NES. I loved the early pics I saw when I was younger of the Super Famicom...and was quite shocked to see it completely redesigned for the US (and other countries too).

Still wouldn't mind getting my hands on a SFC.


Which other countries? Canada? Because the European SNES was Super Famicom-style.

[ApolloBoy]

Which other countries? Canada? Because the European SNES was Super Famicom-style.

Can't be Canada, since they got the same system we Americans did. Australasia got the European SNES as well.

[cyberfluxor]

Actually...you're right. I think the 5200 is the winner, or loser I guess of this thread :)

It's a love-hate relationship though, isn't it? You're taking a system with some good titles and gameplay, but yet it's totally broken. Sure, there are a few good stories about the controls alive today, however so many have gone kaput to where most of the 5200 community relies on 3rd party or hacked/custom controllers. It's the bully on the block that deserves some respect but some research before you go all in.

[Soviet Conscript]

North America gets shafted on pretty much any game system that is designed differently for different territories.
I do like the SMS better than the Mark III, however.

yhea, except jp got that design as well but with extra features like improved sound.

we don't just get shafted on looks but hardware capabilities as well. pisses me off to no end.

[turbokon]

The only reason NEC redesigned the PC-Engine to what we know as the turbo grafx 16 to satified the perception of the american consumer that bigger is better.