Best designed console ever?

[Shez]

The Q probably stands out for me, but I also like the PSone, and the FZ-1 3DO.

Also worth a mention is the Virtual Boy.

[Silent T]

Dreamcast for me.

Never really thought about this, but me too 8)

Helps that I got a JAP one about a month ago so that I wouldn't have to use that damn DC-X all the time as well

Me also, it still gets played most weekends.

[SharkSkin-Man]

Original PC Engine.

I absolutely hate the Panasonic Q, although the way they have made it look so incredibly cheap and tacky is something of an achievement.

[Adam Stone]

Previously I posted that i thought the Q was the greatest followed but the Plat, however after seeing what the new white Cube looks like...



It is the Q then followed very closely by the above. The white looks great!

[TommyG]

Q for me as well. Doesn't look tacky at all and in fact, it looks even better when i can see my face in it

[Square]

Original PC Engine.

Seconded.

[Crispy Rice]

The PC engine LT, or the supergrafx... both very cool

But the winner has to be the original Gameboy.

[mid]

While I agree that the DC is a wonderful piece of kit, I've one question. Ignoring the contents being PAL or NTSC, I have to ask which you prefer - turquoise or orange? I'm going with orange, simply because its my favorite colour.

[ZeroRisk]

Turquoise for me

[RLench]

I prefer the turquoise colour. I also prefer the PAL boxes to the NTSC ones (even though they're a bitch to find suitable storage for)

[Papercut]

I have a Q, good to see lots of ppl appreciating it here.

but...

for me the best console has to be the Dreamcast, any edition, hands down

[srgbilco]

From an aesthetic and functional viewpoint, I didn't find the DC all that good. Up close, it's not very inspirational. It's like they wanted to keep manufacturing costs to a minimum, but still wanted to impress. So they put in some ****ty curves to what is basically a square box. The bottom mounted cable on the controller is one big faux-pas as well, and the controller feels to light without it's expansion sockets filled. The default colour's pretty crap too. It just sticks to expected standards.

GC: This has one of my favourite designs, mainly due to the simplicity and also the bold colour. The size is also in it's advantage, as it the handle at the back, which, for once, is actually as useful as the PR said it was. The short cable length is very frustrating though, even if you sit a short distance away from the console. And top-loading, non-motorised disc drives should have gone out with the ark, or the DC at least, especially when the console's under the TV. I don't really like the controller bit that sticks out either, it should have been mounted flat on the GC to give it a more streamlined look.

PS2: Another bold, simple design that works, despite the ubiqutious black. Looking at the limited edition colours, it seems to work with most colours. The main flaw in this is the space underneath the main body of the PS2, which you'll notice is never shown in press photos of the PS2 in it's monolith position. And, with a design like this, you expect it to be made from metal. The lack of controller ports is pretty crap too.

Q: I just don't like this. It looks very tacky, unlike the Macs it tries to impersonate with a mixture of clear and grey plastic. Don't like it at all. My penchant is for subtle white consoles, metallic or matt. This looks like a budget DVD player that tries to impress with loads of chromey bits and clear plastic.

X-box:

Neo-Geo AES: This is one of my favourite designs too, although I've only seen pictures of it. Because of it's high price, the build quality seems to be superb and it shows how you should mix curves and straight lines. I also like the buttons, which are mounted and streamlined to appear inline and flat against the case.

[womblingfree]

Xbox should win an award for worst aesthetic design IMO. Considering the efforts Sony and Nintendo have taken to compact their machines Microsofts efforts are appalling. Power and technology is so much more appealing when the design doesn't look like a 70's hi-fi component from Rumbelows.

Panasonic Q looks like it's straight out of a 1950's sci-fi movie, not necessarily a bad thing.

Gamecube is the most forward looking design this generation I think, it's sooo cute and compact, a pity that it feels so cheap.

Dreamcast is too plasticy and Fisher Price-esque.

PS2 is solid and stylish and looks great on its side placed at a strategic point in the room. A shame then that you have to stick a potentially hazardous cable gamepad into it to ruin the effect. Still, my all round favorite design this gen.

Of all time???? N64 should get an award for indestructability closely followed by the Megadrive. But best deign ever?

I'd have to line them all up and think long and hard. Anyone fancy posting pictures of all the consoles together?

Best designed computery thing ever though...new iMac ludicrously stylish.
Edge should win the Luddite Award for denouncing it upon launch for looking like a desklamp from 2001: A Space Odessey. Of course it does and that's another ****ing cool thing about it.

[?pint]

The PSone is a very nice looking console. Also, the GameCube is nice and small which makes me like the way it looks. I think the Xbox does look nice, though it is too big. If it was the same shape and proportions, except the size of a PlayStation, then it would be excellent. The Q looks nice, very nice .

[Streets Of Rage]

okay im going to be different and go for the megadrive/cd, i like the way it looks, especially the mds next to a mcd2 or an md1 on top of an mcd1, they look excellent together, stylish and understated, just a simple no frills machine with a nice finish