What's your favorite-looking console design purely on aesthetics and not counting special editions for games and stuff? Not counting pure handhelds cuz I think they'd sorta dominate but my top 5 I think is

1. Playstation 5 - I am as surprised as you are but honestly I just adore how this system looks especially in person. The white and black contrast shines to make something that while jarring when I first saw it, I grew to absolutely adore. The way the lights shine out of the somewhat open design I also love. I will say tho I rly only love this design vertically, looks a little weird horizontally

2. Nintendo Switch - Nintendo rly struck gold with this design. The red and blue joycons especially I rly love and the dock setup looks great

3. Xbox Series X - yes I honestly do think all 3 of the newest systems are the best looking designs we've ever had, they all blew me away. The fridge complaint I always was pretty dumb cuz this thing looks rly awesome. The disc drives and those little holes in the top while the green light is fantastic. Similarly to the PS5 tho I only rly love how this looks when its vertical

4. Sega Genesis - specifically the 2nd model of this one but they all look quite good. Sega managed to avoid the pretty poorly aged designs of the older era of systems by smartly avoiding the ugly beiges most common and using a very sleek black look that still looks pretty damn good.

5. PS4 - yeah it looks like an eraser, that's pretty true but I do still find this to be a pretty nice looking system and the blue light is cool. However the PS4 slim model and ESPECIALLY the pro for whatever reason are hideous to me and absolutely no where near this list

Honorable mentions

Wii - the simplicity of the design rly matches the console I think and fits the whole vibe its going for perfectly

Xbox 360 - Basically just a box but that curve works wonders for making it look super cool. The slim model in particular I rly look.

But what are your thoughts?

I think the final design of Xbox One was pretty inoffensive to the eye, but my personal favorite is Dreamcast, followed closely by the original Genesis design that had the HD graphics written on it. I don't know why, I just like the way it looks.

the gamecube, that small size is so damned underrated

I kinda hated the Xbox One's design just based on how boring it was to me. On the contrast I do actually quite like the Original Xbox design cuz even though its bulky I think its rly interesting. Just my general way of viewing system designs though

Very fair answer. Obviously based on my #1 the smaller form factor doesn't realy affect me haha but I do quite like the Gamecube's design. I think if it went for a *slightly* darker purple it would have easily made my top 3 cuz that's my favorite color

Winner: PS3 fat. Still the most awesome looking gaming device of all time. It really looks like a premium device from the future, from its sexy lines to its classy black and silver finish.

Runner up: Switch OLED. From the large screen to the contrast between the neon white Joycons and the dark casing, its just an attractive looking product with the vibe of a luxury item.

Honourable mentions: PAL SNES, Sega Saturn, N64, Gamecube, base Switch.

Gamecube for home consoles, PS Vita for handhelds.

1-Gamecube. It's so delightful to look at and the small size is so convenient. My favorite color is the classic Indigo.

2-Switch OLED. I love the way the screen looks, the big fat stand on the back, and the white joy cons are my favorite pair I own.

3- PS1. I like this design quite a lot. It's small and compact yet doesn't look or feel like a compromised or gimped machine.

Worst-N64. I hate the way this console looks. The little circular "feet" at the front annoy me and the giant gaping hole in the back from when it doesn't have its power brick plugged in looks ugly--it's how I imagine a human would look if they had the front 30% of the face chopped off.

NES, Super Famicom, PS One, Gamecube and Wii are among my favorite looking consoles. The GBA SP and the DS Lite are the best looking handhelds aesthetically.

Will you be doing one of these for the worst looking console? Because I'll just put in my vote for the PS5 now. Its ugly design combined with its huge size make it the worst looking console from any game company in the last three decades (my opinion).

Well, I didn't say the final design of Xbox One was great. I said it was inoffensive, which it was--boring or not lol. The original Xbox was way too massive to be anything other than a VCR, but that's okay. Something like cosmetics is all personal preference, so it really doesn't matter.