Wii U is plain and boring, and it doesn't look like much thought went into the design, round corners, like iPhone that'll do it... IMO of course
Xbone is boxy and boring with no real design aesthetic either, it seems their main design objective was making sure they got adequate ventilation... again IMO.
PS4 is odd looking, but you can see that they put some thought into its design, even to the point of making it somewhat reminiscent of PS2. Great design decision to make people think about a console for which they have fond memories, or great fear (not really fear, but for Nintendo and MS fans PS2 is the thing that ate their favoured console (at the time) for breakfast). Sony design team not only put some aesthetic thought into PS4 but also considered the psychological element in the designing of it. It's no accident that people think about PS2 when they look at PS4.
To someone who has no idea about consoles the reaction to the Xbone would be: meh, big black box. To Wii U it would be: some sort of electronic device. To PS4 it would be: hmm what's this curious geometric oddity?
“The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.” - Bertrand Russell
"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace."
Jimi Hendrix
