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The GC controller was OK, but the 360 controller is by far the best designed controller (ergonomically, not aesthetically).

 

The 360 controller is the Dreamcast controller that has evolved and has suddenly become "good".

 

It's a nice controller, but the GC ranks above it, for me. The only thing stopping the GC from being perfect is the shitty and redundant d-pad. Those analogues! :D

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After that, the original GREY N64.

 

inb4 "it's black!"

 

Darn, I was going to make that joke. :heh:

 

Ahh, remember when consoles used to actually come in lots of different colours? (that weren't just obscure special editions!)

 

1898331-dsci1095.jpg

 

The light blue and orange ones especially = :love:

 

The turquoise one is dead sexy.

 

The opposite of this is the GameCube controller, which is just beautiful to look at and hold.

 

I agree. The CG controller just fits into your hands as if it was tailored. The same goes for the Nunchuk with the added freedom of your hands.

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The Gamecube, the DS Lite and the first Gameboy will always hold a special place in my heart as the go-to comparisons for any console design. I also think that the GBAs, the Mega Drive, Dreamcast, PSP and 3DS are great designs.

 

Controller-wise, Gamecube's the best. The Dualshock and the 360 controller are pretty good as well. The best kind of control is the handheld one, though, so DS Lite wins it for me. The Wii U controller was pretty slick too, even though I spent little time with it.

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I think i have to disagree about the GBA SP - it looks like something you would get in a Happy Meal.

It may not look quite as cool now, but you either weren't following it or can't remember the reaction when it first appeared. This was by far the "coolest" thing Nintendo had ever made. And if you had an original GBA, no matter how much you loved it, it had one of the worst screens since the Game and Watch.

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It may not look quite as cool now, but you either weren't following it or can't remember the reaction when it first appeared. This was by far the "coolest" thing Nintendo had ever made. And if you had an original GBA, no matter how much you loved it, it had one of the worst screens since the Game and Watch.

 

Well you might be right about that, i wasn't following it when it was announced, and it might have been/be very cool at the time, but i don't think it stands up now in terms of aesthetics.

 

If you ignore everything else and just compare looks, it's pretty ugly.

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Looking over the GAF thread madeinbeats originally posted, I think I've concluded that the two 'consoles' I find most aesthetically pleasing are probably the Vita and the Micro. The gamecube was a slick idea, and I love purple, but it could have been done a bit better(maybe not the grey?) - I did love the pads for that though; both looks wise and controller wise.

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I'm very surprised people think the GBA SP looks good. Yes it was a great handheld but aesthetically it looks horrible and cheap IMO.

 

And I hope the OP was kidding about the Panasonic Q being nice looking... I'd forgotten just how utterly fugly that thing is. How many buttons do you need!

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I'm very surprised people think the GBA SP looks good. Yes it was a great handheld but aesthetically it looks horrible and cheap IMO.

 

And I hope the OP was kidding about the Panasonic Q being nice looking... I'd forgotten just how utterly fugly that thing is. How many buttons do you need!

 

Having seen the Q in the flesh, that picture is a pretty shit representation - was pretty slick at its time.

 

And, I'm actually going to have to second thinking the SP was a good look. It did what a hand held needed to, small and pocketable; I loved the later designs that weren't just plain - my obvious favourite/bias being towards this one;

1244439ZeldaSP.jpg

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The GameCube design screams 'games', 'fun', 'excitement', 'nostalgia', 'childhood' etc etc. The purple was perfect. The aesthetics and toyish buttons were perfect because everything about them was superfluous. There was a shameless, infantile gloriousness to the thing. A little mysterious box that transported you to virtual paradises. It begged to be stroked and admired.

 

Leagues ahead of anything else in this thread.

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Having seen the Q in the flesh, that picture is a pretty shit representation - was pretty slick at its time.

 

And, I'm actually going to have to second thinking the SP was a good look. It did what a hand held needed to, small and pocketable; I loved the later designs that weren't just plain - my obvious favourite/bias being towards this one;

1244439ZeldaSP.jpg

 

SP was terrible, imo. It's too anagular, too clunky and uncomfortable. The original GBA was also poor and virtually unusable. I'm surprised Nintendo released the SP in that state.

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SP was terrible, imo. It's too anagular, too clunky and uncomfortable. The original GBA was also poor and virtually unusable. I'm surprised Nintendo released the SP in that state.

 

Did you have a GBA? Play it much? I thought the SP was a genius step from the GBA original; though I also feel it was one of the notable beginners in the 'lets remake the same console again for a higher price!' saga. The micro sadly was so far on it was wasted, but that was admittedly the definitive model of the GBA for me.

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Did you have a GBA? Play it much? I thought the SP was a genius step from the GBA original; though I also feel it was one of the notable beginners in the 'lets remake the same console again for a higher price!' saga. The micro sadly was so far on it was wasted, but that was admittedly the definitive model of the GBA for me.

 

I played the GBA a fair bit, aye. That is, when I could see what the hell I was doing. You couldn't use it outdoors, you had to sit directly under a lamp or in a room with a massive amount of light. In that sense, the SP was brilliant. But, the clamshell design of it wasn't great, particularly how "boxy" it looked and felt.

 

In general, the whole GBA era was forgettable for me. I much preferred the DS/DSlite era, in terms of console design and what we actually played on them. Thought the DSi was a bit of a waste, though.

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I played the GBA a fair bit, aye. That is, when I could see what the hell I was doing. You couldn't use it outdoors, you had to sit directly under a lamp or in a room with a massive amount of light. In that sense, the SP was brilliant. But, the clamshell design of it wasn't great, particularly how "boxy" it looked and felt.

 

In general, the whole GBA era was forgettable for me. I much preferred the DS/DSlite era, in terms of console design and what we actually played on them. Thought the DSi was a bit of a waste, though.

 

Well I still think the clamshell was genius, as it meant I could pocket the thing quite well; plus I'd view it as a precursor to the DS's design maybe. I agree about the original GBA(though both felt perfectly fine in my hands); can't believe we used to play handhelds without a backlight! Seems so basic now. Of course, the DS blew things wide open, similar to the wii, with its new touch screen controls and two screens - definitely kicks the shit out of the GBA and I second the notion on the DSi; apart from my sister who wanted a larger DS I don't think I know anyone with one.

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