Original Xbox Design Team Critiques PlayStation 4

[gamegod25]

Honestly I don't care what they think. It looks fine and most importantly it works and feels good. The games are what matter most anyway.

My biggest critique is how closely the PS4 and Xbone resemble each other. There isn't much to distinguish the two at a glance since they are both black angular boxes. Of course that is another minor quibble of mine, the blandness of a black box. Yeah I know there are technical and logistical reasons in its favor but again its just so meh and same-y to me.

When VideoGamerTV made a joke at the PS4 announcement that the console would just be a black box I made a joke about MS trying to out do them by making it even blacker and boxier. Funny how right we both turned out to be.

 

[Zakarath]

Oh, I was thinking they might have a critique of something that mattered, like how it worked. Hell, I'm in a field where design and aesthetics matter: Yes, the Xbox original (WTF IS WITH THE NEW CONSOLE BEING NAMED ONE, SERIOUSLY) controller did decently match the console. The Xbox controller is also the reason I bought a PS2. Aesthetics isn't always king, lads.

 

[The_Echo]

Despite their previous work making their opinions on design rather... dubious, I'd say it's a fair critique. I didn't necessarily disagree with them anywhere (though I'm not seeing much difference between the blackness of the controller and console).

While I've gotten used to the DualShock 4, I do kind of lament the loss of the more iconic design.

 

[Vivi22]

He's correct from a design perspective. Unless your a designer, it most likely wont matter, or you wont understand his critique. The 2 have separate form factors. On they're own, they are both nice pieces of design, together they don't match. Its not a criticism of prettiness, just cohesiveness.

Thing is though, the same can be said for almost every console ever created since the NES. It's not really something most people will notice or care about. And the prime concern in designing a controller shouldn't be to give it a design which is cohesive with the console anyway. It's nice when you can pull it off, but ergonomics are king in controller design.

 

[Covarr]

He's correct from a design perspective. Unless your a designer, it most likely wont matter, or you wont understand his critique. The 2 have separate form factors. On they're own, they are both nice pieces of design, together they don't match. Its not a criticism of prettiness, just cohesiveness.

Thing is though, the same can be said for almost every console ever created since the NES.

There are some notable exceptions. The Dreamcast had a very distinct and consistent design language. So did the Genesis Model 2, the NES, the SNES, and even the PS1.

And then there's the Gamecube, whose controller was notably not cube-shaped.

P.S. Thanks

 

[Saltyk]

Yeah, add my voice to the whole pantheon of people noting that this is the company that shipped a brick and called it a controller.

Spoiler: As Penny Arcade once said

Personally, I love the console's design. It's damn nice to look at. And I don't think it would be difficult to find space for the machine alongside other boxes like a DVD player. And I barely even looked at the controller as it's usually in my hand and feels just fine there.

At the day's end, all it has to do is play games. And it does that. I really don't care if it's pretty. That's just a boon.

At the end of the day, I don't really find fault with their statements. It's all fairly true and balanced. Just sort of irrelevant.

What they said was extremely fair. The console and controller look like the only theme that ties them together is "dark" (not even black) and possibly "simple geometric shapes".

However, on note for the circular controller, human hands aren't exactly square. From what I've heard the new DualShock 4 is a delight ergonomically. I'll worry about whether or not they look good together when we have to retire the thing to a plinth in the "Hall of Forgotten Consoles"

Controllers are to use. Consoles are for views.

This cheap rhyme brought to you with apologies.

My Xbox loving friend who has been playing Xbox systems for 10 years or better, LOVES the new controller. He liked the feel of it, the speaker that is used by some games, and the overall design. Didn't really use the touch-pad while we played. He plans to buy his first Playstation in a very long time, soon. Probably sooner than he planned since getting his hands on my PS4 for a day.

 

[Neta]

These are the people who designed the original Xbox?

What makes them think they're qualified to critique anything?

 

[havoc33]

I can agree that the controller and console don't match design wise, but it still looks far, far better than the Xbox One. Just look at this:

http://cdn.medialib.computerandvideogames.com/screens/dir_3119/image_311913_full.jpg

That is just ugly all around.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

I'm going to echo what others have said and ask how the fuck does this guy have any business critiquing design? The original Xbox has to be one of the ugliest consoles of all time and the controllers were awful too.

Technically I suppose he does have a point though- the console is sharp and angular (in my opinion it's one of the prettier consoles), whereas completely understandably the controller isn't. Still, I can't really understand why people would give a shit about what the controller looks like as it's going to be obscured by your fucking hands.

 

[Lightknight]

So... they're complaining that the controllers aren't rhombus shaped like the console even though it's made to fit in human hands whereas the console is built to sit on a flat surface? I... ok? I guess it's technically true. Is the XBO controller not also round while the console is square?

 

[ThunderCavalier]

I feel that these are pretty... arbitrary complaints. Sure, aesthetic design is always an important thing in the design of products, but these seem to boil down to sheer pettiness.

 

[garjian]

As little as it matters, I agree with their assessment... regardless of their own designs.
An angular controller is unlikely to be comfortable however, and a circle console will also look ridiculous... I feel their colour scheme could've been more coherent though. A thin blue bar like that of the console would've been better than their current light, and a half shiny, half matte black colour scheme would've helped too.

Otherwise, I agree yeah.