Topic: Is it me or is the Wii U boring as hell (Console Design)

[Nile Boogie Returns]

And again I'm talking the physical design of the hardware. So I'm rearranging the living room and had to move our router, cable box and gaming systems since my son is about to start crawling. Long story not as long The Wii u is the main living room console now (mainly cause of off TV play). I'm looking at this thing now like "could you be more boring to look at" like a generic action movie of the early 2000's. Now I know that the look doesn't make "that" big of a difference in terms of gameplay, features and blah blah blah it's about as safe of a design that I can think of in the last 20years hyperbole in all. Not just Nintendo either, every other console since PS1 looks "better" or at least tries to. I would rather it be ugly rather than white bread.




As I type this I'm now thinking this safe, no frills, stoic "romantic comedy starring Julia Roberts" approach may also be the problem with the company itself.

[Adrock]

It is, but it was also intentional. Nintendo downplayed the console in favor of the GamePad. Satoru Iwata later regretted not showing the console first.

My favorite console design is probably Gamecube even with the handle I never used, followed by Dreamcast. My favorite handheld design is 3DS XL, followed by DSi.

For Nintendo's next console, I hope it's more Gamecube-like just without the controller ports. No one would get that confused with a Wii. If it's disc-based, I'd prefer it be top loading.

[Nile Boogie Returns]

Intentional? Really? Somebody thought this was a good idea? I am dumbfounded that, while I get that the controller is the main "sell" of the console but it's like they said "lets make a wii but round like the letter U, Genius!"




Dreamcast is my number #1 and GameCube #2. Here's hoping when the inevitable Wii U sp/lite/xl redesign comes they get it right.

[Oblivion]

inevitable Wii U sp/lite/xl redesign comes they get it right.

Inevitable? This isn't their handheld line.

[Nile Boogie Returns]

true, but a new color ain't gonna cut the mustard. When the time comes and come it will they will revise the look. PS2, wii, xbox 360 and ps3 all received major overhauls. 

[BranDonk Kong]

The only overhauls the Wii received were when they took out the GameCube controller and memory card ports and changed the top of the DVD-ROM so it wouldn't hold mini discs (but it can still play GameCube games, technically) and then the Wii Mini 6 years after its launch. I wouldn't call the Family Edition (because families hate GameCube?) a major overhaul, and the Wii Mini was just a major downgrade of the hardware. If this is what is considered a major overhaul for Nintendo, then overhauling the Wii U would be horrible.

[Kytim89]

The Wii U is Nintendo's home console-handheld, so it stands to reason that if the Wii U gets any revisions the Gamepad will get the most love. Honestly, it is inevitable that the Gamepad gets a revision. As I mentioned before a Gamepad Lite could be about the same dimenions of a PS Vita.

[rlse9]

I prefer functionality to how pretty the console looks, so I think the Wii U design is great.  It's small which is the main thing for me since there's little spare space in our home entertainment console.  Anything much wider wouldn't fit and anything tall and top loading like the Gamecube would be a pain to use.  The lights on the front aren't obnoxious and annoying (unlike my cable modem which I had to hide in the back because it's so distracting) and honestly, I don't spend that much time looking at it so I don't care all that much what it looks like, though I think the simple black design looks fine.

[Ian Sane]

I don't really care that it looks boring but rather that it looks similar enough to the Wii that it wasn't obvious to the public that it was a standalone product.

I personally don't care what my console looks like.  The size and dimensions matter more since that affects how I arrange my entertainment center.  I thought the Gamecube looked neat but I think marketing a purple box with a handle was NOT at all the right move when the negative image at the time was that Nintendo was kiddy.  They should have been savy enough to go with a more mature look at the time.  I think the best design for a console is to make it look a piece of electronics.  It's a neutral design that appeals to all ages.  A console is like a record player or a VCR.  It's just a tool to play a medium, which in this case is videogames.  Your PVR isn't designed in any way that would suggest a certain audience so neither should your console.

[Pixelated Pixies]

I haven't looked at my PS4 since I hooked it up. I actually really dig the look of that system (it's angular, black visage reminds of the monolith from 2001, but in a good way) but I kind of don't care what these systems look like any more. I think when you're younger your fondness for a system (or more exactly it's games) gets tangled up with what the system looks like, the packaging, where you purchased it, the games that came with it.

Maybe it's just my experience, but as I've got older those things have became imperceptibly unimportant. Sure I'd take a good looking piece of technology over a an ugly one, but as long as it doesn't hurt the eye then I kind of don't care.

As for Wii U? I think it looks fine. Certainly better than Xbox One, but it does lack the character of, say, the Gamecube.

[Khushrenada]

I'll admit looking at the console it doesn't do much to inspire the imagination but I really don't pay it much attention and it is tucked away on a TV stand shelf anyways. I do like it though in that it means I finally got my black Wii that they took forever to release.

[Nile Boogie Returns]

I'm the opposite of you some of you. When I was a kid and my system was in my room, I never cared. Now, adulthood and a new found love of art just makes it look stale. And not just that. I wished it stood out from the other 2 Wii systems I have in the house so my ill-informed family stops bring to sync the gamepad to the Wii in my kids room. Maybe I should have bought the black system and customized it.


As for a revision, I'm sure the GamePad will get a Major overhaul if/when the games that support 2 pads are released.

[sweetfeathery]

I just wish the damn this wasn't glossy....why couldn't it have had a matte finish??

[BranDonk Kong]

I would have preferred a matte finish too.

[Mop it up]

Most systems are boring. The GameCube, N64, SNES, and Dreamcast are the only ones that ever stuck out to me.

[Nile Boogie Returns]

It doesn't look like a console, it looks like a Lacie Hard Drive. It's like they didn't even try. Adrock said it was intentional  and thats the part that really gets me. I know they were trying to go for the same audience as the Wii but you need "Apple Like Clout" to pull off selling a new product in an old(ish) box.

[Adrock]

It depends on the product. Apple's computers, tablets, and phones can look the same because they're yearly releases. There's always someone looking for something new that year. Video game consoles and handhelds are more focused machines meant for a much smaller group of people.

Wii U looks like a console; it looks like a goddamn Wii. Nintendo wanted a machine that reminded people of Wii so they kept the Wii name and designed the console to resemble its predecessor. Unfortunately, they did an awful job communicating their message so the plan backfired entirely. People thought it was a Wii and the controller was a new peripheral for the existing Wii, not the entire point of a new console. Even something like Wii 2 would have made people think twice about what the product is because it sounds like a follow up.

[EasyCure]

Most systems are boring. The GameCube, N64, SNES, and Dreamcast are the only ones that ever stuck out to me.

You think so? I thought the N64 was a very sleek looking upgrade to the boxy SNES upgrade, which by comparison only looked better than the super dull NES. N64 had muscle car-like curves and I dug that.

[lolmonade]

I'm ok with the Wii U console design being understated/boring, personally.  It's simple, and doesn't stand out like a sore thumb.  My main gripe would be how the length of the console makes it a bit less travel friendly than the small, portable Wii was.
 
That, and I'll gladly pass on "cool" looking console designs if it functionally hurts the system like the PS4.  I've owned the PS4 for 4 days now, and honestly, as sleek as it looks, I'd trade that for a boring design that didn't make it a pain in the rear to plug anything into it.

[Jabs]

It could be worse, it could look like the original Xbox...

[shingi_70]

Its a step down from the Wii IMO.

[Nile Boogie Returns]

The more I think about it, the more I realize that the design is the philosophy of the company, and that's where I have the problem.  NINTENDO IS BORING. The Wii U looks like the past. Not one other Nintendo Console can be confused with its predecessor.  Distinction people. Separate but equal…er wait, not that.