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Best Way To Manage Growing Console Clutter?
An anonymous reader writes "Being the owner of several actively-used consoles, I have found myself in a perpetual state of tangled cords and controller 'land mines' when it comes to my living room. With each console supporting four controllers, and a couple of games having their own unique peripherals, this is becoming more and more of a problem. It's not so much that there isn't a place for all of this. as it is that there isn't a place that's visually pleasing, big enough to survive the growing collection, easy to use, and most importantly, cheap. I find myself having to untangle cords or digging through a box/drawer. no matter what solution I try. What have Slashdot readers resorted to when it comes to keeping all of this in check?"
You could go out and buy yourself wireless controllers. Other than those wires, the power and A/V plugs should be able to be routed through the back of any reasonable entertainment center furniture.
I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
Wavebird controllers are a godsend.
I'm on a road shaped like a figure eight; I'm going nowhere but I'm guaranteed to be late.
don't ps2 and xbox have wavebird equivilants by now?
not exactly cheap, I guess, but the only way to get rid of the cord problem is to get rid of the cords
/bin/fortune | slashdotsig.sh
Give me your consoles. You can't have console clutter without consoles.
wireless controllers. Has helped quite a bit. No longer does my dog get tangled in the cords that run from tv to coffee table, or controller cables that run from table to couch. Now the consoles can sit safely on a bookshelf on the other side of the room, with the cables all nicely hidden. My new problem is keeping up with the controllers now, its like keeping up with another remote.
Apathy...make it a way of life.
I have 3 consoles and a DVD player running on 1 TV. For all the AV cabling, I have a junction box which deals with that quite nicely. They run around $20 at a Best Buy or some other gaming store. For Controllers, I usually have them all stored unless they are actually in use, with the exception of my GCN. I have Wavebirds for that. I'd like to go the wireless route with controllers for the other 2 systems, but Sony and MS have yet to put out a decent wireless controller. Currently they are all IR based, which tends to be exceptionally laggy, short on range, and the controllers themselves lose the feel of the original controller. When they get a Wavebird equivilent, I'll probably grab those to deal with the rest. Oh, and for power cables, Belkin sells a set of velcro ties for cable management for $5 or so. A PC supply shop should carry those.
I have no regrets, this is the only path.
My whole life has been "UNLIMITED BLADE WORKS"
If you're only using one TV, I greatly recommend you get a multi-RCA switcher, and plug all the consoles into it, and it into the TV. Then just make sure your cables are neat and the switcher is moderately easy to get to to switch to a different console.
As for controller woes, I might suggest a shelving unit (maybe a smallish bookcase). Each console gets a shelf and then lay down the law about rolling controllers up and putting them on the shelf when done. Otherwise go cordless, as others have suggested. Another thing that would greatly help is color-coding the controllers - get a couple pieces of colored tape (or paint or something) and stick some on both ends of the cord. So the first player controller gets a piece of red on the console side of the cord and the controller side of the cord. This makes finding the right controller oh so much easier than tracing the tangle.
Maybe/Maybe not an issue with the various cordless models, if they have a visible switch (for switching broadcast channels) on the top I wouldn't bother, but if it's on the back or inside (like my Firestorm PC gamepad, in between the batteries) then stick something on the front.
Each console has a single Wireless Controller if only because even having 3 chargers is a big deal in a cabinet. However, if your cabinet has a free drawer you could probably get 6-7 chargers in a 32 inch TV cabinet drawer. I don't have a whole lot of room for even chargers so having friends over to be able to use the extra 3 slots on my consoles is a big deal, so I just pull the cords outa the closet for the time being, and the ensuing spiderweb traps all from passing through the living room.
If chargers were smaller, or perhaps even controllers smaller this wouldn't be such a big deal. But having to put the whole controller into a charging station is a passive waste of space, as opposed to the active waste of space of cords (wrap up controller, store in cabinet/desk/etc etc.)
It really depends on your situation.
This begs the question: Then WTF are you doing in the games section?
Video games are a viable means of entertainment just like movies or music.
I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
Really, this is slashdot after all. Just buy a console server, or use your linux box as one. I have an old Honeywell console server that works great for text based games. You may need one of a more recent vintage to handle graphics.
Seriously though, why can't the game console manufacturers agree on a standard? Console game support for USB HID devices would be really nice.
I have a dream... one controller per person, no matter the console or game.
Get ONE platform, either a G5 or super duper Athlon PC, and run on it programs and plug-in attachments that enable it to emulate and access media for all platforms.
Sounds silly? It's already the norm for standup arcada game fans, who run hundreds of games on MAME instead of filling their house with fridge-sized arcade consoles.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
The biggest help I found was to build myself a Mini-ITX system capable of emulating everything from my Coleco Vision to my N64. That eliminated about 80% of my clutter right there. I built my mini system into an old NES shell, bought some great joypads that had enough buttons to suite even the clunkiest contollers (FYI: that's the N64 which ranks in with a whopping 9 actual joy buttons (not including things like Start and Select), an arcade joystick set and keyboard and mouse.
All my consoles went up on the shelf with all my games put away (with my rare ones on display). This allows the systems to have a much longer life, the controllers and carts don't get worn from use, and I can sit down and play almost 20 years worth of gaming on one box.
As for my next gen and unemulated consoles I have two boxes: one for peripherals and one for power/video cables. I try to keep everything in the best organization possible. Compact, but not wound so tightly that it damages the cords. I usually only keep one controller out per-console unless I know people are coming over. When not in use I have a designated slot for each controller on the side of my entertainment center that keeps them out of the way but easy to access quickly.
As for the active cords for everything, I made sure to bind everything cleanly behind the TV ad hang them out of the way. I also grabbed a label-maker from the electronics store one day and labeled every connector for power and video that was attached to my TV. I have about 4 switchboxes and a receiver, and having labels for eveything keeps it much more organized.
That's my trick. I highly recommend getting a receiver if you don't have one, as they do wonders for organization and ease of use. After all that I mainly just tried to eliminate the least-used or older systems first and compensate with emulation, which works great. And just for the record I don't pay much mind to the "legal" issues of emulation invovled. I figure when you own tens of thousands of dollars of hardware and software it becomes moot.
Sorry, the friday after new years is slow, I'm the only person in the office and basically have to be here all day because a client could call. After work I am headed out to have dinner with the GF, tomorrow night I'm taking her to a hockey game(go sens!), and I do martial arts 3 nights a week...
And Why am I in the games section, well, I do play them sometimes. I played a game for at least 1 hour last night(first time in a few weeks, just to kill some time). My friend just moved and held a week long lan party, I showed up for an evening there too( operation flashpoint, great game for team play.) And yes, I think my point apply to some of my friends too.
The other answer is because I am subscribed to all sections on slashdot for those days when work is slow, like today. Usually I would not respond to an article like this.
On Arrakis: early worm gets the bird. Magister mundi sum!
The first part is to get wireless controllers for your gamecube assuming you've got one.
The second thing you can do is get a universal adapter which runs for like $15 at radio shack. It has one output (S-Video and RCA) for the TV but 3 inputs (X-Box, GC, and PS). Simply plug the adapter into all three and you've now replaced the 3 wires going from your TV to your consoles with one.
You can get rid of consoles you don't use. For example, I think the X-box is kinda useless. Since its best two games (KoTR and Halo) are both out on PC (and there's no other good exclusive games), it's a great reason to turn it into a Linux box.
-- Political fascism requires a Fuhrer.
I solved my console burden with crazy wires by buying wireless controllers. The wireless controllers make a huge difference for convenience sake, and I still am using the same batteries 4 months later on one of my controllers. It does cost money, but if you make video games your serious hobby, consider this option. I recommend Mad Catz brand for the PS2, and I would seek reviews for other console wireless controllers. Also, ask people at your local video game store, as they will likely have experience or reactions from gamers who use them.
Put. Everything. Away. Every. Time. Finished an epochal 4-way multiplayer session of Halo? Unplug all the controllers, wrap the cords up, and put them away in drawers or cabinets. Yes it takes 2 minutes, but this to me is preferable than having a tangled mess of controllers, AV cords, etc. The consoles themselves sit in a nice AV cabinet with the cables going to a switch box, with enough slack in the cables to pull the consoles out of the rack and onto the floor during use. After use the console goes back into the AV cabinet, with controllers safely stowed in drawers of the AV cabinet.
MORTAR COMBAT!
I'd hate to see your real-world counterpart for a game of Tetris. ;)
I can currently play Atari 2600, Atari 5200, NES, Commodore 64, Genesis, GameBoy/GameBoy Color/GameBoy Advance, DreamCast, PSX, PS2, and GameCube games all using just three consoles: my Dreamcast, PS2, and GameCube. I could include the Sega Master System and NeoGeo Pocket in there, if I had games for those systems. (I don't do the piracy thing.) If I were willing to live with some slowdown, I could add the SNES to that list. There are MAME packs too, but I've not tried them and can't speak to their quality.
That's a lot of gaming from just three consoles, so I'm fairly happy. It takes some effort, though. You can read about it in my last Slashdot post which has links to all the important stuff, like modding a PS2 and how each of the emulators works.
Of course, the real solution is apparently to use an Xbox. Unfortunately, I've got qualms about doing that (see discussion here, esp. the comments below the story). Others don't.
Then again, you can also go with a tiny PC next to the TV. I'm seriously considering that, although it wouldn't get rid of the DreamCast, PS2, and GC, since they're not emulated (sufficiently well) by any system yet.
Curmudgeon Gamer: Not happy
Why does having a large collection of games mean someone wastes their life playing them? People have huge movie collections but you wouldn't really consider them to be sitting on their asses watching movies all the time, right?
You're a fool to respond to an article like this with you're "gamers = people with no lives" attitude, so lay off other poeples hobbies because they probably waste less time in life than people trolling such as yourself.
Since you were playing video games just last night, your original post is quite hypocritical because it basically showcased the idea that no one should be playing video games, ever. You may try to shift this position slightly now but that was your original point.
I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
You want this. It's great for handling multiple video cables and audio cables. I've had others, but this one does component, ethernet and optical audio too! It's really great (unless your tv has 7 video inputs already that is!)
Also, get yourself a wireless controller for all your consoles, and get a nice cabinent that holds them all, so all the cables would go behind the wall unit. My set up is surprisingly clean, even though I have 3 consoles, a dvd player, a audio reciever and a computer... even the girlfriend approves! (as long as she gets to play monkey ball)
Real life sucks, escape is fun, nothing release anger like shooting somthing in the face. Especially if you are a tech at an ISP, so go preach somewhere besides the game section of slashdot.
So basically you're just someone who has too much time on their hands, and despite having no business commenting on a scene that is admittedly not your own, you feel like you have the right to pop in and critisize others' hobbies?
Rrrrriiiiight... Get back to work, you!
Go to Ikea for storage thingies, and to Radio Shak for an audio/video source selector, get the wireless controller for you, and roll up the cords around the controllers you aren't using most of the time, put those in a drawer.
What I do is that I keep the cords plugged in the wall and the tv's source selector, and when I want to use a console, I just get the right power cable (allready plugged in the wall) from behind the couch and the right AV cable from behind the tv, plug it in the console and away I go.
I either keep the consoles I use rarely in a cabinet or drawer and the one I use a lot (the ps2) stading up in a corner next to the TV (takes up less space standing up than lying down).
This, of course, means taking a minute to set up and 2 minutes to put away after use (when needed).
You can't take the sky from me...
Ah.. how quaint. Once again some fool gives the ol' compensation of machismo for understing or common sense.
"I'm a real man! I don't play your silly games! Games are for kids! I fuck chicks!"
Please...
And one more that I've forgotten...
We have all of the above, and anywhere from 2 to 4 controllers for each system. They all go to a RCA switch (available from Wally World or Best Buy or anywhere else, for that matter). One useful thing I've discovered at Best Buy: Various companies sell multi-system adapter universal cables similar to this one. This will neaten up the snake nest behind your TV, if you can manage to cluster all of the machines (or as many as is convenient) in one spot. One word of warning: The PS2 appears to ground the audio channels when it's in "standby" mode, killing the audio signal from any other console that happens to be plugged into the same universal cable. We have to keep the machine "off" by flipping the switch on the back to keep this from happening. When off, it lets the line float.
With that said, you could put a drawer or bin next to the TV with all of the controllers (we keep ours on top of our entertainment center in semi-neat rows according to system). You just have to remember to unplug the controllers when you're done playing.
Michael C. Hollinger
I just use YOUR girlfriend. That way she takes all your money and time, I still get laid, AND I get to the end of Final Fantasy.
My life is at least twice as good as yours is! =D
You'll need:
- A big TV cabinet with plenty of component shelves and a big drawer
- An A/V switchbox
- n number of power strips
- Coffee tables with drawers
The way I manage mine (7 consoles with multiple controllers each -- including keyboards, light guns, maracas, etc...) is to put one or two consoles (depending on size) on each components shelf with only one controller stored with it. Each has it's cables neat run through the back of the cabinet and to one of the power bars, and either the co-ax daisy chain or the AV switch. I keep a second controller in one of my coffee table drawers for when someone else wants to play. All other controllers are stored, neatly wrapped up, grouped by system, in the big drawer. Games are stored on DVD and CD racks, or on bookshelves -- however shape dictates.
When I'm playing a system, it might get a little messy, especially if 4 players are in, but it's easy to clean up afterwards so my wife doesn't complain much. My home theatre is not a fantastic one, but it supports my 7 game systems, plus a Sony receiver with 5 speakers, DVD changer, digital cable box, and a hook-up for my PowerBook so I can play iTunes through the stereo.
I have room to add at least 3 more consoles before things get really tight.
Cable clutter is an issue with me, both for my TV and my computer. I've tried using conduits and ties, and various storage thingees, but they don't work for me. Judging from your description of your setup, your main weapon against clutter is an orderly mind and orderly habits. Everything else is just tool. Which is cool, but not much help to those of us who are neatness-challenged.
You have your living room choked full of this electronic goodnes and even dare to boast about it on the frontpage of /. ?!
i ty?!
Think about all the starving ethiopian kids who could have been saved if you donated the money of the XBox to them instead of whining here how bad you have it when the wires tangle!
And why don't these guys work on something usefull for everyone, like Linux, instead of this useless piece of HurdBSDobscureInterestingProjectNotMainstreamNerd
Sheesh...
(I'm drunk. I have Karma to burn. I hate Slashbots.)
Bot Assisted Blogging
I must first admit that I haven't paid much attention to any wireless controllers for the PS2 that have come out since.
But check out Logitech's Wireless PS2 Controller. Its uses the 2.4ghz spectrum, not infra-red. My receiver for the unit is always behind the 1/2" oak doors of my entertainment center. The reach is more than sufficient.
In fact, here's a quick little review:
It comes with all the features of your standard ps2 controller -- same button config, vibrations, and analog/digital controls. The controller itself is slightly larger than the normal ps2 controllers, and once in your hands feels horribly large and heavy (due to the 4 AA batteries in it). But you get accustomed to it pretty quick. In fact, because its wireless, its more or less all I use now. Its shape is slightly more open than the ps2, as well.. it kinda feels more comfortable to me now.
The fact that it uses 2.4ghz instead of 900 mhz makes a HELL of a difference in lag (push button, a second later something happens). I refused to buy a wireless controller (such as the Mad Catz controller) until something came out running at least at 2.4g. That said, there is still some lag. Nothing as bad as the 900mhz controllers I've tried, but laying fighters like DoA, Guilty Gear, etc will bring notice to the slight lapse immediately. Rythym games, some racers, and anythign else requiring spot-on reflexes are also subject to the occasional problems. It really depends on the game. I can play Robotech: Battlecry with no noticeable lag, but I have issues in REZ. Fresh batteries can sometimes help.
For all other games, it works great. Your typical platformer's are fine. I've used mine all the way through half of the Legacy of Kain games, Jak and Daxter, Devil May Cry, etc without a hitch. RPG's, of course, are fine as well.
Don't let the advertised battery life (50 hours, for the lazy) fool you. That's with EVERYTHING turned off. Analog, and vibration, and assumes you are playing a lengthy-dialogued RPG. I've change my batteries at least 5 times this past year, with RPG's accounting for about half of the game time. Playing something that involves a lot of button mashing will obviously suck the life from the controller.
In fact, that's my biggest gripe. Why oh why Logitech couldn't put Lithiom Ion batteries in this thing, and give it a cradle to recharge in every day is beyond me. Wouldn't that be perfect? Just like your modern day cordless phones. Again, playing with a fresh set of batteries makes all the difference. I know switching them out 5 or so times a year doesn't seem like much, but that's only because I am cheap and sacrifice some lag on the controller response for extra battery life. I also NEVER have the vibration turned on (I don't miss it much, but if it were fully charged every day via a cradle, it would definitely be on). Its really just a nuisance.
Mind you, keeping an eye on your battery life is no where near as annoying as cables everywhere.
I just wish I could find something as good for my beloved Dreamcast, whose controllers cables are the shortest in the world.
There's always SOMEONE...
Slashdot: Which portable gaming system is the best?
Asshole: Get a life, fatass, and stop playing games. Oh yeah, and I have a girlfriend!
Slashdot: New Dreamcast games available!
Asshole: Well, you shouldn't be playing videobasketball anyway! Play the real one instead, fatass! Did I mention that I have a girlfriend?
Slashdot: I have a simple question, one which, surprisingly does NOT require innane social commentary... how can I make the growing amount of wires cluttering up my console slightly neater?
Asshole: You're so fat and dumb. You've probably never even SEEN a real football before. And I'm so smart and intelligent, I'm gonna mention that I have a girlfriend, and then I'll say how I don't do lame videogame sports but I'd rather play them for REAL! Oh, and instead of playing hockey, I'm going to mention in a reply to one of my own posts that instead of following my own advice/criticisms and going out and playing a sport instead of doing a passive activity, I'm going to take my girlfriend to SEE a hockey game! The calories are just burning away! Yay!
Um... Jenga?
On Arrakis: early worm gets the bird. Magister mundi sum!
Spiral wrap
Some JeesusTeippi might also help.
The brilliant minds who have no grasp of simple mechanical solutions....
(Yup, still have Karma to burn)
Bot Assisted Blogging
... to.... troll.... ;)
;)
Sell them and get a life!
Seriously though, one of my frist has a cabinet dedicated to his consoles, in addition to the one he has his home theater equipment into. I guess that's the easiest way to solve the problem.
Appart from selling all of them.
To expand upon the poster above, bind your cords. If you Zip-tie all your power cords together, all of your RCA cables, etc, until you have little discrete functionality units (I am Jack's VCR Inputs), you can eliminate a lot of clutter. Zip-tie those down to your rack / display unit, and they hardly count as clutter at all. Label all of your cords... It takes longer now, but it will save you lots of probing later, when you are less likely to be worrying about making a mess.
Lots of little special-use attachments? Keep them in a box separate from everything else, so that those NegCons don't clutter up your regular area. Lots of controllers? Wind them up and put them away.
The ______ Agenda
Evidently you already have a computer, so next time you get a computer, get a really nice one and quit buying more consoles. Retain the current ones if you want, but buy no more.
Forgetting any problems from half-lifing, how well do they perform? Maybe its me, but I've noticed that they just don't perform as consistently as alkaline. I'd still like my Li-Ion :)
I agree whole heartedly, nothing is more satifying than sitting around with your friends sniping people out of ghost and warthogs(Halo) in a big 16 person CTF.
You'll probably end up like this.
Actually, the PA guys have a section called The Hookup, which may be of some help...
|>
Here be Dragons
We have these three pods from Ikea that double as storage and children's seats* - here's a picture (safe for work, I promise!)
;-)
We have one of these for each console, and the games and contollers are stored in them (Apart from the Steel Battalion one, which has to be stored seperately...).
There's a rule in our house that whenever you've finished with a console, you take the game out and put it away, remove the controllers, wrap the cords around them and put them away as well. Depending on the console, sometimes you have to disconnect it and put it away as well.
At first it sound like a pain in the ass, but really it takes two minutes once you've finished playing and it makes a great difference to the room, as you don't have some tangled spaghetti of chord lying about under your TV.
So anyway - three rules:
1) Have some dedicated storage for your consoles
2) Always remove controllers
3) Always wrap the cords around the controllers. This stops them tangling when stored.
Problem solved
* I originally thought they would be fine as adult seats as well, but the one I tended to sit on has a bunch of huge cracks in the lid...
my only experience with wireless controls is on the PC, and wireless mice are -not- good for gaming.
are wireless gamepads for consoles better? and how are the batteries? how long can you play on one charge? 6 hours? 10 hours? how's the range?
i mean, i've read the specs, but i've learned not to trust them for things like functional range, response time, and actual battery life.
any honest reviews are quite welcome.
// "Can't clowns and pirates just -try- to get along?"
The family entertainment center used to be a rat's nest of cords and wires for various consoles. We now have a much larger piece of furniture (mame arcade cabinet), that runs Atari 2600, Nintendo, Super Nintendo, and Nintendo 64, in addition to standard mame games, all of which can be played from either 2 Nintendo 64 controllers (very comfortable for everything but mame, imo) or from the actual arcade controls. Cleaned up the wires nicely, but at a cost of about 42 cubic feet of living room space for the cabinet. :)
I currently have 17 console systems...all hooked up to the same tv.
:)
I have a wall dedticated to the tv...with the tv in the center. I put a short shelving unit on each side of the tv and my speakers on the outside. I have a cloth tacked to the back of the shelving units so that you can't see any wires from the front. My wife hates wires so I have managed to not have a single wire visible...with the exception of in-use controllers of course.
To hook them all up to the tv I have one "Parent" switch box with several "Child" switch boxes off of that. I have all my systems and switch boxes labeled very clearly so visitors know what to push to get the system they want.
For storage of controllers etc...I picked up several small plastic baskets for about $1.50 each at Target. Each basket is big enough to hold all the accessories for at least one system. I stack all the baskets on a shelf in my closet.
For power...this is the hard one...I am currently using 6 power strips...but this is something I'm fixing right now. I just picked up the supplies to make my own 60 outlet power strip. Along with the 17 systems I also have 2 computers, the tv, couple dvd players, stero, etc...
This all makes for a very clean and easy to use setup...just don't look behind the tv
My comments may be crap...but they are my crap...and I am brave enough to stand by them...Never post as AC!
In other words, I'm looking for a way to convert component video inputs to s-video (or even composite if necessary), such that I can take the component video output from the PS2 and Xbox and make it s-video, while still having a passthrough on the component signal ideally (I figure that since the component cables are simple RCA-type jacks, you can Y-them to split the signal, so I could do this instead), or something that will upgrade the s-video signal to a component signal, again ideally with some passthrough. This way, I can use the devices with component video on the component-video tv, while still having s-video handling on the older TV.
And yes, this does produce a nice mess of cables, but they're mostly hidden from view. :-)
"Pinky, you've left the lens cap of your mind on again." - P&TB
"I can see my house from here!" - ST:
http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/supergeek/story /0,24330,3381725,00.html
The following systems are installed in the Boxx:
Atari 2600
Nintendo Entertainment System (8-bit)
Microsoft Xbox
Nintendo GameCube
Sony PlayStation 2
A custom PC
The only remaining clutter is the controller cables, and I think the wireless controllers are a great suggestion for that problem.
-m
The result is that I not only cleaned up wire clutter, but I also managed to get my consoles off the floor and out of reach of the dog. Both controllers work great, the only downside is the xbox controller doesn't support the headset without a wire being strewn across the room. Otherwise it's good stuff!
www.lonseidman.com
This shelf from Ikea (Heri) squeezes nicely into a corner and perfectly accomodates all four consoles (from top to bottom: GameCube, Dreamcast, PS2, Xbox). Pair it with wireless controllers and you're good to go.
For someone so up in arms about another person preaching on how people should spend their time, one certainly wouldn't think that you'd do it yourself.
Get off that chair, turn the computer off, and go stand on a soapbox on the street corner, indeed.
--- "Yeah, I'm a bit stressed out. I have a research paper due tomorrow and it has to be +5, Insightful."
I said "kinda useless". Not "completely useless". I happen to dislike crossplatform releases for the X-box because I think out of the 3 major systems, it has the worst controller and although I've played with 3rd party ones, none of them (that I've seen) compare with either the GC or PS2. (And even then, I despise playing FPS games without a keyboard and a mouse.) Graphically, I don't give a damn. (I stop noticing graphics after the first 5 minutes of playing). I want good gameplay. I'd rather play tetris than dead or alive beach volleyball. Online stuff is mostly superior on PC as its been around longer and doesn't have a subscription fee.
I also didn't about half these games on X-box. One of my friends has an X-box and I've played all the games he has for it and they were wholly unimpressive. But then again, he prolly has bad taste in games (doesn't even own any of the nintendo games for GC...except Luigi's mansion).
No, I don't hate MS as is apparent by my sig. However, I do think of all the consoles, their games are currently the weakest. PS2 has sheer market share (lots of variety) while GC has the best multiplayer of any console (I use PC for online so no X-Box draw there) and has won the Gamespot game of the year two years in a row for its single player offerings. A couple good racing games (I've never tried them as I mentioned) and a decent flight sim (again, wouldn't an actual flight stick be better?) don't make it the best console.
-- Political fascism requires a Fuhrer.
I think the real answer is that you're a large bag of penis.
My solution was eBay. All the kids have their Christmas dollars right now to spend, so I listed both of our Playstations on eBay. I shopped one of them out today, am still awaiting payment for the other. If you have a good portfolio of games, it helps to 'bundle' a few good ones with each console you list.
Problem solved.
A Good Intro to NetBS
I find that my biggest problem with a/v clutter is running out of component video ports. My receiver only switches 2 component video sources, and I don't really want to spend a bazillion dollars for a receiver that can switch 3 or 5. I'd rather have the best video quality than resort to using RCA cables or even SVIDEO for my various a/v devices-- so right now I just end up getting up and pulling wires in and out every time I want to switch devices.
Does anyone here know of a company making a really basic component video switch? Preferably one that doesn't suck.
Got bicycle, am fit, got wife, been outside, just came back from a long walk, now I intend to sit down for a bit, and rescue that goddamn princess again.
I got some hair rubber bands, pulled the entertainment center out so I could get behind it and wrapped the cables up and tied them to the exact length they needed to be to reach from the console to the TV, or console to outlet. It's not exactly a techy way to do it, but it sure looks a lot nicer than before. As for controller cables, GameCube is easy. Wavebirds are awesome, get them. As for PS2 and Xbox, I know logitech makes a decent wireless pad for the PS2, but they are very expensive at $60 a pop. I don't have an Xbox so I'm not sure if anyone is making decent wireless controllers for it.
Build another room for all of your stuff. I have a dedicated game room...it is sometimes also called my bedroom but there really isn't much point in sleeping if you have 3+ game consoles.
Use the Hacked Xbox to emulate the classic consoles. You can get an emulator for allmost all of the consoles up to the previous generation. That will greatly clean up the place.
:)
For me I dont need to keep my nintendo, snes, Turbo Graphics 16, GBA, N64, atari, and 100 arcade machines in the living room.
My friend has a multiconsole controller, that is essentiall a PS2 controller except it has a cord that splits up into three(PS2, GC, XBOX) at the end. Unfortunatly I do not know the name, but they exist. He said the controller was pricey, and I believe it costs $40 online to $50 in a store.
Otherwise go wireless, as countless others have suggested.
Mod Wisely.
I have approximately 12 different working consoles that I'd like to have hooked up. Switching boxes and a couple of nice deep TV cabinets will mostly do it for you, but I had to settle on four hooked up to the TV plus the Dreamcast and PC hooked up to a VGA monitor after Matrix Reloaded looked awfully green and dull due to about 8m of cable and two swtiching boxes between my PS2 and my TV.
As for controllers, I have one for each console usually sitting on top of the console itself while not being used. I disagree with the "pack everything away" approach, as you spend more time going in an out of drawers. Also, if you don't play one particular console for a while, you lose the controllers.
Anyway, my current setup isn't ideal, but given my limited space I don't mind it so much.
My solution would be to get one of those four drawer wheeled contraptions at Target or wherever. Put one console and controllers / accessories in each drawer. Put a hole in the back of the drawer for any cables that need to reach the TV / net / power. Open the drawer when playing a game, close it when your done. Outside of the drawers use cable ties to keep things tidy.
Everytime you look at porn a devil gets their horns.
...when is someone going to come up with a tidier solution around behind the console stack? What I want is a kind of wireless solution - you get a matched pair of modules, each at most one inch cubed; one plugs into the back of your console, the other into the back of your televison/switchbox/whatever. You get a set of these instead of a cable with every new console you buy, and can choose whatever of the many styles of output connector you want... and maybe you'd be able to tune them using a set of tiny digital switches (not an analogue dial of course)... and that way, there are NO WIRES AT ALL (except for power). Would it be so hard? You could even bring out the equivalent of ordinary SCART cables (or whatever) along those lines, and use them for your bog-standard television signal, or TV-to-VCR connections. It'd be amazing!
qntm.org
Sorry Phil, but the Princess is in another castle.
What i'v found to be the best way to keep the mess down is.... ziploc bags. One cord per bag its just that simple
Making you a /. friend, as I grew up in Ottawa. Cheers, go Sens!
Then why the hell did you this time besides to:
1. Stir some shit up in a discussion where you had no real point in posting
or
2. Open your mouth and remove all doubt that you're an asshole?
The reality would seem that both of those are related. You must be one sorry little bastard, because you know, the SMART people in life keep their mouths shut when opening them would remove all doubt and don't have to go around bragging randomly that they have a girlfriend or boyfriend as the case may be to people who you don't know and most likely don't give a shit to know you.