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Rejected Xbox 360 Prototype Designs
Matt writes "Next-Gen.biz has published the second set of prototype designs that were considered, but ultimately rejected, for the Xbox 360. Note the distinct similarities to the final design actually chosen." I wonder if I'm alone in just wishing that consoles looked like stereo components and fit in my rack without scary balancing acts and lopsided aesthetics. A Gamecube, PS2, and X-Box can not be stacked nicely.
A Gamecube, PS2, and X-Box can not be stacked nicely.
It doesn't help with the marketing, I imagine. They want each console to be (and LOOK) different than the others, to have its own character. This is not as important for stereo components.
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"I wonder if I'm alone in just wishing that consoles looked like stereo components and fit in my rack without scary balancing acts and lopsided aesthetics. A Gamecube, PS2, and X-Box can not be stacked nicely."
Although that would be nice for the consumer, it offers Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo no product differentiation. They want their systems to be flashy and unique so the convenience of stacking for the consumer goes right out the window.
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Yes, I wish game consoles were in a standard shape that fit into a home theatre / entertainment center setup as well. I'd be especially happy if manufacturers will ditch top-loading designs (such as the GameCube, SNES, Genesis, and Dreamcast) and instead use tray loading designs (like the PS2 and XBox). With top-loading designs it pretty much means you can't put anything on top (or even near the top) of the unit.
Maybe that fits in well with how the company would like our living rooms to look (just one system, theirs, on the top of everything else), but it's not how reality works.
All I know about Bush is I had a good job when Clinton was president.
If you have a rack, insist on putting all of your gear in that rack, and worry about the stability of items because they're not designed for the rack, why not buy some shelves for your rack?
I know, whining is much cheaper and easier, but this ain't exactly new technology.
I wonder how many ordinary problems would be gone if we just used our energy for solving them, instead of complaining.
~D
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Modern consoles (PS2 and up) run *hot*. I've often wondered if the awkward styling is to *prevent* stacking. The cooling systems aren't designed for numerous hot boxes stacked in close quarters.
Maybe the real reason has to do with heat dissipation. If it's sandwitched between a DVD player and a stereo, it could get pretty hot.
You know, they filmed the final episode for that show a few days ago.
:(
End of an era.
To this day, I can't bring myself to understand all the hating on the X-Box and it's controller.
The X-Box itself is smaller than some VCR's I've owned over the years, and smaller than every PC I owned prior to the Mac mini. Yes, bigger than most consoles, but who gives a shit? It only weighs a few pounds and tucks nicely into just about any home entertainment shelving.
As for the controller... It was the first game console controller I ever used which felt like it was made for a grown-up's hands. To me, the various Nintendo and Sony controllers feel like I'm gaming using a little pocket calculator for the controlls. They seem to have been designed with factors like manufacturing cost and shipping size put ahead of ergonomics. The X-Box controller, by contrast, feels more like the full-size controlls that they used in video arcades (in the days before video arcades pretty much died off.) If I had my way, they'd make one that's even bigger, so you could play with your hands a good shoulder-width apart.
Do Gabe and Tycho just have tiny, frail hands and weak, girly arms?
Oh, and swerving back on topic... I agree that the new X-Box design sucks. Game consoles are media room components, and should stack (or at least shelve) like other media room components. The goofy "balance it on end" monolith design is t3h gay. Whoever came up with it should be punched in the crotch.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
And is it just me, or is this "viral" advirtisement getting worse and worse?
At least there have been some occasions where it got disguised as something other then pure spam.
Please, for the sake of us all, mod the parent down.
No.
Network cable has very high gauge (ie. skinny as hell) wire; bad quality, easy to burn out with high-voltage. It's not shielded very well (compare to a decent Monster cable); really bad quality problems. It's also got the wrong number of wires for just about everything.
To sum up: use the right tool for the job.
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