Every new console should offer one thing above all: beautiful graphics that no human eye has ever seen before. When it came to the design of the console itself, however, this aspect was repeatedly completely ignored.

The PlayStation 4 showed that consoles can also be visually convincing. So not just the graphics, but the console itself, as it stands elegantly on the shelf in simple black and is pleasing to the eye. Not every console can claim to have a similarly successful design.

How bad the results can be when little attention is paid to the design of a console or, even worse, the manufacturers with a particularly bespoke one If you want to stand out visually, we have put together a list for you.

Virtual Boy

What was Nintendo thinking with the Virtual Boy? In fact, this design accident was intended to be a mobile console. For on the go. Fans should actually be able to use this oversized Oculus Rift on stilts in the park.

The problem: The Virtual Boy couldn’t even be put on easily. Instead, it has to be placed on its legs and you sit or lie uncomfortably in front of it. That was anything but practical.

Xbox

“Hey Jim! Did you finally finish the design for the Xbox?”

“Hi! Wait…what?”

“The design! It has to be finished tomorrow!”

“Oh, crap. Wait…um…here. There. Done.”

“Jim.”

“Yes?”

“It’s a square.”

“Yup.”

“Perfect!”

The Xbox fit about as well in a living room as a painted, oversized brick. At least you could play “Halo” with this block. That’s something too.

Atari Jaguar CD

This console looks like a toilet. No punchline. As an add-on for the Atari Jaguar console, the CD unit was carelessly slapped onto the console. It wasn’t just the look that wasn’t convincing: just 20,000 units were produced and only eleven games were released during the entire time. Producing an add-on for a console that was already selling poorly was also a rather strange idea.

Philips CD-i

Is it a VCR? Is it an Xbox One? No, it’s a Philips CD-i! While the shape is actually very similar to Microsoft’s latest console, the box lacks futuristic elegance (which could possibly be because it is already quite old). In 1991, video games were still being developed almost exclusively for children, which is why the completely boring design of the CD-i was completely inappropriate at the time.

Famicon

The Nintendo Family Computer, or Famicom for short, is the Japanese version of the Nintendo Entertainment System, the first home console from the Japanese video game giant. In this country, the NES was little more than a gray box – not really pretty, but not too bad either.

The Famicom, with its white and red color scheme, looked old-fashioned even in the eighties. The shape is a barely overlapping collection of edges and switches. Then prefer the gray box.

N-Gage

Boy oh boy, what was Nokia actually thinking. The N-Gage was intended to be a handheld and a cell phone at the same time, but it couldn’t do both properly. To make a phone call, you had to awkwardly hold the edge of the gaming phone thing to your ear. The few games suffered from a small monitor and keys that weren’t really designed for gaming.

The N-Gage feels overloaded, too playful for a cell phone and too boring for a handheld console.

Atari Lynx

The Atari Lynx was a small technical revolution. While Nintendo had just released the Game Boy a month earlier, the Lynx already offered a color screen and was technically far ahead of the Game Boy.

However, it wasn’t a good idea to release your handheld a month after the Game Boy and so the Atari Lynx went under without a hitch. The ugly, clunky design may also have played its part.

PlayStation 3 Super Slim Ken’s Rage Edition

The third version of the Playstation 3 aims above all to be able to be produced as cheaply as possible – unfortunately this also means the new plastic look. Especially compared to the elegant look of the first Playstation 3, the Super Slim version looks extremely cheap.

As if that wasn’t enough, Sony is releasing a special edition based on the game “Fist of the North Star 2: Ken’s Rage”, which is decorated with unimaginative portraits of the characters. Much worse: the controller looks like it has been smeared with bird droppings.

Atari 5200

It’s hard to believe today, but the Atari 5200 was once a technically advanced console. However, Atari didn’t use it much. Shortly after its release, the great North American video game crash of 1983 began and ensured that only a few games were released for the 5200. After all, families didn’t have to put this gigantic chunk in their living room for too long.

Nintendo 2DS

What else can be said about the Nintendo 2DS? In terms of marketing, the thing is brilliantly aimed at children, and at the same time Nintendo has significantly reduced the cost of the handheld: The 2DS has a large screen that is only divided into two in the middle by plastic.

Because of this, the handheld is no longer foldable and instead looks strangely bulky – especially when compared to the sleek, simple designs of the Nintendo Switch or 3DS.

Mattel Hyperscan

The Mattel Hyperscan, similar to the amiibo figures years later, allowed you to scan cards with special chips. To do this, however, the console had to be laboriously opened and closed. Accordingly, the device was quickly forgotten.

Tiger R Zone

The Tiger R-Zone was seriously intended to be a competitor to the Virtual Boy and actually managed to flop even harder. Instead of oversized glasses, you could strap a band around your head that held a small screen in front of your right eye.

It actually sounds brilliant, but it worked about as well as it looks.

Apple Pippin

There was a time when Apple actually tried to break into the console market. While the design of the console itself can still be debated, when you look at the boomerang controller it is clear why the Apple Pippin was never a success.

Coleco Telstar Arcade

In the 1970s, home consoles were still in their infancy. Coleco Telstar Arcade wanted to be a jack of all trades and offered, among other things, a steering wheel and a light gun – all in one device.

It should come as no surprise that shortly afterwards no one wanted or could see the boring wooden design anymore.

OUYA

The device is called OUYA. It is doubtful whether there was ever any enthusiasm when looking at this console.

Tiger Gizmondo

At the time, the Tiger Gizmondo was intended as competition for the recently released Game Boy Advance. At first glance it should be clear why the declaration of war fizzled out without a hitch.

Is this a handheld or an MP3 player? The shoulder buttons, which were far too high, didn’t exactly invite you to buy either.