Home Gaming Flamebait Friday Debate – Should consoles be art?

Flamebait Friday Debate – Should consoles be art?

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Console-art

We’ve got some new consoles on the way this year. Xbox has the smaller Xbox One S, while Sony has the PlayStation 4 Slim and PS 4 Pro headed your way soon. And they both ooze very different design philosophies. If the original Xbox One was a vehicle, it’d be easily compared with an 18-wheel truck in comparison to the hot hatchback look that the Xbox One S sports.

Meanwhile, the PS4 Slim and Pro aren’t deviating too much from the design that the original PS4 introduced. Black, layered and now sporting rounded edges in case you have a child who enjoys running into things. And that’s where this debate comes into play. I currently think the PS4 Slim looks like a layer cake that has begun to go rotten. It just doesn’t boast the same sex appeal that the first-gen PS4 has.

Meanwhile, the drastic redesign of the Xbox One S just utterly appeals to me. Slimmer and whiter, it stands out amidst a sea of black devices and makes me happy to think of having one. And that’s what I like about certain video game consoles. I like that they stand out. Consoles like the Nintendo GameCube, Xbox 360 Slim or even that original Crystal Xbox that I had at one point, are great examples.

Then again, maybe you prefer to have your entertainment setup boast a uniform look. Everything black and its place. And that’s okay. There’s beauty in uniformity, which explains why I enjoy watching military marching videos while the Red Alert 2 soundtrack blares around me. But what do you think? Should video game consoles be art? Or are you perfectly content to have a plain black box that does what it’s meant to do?

Last Updated: September 30, 2016

73 Comments

  1. Slow news day eh?

    Reply

  2. DragonSpirit009

    September 30, 2016 at 10:40

    I think I’m one of a few people who really don’t care what consoles look like. Sure it might be nice to have something that fits with the rest of the system at home but for me it’s about what that console can produce in game play.

    Reply

  3. Alien Emperor Trevor

    September 30, 2016 at 10:42

    • Andre Fourie

      September 30, 2016 at 10:43

      LOL

      Reply

    • ??????? ????? ™

      September 30, 2016 at 10:45

      GG
      WP
      Debate over

      Reply

    • Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0

      September 30, 2016 at 10:47

      At least it’s not a Vuka

      Reply

    • Dutch Matrix

      September 30, 2016 at 10:49

      I always wanted a ride in yo momo!

      Reply

    • Dungeon of JJ

      September 30, 2016 at 10:58

      FIATs are good cars though. 😛

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0

        September 30, 2016 at 11:00

        And consoles are decent gaming platforms. You just made @disqus_DoEH3TsffU:disqus argument invalid 😛

        Reply

        • Dungeon of JJ

          September 30, 2016 at 11:04

          Haha
          Oops

          Reply

    • Fox1 - Retro

      September 30, 2016 at 11:11

      Nick De Bruyne once had one like that!

      Reply

    • Andre Fourie

      September 30, 2016 at 11:57

      Looks like an East Rand Italian’s dream.

      Reply

  4. Andre Fourie

    September 30, 2016 at 10:43

    Couldn’t figure out what the debate should be about today, could ya?

    Reply

  5. Dungeon of JJ

    September 30, 2016 at 10:48

    Is customising your pc/console/controllers something that you consider, or are you happy with the stock standard ones?

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0

      September 30, 2016 at 10:49

      I bought a Mario skin for my PS4 last year. Looks a lot nicer now.

      Reply

      • Dungeon of JJ

        September 30, 2016 at 10:53

        I have a witcher embled that I put on my controller. Looks a bit worn now, but I’ll scrape it off sometime and probably redo it. I would really love one of those cool customised ones though.

        Reply

        • Original Heretic

          September 30, 2016 at 10:54

          I put one of my Wticher stickers on my console. Just to give it that “this is my rifle, this is my gun” look.

          Reply

          • Dungeon of JJ

            September 30, 2016 at 10:56

            Aww yea. I’m still thinking were to put mine.

          • Original Heretic

            September 30, 2016 at 11:02

            When my friends and I have our PS’s side by side, it makes it easy to see which one is mine.

          • miaau

            September 30, 2016 at 11:06

            Why do you and your friends have your PS’s side by side? Or were you speaking metaphorically?

          • Original Heretic

            September 30, 2016 at 11:07

            Every now again we like to jam together without having to communicate via headsets. We’re old school. Even though we still have to connect via PSN and internet, we like being in the same room.

          • miaau

            September 30, 2016 at 11:09

            LAN gaming, via Console? Wow. Learnt something new today. Two somethings, if I count learning to ask a crying office administrator what is wrong (turns out it was me)

          • Original Heretic

            September 30, 2016 at 11:11

            5 guys, 5 TV’s, 5 Xbox360’s, 5 copies of Gears of War.
            Just add loads of pizza, chocolate and chips. And beer.

            And that’s how we do a boys weekend.

          • Fox1 - Retro

            September 30, 2016 at 11:12

            Gears, pizza… what more does a gamer need!

          • miaau

            September 30, 2016 at 12:14

            indeed. But Gears? Starcraft is more my thing, but yeah, I hear that.

            Hmm. I think we must make our Pizza for supper on Saturday night…. Yeah, that sounds nice.

          • miaau

            September 30, 2016 at 11:13

            Sjoe. Wow. Married with a kid, you say? Wow.

            I cannot see that happening. Also, no friends who game like that anymore.

          • Original Heretic

            September 30, 2016 at 11:15

            Happens FAR too seldom these days. But we make a plan, about once, maybe twice a year.
            I’ve got the most awesome bunch of friends ever.
            We gather to game and we gather to watch fights!

          • miaau

            September 30, 2016 at 11:15

            We gather to game and we gather to watch fights!

            I can do that last just be inviting my family over for a braai………

          • Original Heretic

            September 30, 2016 at 11:18

            I’d rather gather with my friends than with my family.

          • miaau

            September 30, 2016 at 11:36

            well, yes.

            My birthday on Sunday past, my mother had to say something controversial, to brings things around to her and then she left in a huff when questioned. I just kept quiet. Focus must be on her…..

          • Original Heretic

            September 30, 2016 at 11:39

            Eesh, I thankfully don’t have it that bad.

            I just feel like a stranger to my own family, like every time I’m with them, I have to pretend. The few that have peeked under the facade tend to avoid me.
            Whereas my friends see all and accept all,

          • miaau

            September 30, 2016 at 11:43

            Sad thing: Family, especially close (siblings, parents) should be the first to accept who and what you are. I fight against being put into a box. Thankfully, my family is accepting in that way.

          • Original Heretic

            September 30, 2016 at 11:46

            Yeah, but I’ve always been the odd one out. In a family that has produced many top sportsman (my bro even played SA Indoor Cricket), I stick out like a sore thumb with my artistic ways.

          • miaau

            September 30, 2016 at 12:11

            I get you there.

          • Original Heretic

            September 30, 2016 at 12:45

            Hehe, classic music. My mum still like to tell the stories of when I was small and TV was very limited. On a Sunday night I used to insist n staying away to watch the symphony. And it was on late.
            My dad and bro went to bed, she was forced to stay awake with me.

      • ??????? ????? ™

        September 30, 2016 at 10:53

        Deon went full console

        Reply

        • Original Heretic

          September 30, 2016 at 11:02

          Better than going full retard.

          And no, don’t even say that going console is the same.

          Reply

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            September 30, 2016 at 11:03

            Aw.

      • Original Heretic

        September 30, 2016 at 10:53

        • Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0

          September 30, 2016 at 10:59

          LOL!

          Reply

      • Dungeon of JJ

        September 30, 2016 at 10:56

  6. Dutch Matrix

    September 30, 2016 at 10:51

    WORST.FFD.EVER.

    Reply

    • miaau

      September 30, 2016 at 10:58

      I would have phrased it a bit differently, but upon reading only the headline, I thought that is a ridicilous question.

      Then I thought a bit more. Still is. BUT: millions of people care. Why do Apple products sell so well? They are both functional AND, to the general consensus, pretty to behold.

      Reply

      • Dutch Matrix

        September 30, 2016 at 11:03

        Look. To be honest, and I hope the Lagz staff reads this as coming from a loving brother, I want something more meatier from my favourite and only gaming site. News news news news and nothing that really makes me go: Hang on. Let me think about that one. The shape of my console is the last thing I think about when I game.
        If Sony decided to put the PS4 in a 2l Coke bottle I would not have moaned.

        Reply

        • miaau

          September 30, 2016 at 11:05

          I do agree, yes. We must also consider how hard it is to come up with a WEEKLY topic to debate. AND, on the whole (hole?), they have done extremely well with these debates.

          For the sake of argument, let us call this one a slight miss, one miss out of many, many hits is not bad going at all.

          I appreciate the thought and effort that goes into finding a weekly topical topic to engage readers.

          Reply

          • Original Heretic

            September 30, 2016 at 11:06

            Whole. If they were on the hole, well, that’s like’s being on a long drop on a farm somewhere.

          • miaau

            September 30, 2016 at 11:07

            Yeeessss. But I used the word hole? in an attempt to evoke that sort of falling imagery (although not long drop!) to provide more of an illustration to the point. And I was bored.

          • Original Heretic

            September 30, 2016 at 11:08

            I just felt like writing something about long drops. And you gave me a perfect excuse. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/92e6e0b65338cc3daa180a0ca8605ce3c80283591e9b609914672b54f8f22160.jpg

          • miaau

            September 30, 2016 at 11:10

            Um, ok. Glad to be of help. Um, am I not the only one who then needs help? Just asking.

          • Original Heretic

            September 30, 2016 at 11:13

            Help comes in many forms. If you’re referring to the psychiatric kind, then I agree with you. I need help.
            But I pity the shrink that tries to get into MY head!

          • The D

            September 30, 2016 at 14:16

            And I’m going to spend my weekend listening to Linkin Park, you Philistines. CRAAAAAAAWLIIIIIING IN MY SKIIIIIIIIIIN

        • miaau

          September 30, 2016 at 11:08

          New point: To be honest, and I hope the Lagz staff reads this as coming from a loving brother, I miss the comment counts on the articles that was on front page and just vanished on or about Wednesday this week.

          Reply

          • Dutch Matrix

            September 30, 2016 at 11:33

            Now that is something I want to see return.

          • miaau

            September 30, 2016 at 11:35

            Yes. Totally. My experience on the site has changed a lot now.

  7. VampyreSquirrel

    September 30, 2016 at 10:51

    I really don’t care what a console or PC looks like… as long as it functions like a console or PC.

    Some people customize the crap out of their stuff, and I couldn’t care.

    Reply

  8. Original Heretic

    September 30, 2016 at 10:55

    My consoles normally gets stuffed away inside a cabinet and is only unleashed when in use. Which means I do not care how it looks, as long as it plays the games that I insert into it.

    Reply

    • Coughsie

      September 30, 2016 at 14:01

      Stick it in and hope for some pleasure. A mantra to live by.

      Reply

  9. Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0

    September 30, 2016 at 10:58

    A lot of planning goes into the design of consoles because it has to look like it belongs it your living room. The PS1 looked okay. The PS2 was a work of art. PS3 was a behemoth but not too bad looking while the PS4 is a close contender with the PS2 for me.

    As for XBOX, the first one was the best looking so far when compared to the 360 vanilla with it’s red blinking lights and the XBOX One that crushes a house’s foundation under its sheer size

    Reply

  10. miaau

    September 30, 2016 at 11:00

    A box with working contents, thanks. All I care about.

    AND all my consoles and everything is locked away, not even visible, cause of toddler-ness. So all we see of the Xbox One is the controller and it may not be art, but is not ugly to behold.

    Reply

    • Fox1 - Retro

      September 30, 2016 at 11:13

      The Xbox One VCR design is quite classic. The PS4 suddenly looks stupid now that the Pro looks like 2 PS4’s glued together.

      Reply

  11. Dane

    September 30, 2016 at 11:08

    Surely they could have made the thing small in the first place.

    Reply

    • miaau

      September 30, 2016 at 11:11

      Not really. I think heat exchange caused a lot of problems in the designs and sometimes a bit of space for air movement is needed.

      Reply

      • Dane

        September 30, 2016 at 11:19

        Well they seemed to have solved that problem now. Can’t imagine it being 2 years worth of science. If they can do it with each generation, surely they have an established knowledge-base on heat-friendly mechanical designs. Then again I actually don’t have any grounds to stand on so my opinion is “invalid.” But it is my opinion none-the-less.

        Reply

  12. Darren Peach

    September 30, 2016 at 11:46

    I think the initial impression of any device is important. I remember thinking the Xbox one looked like a Beta-max video player. But one could argue that the OG PS4 looked like a pencil eraser. Having said all that, The function of design serves to create a false sense of status and inclusion that quickly becomes redundant once the first year has past and we are all used to it. In terms of considering the actual device a piece of art, It might serve as a niche concept 30 years from now as a retrospective look at technology of the past but beyond that, It’s a piece of hardware that serves a specific purpose for a relatively short period of time and not much more.

    Reply

  13. Lu

    September 30, 2016 at 12:48

    Here’s a fun analogy. Twin sisters, both have exactly the same personality and talents. One is pretty and the other isn’t. Which one do you pick?

    Reply

  14. The Order of the Banana

    September 30, 2016 at 15:38

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