Console Hardware - original or rerelease

[CosmicMonkey]

Just wondering what you guys think to the re-releases or slimline versions of many consoles, and whether you prefer them over the oiginal from a design point of view.

PS2/PStwo - I much prefer the PStwo. OK, so there's no (official) HDD support and your PSU may explode but the slimline looks sooo much better. It looks great in black or ceramic white, but the silver one looks tacky.

PS1/PSone - Again, I much prefer the styling of the slimline PSone.

SFami/SFami Jr. - Hmmm. Undecided on this one. Never actually seen a Jr. in real life so it's hard to comment. Although from what I've seen, the Jr. is very cute.

Fami/NES/NES2[AV Fami] - The original model of the Famicom looks so funky and Japanese, it's hard to dislike it. Especially with a Disk System sat underneath. The original NES was a brick tbh, not the greatest design ever. The new AV Fami is a nice design, especially the new pads.

MD/MD2/Genny3 - As a standalone machine, I prefer the MD2 over the original. Although when a MD1 is hooked into a M-CD1, it looks amazing and much better than a CD2 set-up. From the pictures I've seen of the Genny3, it's pretty nifty. Although the Sega RG-M1 Wondermega is surely the finest looking piece of MD hardware ever.

MasterSystem/MS2 - IS there anyone who actually liked the original design of the MS? Absolutely horrible. The redesign looked so much better, even if it did lack card support.

And a special mention has to go to the Panasonic Q version of the GC, and the Divers 2000 DC. The Q is an amazing looking bit of kit, and a Divers is the best console design ever.

[Ed Oscuro]

I definitely remember seeing this topic a while ago...hmm.

I like the redesigned SNES. Great A/V output, and for this console I can't really see the bonus of S-Video. I'm pretty sure the story is much the same with the Super Famicom versions.

For Genesis, the redesigns aren't terribly great, with the exception of the Nomad portable which, in my experience, has GREAT video output.

NES? Toaster for me. Famicom? Sharp Twin is great; FC Titler if you wanted S-Video (might be good for the trees at the beginning of Castlevania, but other than that I don't see the use).

If I had a PS2, I'd go with the original. I've heard horror stories about the lasers in the slimline edition popping within a week of use.

GameCube? Heh, the newest versions don't have a composite port...so guess which one I'm sticking with.

Game Boy - definitely the Pocket. Great little machine.

PSX/PSOne - I've always loved the PSX. Never really cared to get the redesign, which I suppose I might one of these days as the box is pretty small...

[Joker T]

I do like redesigned systems but I hate shelling out the cash for a improved system. Nintendo does this frequently, that is why I was worried buying a DS because a small one could be released in a year or 2.

[googlefest1]

as far as the sms goes i think that was one fo the best looking systems

[Great Hierophant]

While redesigned systems look better, they tend not to be as good as the original model in terms of functionality. For example:

AV Famicom vs. Famicom - No Microphone in second controller

SNES jr. vs. SNES - No S-Video or RGB support

SMS2 vs. SMS - No A/V Output or Card Slot (3D Glasses)

2-Port 5200 vs. 4-Port 5200 - Two less controller ports, minor incompatibilities.

Top-loader NES vs. Frontloader NES - No AV out, poorer video quality, Game Genie issues

PSTwo vs. Playstation 2 - No Hard Drive Support

Gameboy Color vs. Gameboy - Minor incompatibilities w/Gameboy originals, smaller speaker

PSOne vs. Playstation - Harder to mod

Genesis 2 vs. Genesis - Does not physically support Power Base Converter

Genesis 3 vs. Genesis 1/2 - Does not support Sega CD, 32X or Power Base Converter, sound issues.

[Aussie2B]

For the most part, I prefer the original versions, with the exception of the top-loader and Nintendo's handhelds. The CDX is quite nice too.

[Memnon]

NES > NES 2
Hmm, kind of hard. The original looks like a plain, grey box, the remake looks like a toy. The original has a garbage pin connector, but the remake has only RF output. I like the composite output better, so I'll vote for the original NES.

Genesis 2 > Genesis 1
Even though I owned the model 1 back in the day, I didn't really like the big, bulbous off-center 'circle' on the shell, nor the black and red color scheme, or the cheesy headphone jack that has to be used for stereo sound. The model 2 looks more sleek and professional.

Snes 2 > Snes 1 (aesthetics)
Snes 1 > Snes 2 (video performance)
I admit that the model 1 has the superior S-Video capability, which is a big advantage, but I still like the slimmer, all-business look of the remake, not to mention it doesn't have the ugly urine-yellow color of the original.

Sega CD 2 > Sega CD 1
I never really understood why most people like the original Sega CD over the remake. When connected with the Genesis, the model 1 version looks to me like a big, clunky, multi-colored frankenstein, especially if a stereo cable is connected around the front to the headphone jack.The sleek, all-black Genesis2/CD2 were designed to match with each other. A lot of guys say the CD2 looks 'cheap', but the fewer number of moving parts makes it more reliable. It just looks more like a serious, mature entertainment console to me, designed for the entertainment center.

PSOne > Playstation
Don't really care which one, but since I like smaller consoles, the PSOne.

PS2 > Playstation 2
Same reason as above.

I notice most on this board prefer to have all the original bells and whistles on their consoles, which is the opposite for me. I like 'em small, lean, and slick (except in cases where a/v performance is compromised).

[Poofta!]

i like front loading CD consoles, so i prefer the SCD 1 and PS2 over their remakes. same for the NES.

aesthetically i like the PSone over the original, but the original had a cool port in the back for gameshark and i had a peripheral to let you play gameboy games through that port... so that was pretty cool. but i love the PSone w/ the PSone LCD.

[XxMe2NiKxX]

PSone > PS1. No real disadvantages to using the PSone, and it's physically smaller and looks better.

Genesis 1 > Genesis 2/3. Most hardware support, the true first version plays PAL games, it looks better, and has superior video output.

SNES 1 > SNES 2. Vastly superior video output.

SCD 1 > SCD 2. Significantly more durable, takes up less horizontal space, doesn't look fugly with a Genesis 1.

TopladerNES > WhatthefuckweretheythinkingwiththisuglydesignNES. With the Toploader, you get a console that actually works.

[CosmicMonkey]

I'll be quite interested to see what the inevitable slimline PSthree looks like.

Oh, and there is a Power Base converter for the MD2/Genny2. It just doesn't have a card slot.