The Worst Console Redesigns

let's do it again yay talk about something that needs a console R re redesign this is the Wii Mini and this is what we're talking about today which is console redesigns and the worst of them at that I've talked about console redesigns quite a bit in the past but I just kind of want to talk about some of my least favorite throughout history uh because console redesigns are are so hit or miss many times they're genuinely like some of the best things I could have possibly happen to a console take for example the PS3 Slim uh that genuinely saved the PlayStation 3 you took this giant ass grill with the Spider-Man logo on it and uh it was a very very capable device uh pretty much capable at anything but playing video games you had all these damn card slots that nobody ever used you had some models with PS2 compatibility some just didn't have that so it was just a confusing expensive mess and around 2009 so Sony redesigned the PS3 stripped it down to the Bare Essentials uh it's a much more reliable PS3 it's a much sleeker one it may not be as capable because the original PS3 fat even though some models had PS2 compatibility I mean exactly some models still had PS2 compatibility so they had that going for them the PS3 Slim none of them do you have PS1 game support but that's it but with that redesign came a whole new branding for the PS3 and not only that but a brand new low price it was all coming together there like the PS3 Slim pretty much saved the PS3's reputation because alongside all of what it came with was a ton of brand new exclusives and also like a lot of third party games with exclusive content the PlayStation Move which I mean you can argue whether that was a pro or a con but regardless I'd say that was a great console redesign this is the Wii Mini all right so first one I want to talk about pretty much all the Wii redesigns we had three overall models of the Wii release so you have the original white Wii and it also came in like black red but that one was the Wii everybody knew about it came with the silver stand you had GameCube support on the thing it's the Wii that's what it was but then afterwards this was around like summer of 2011 after the wiii U was unveiled we got the Wii Family Edition which was the name of like some bundles including it in like Europe but it's like it wasn't called that over here it was just this is what the Wii looks like now this Wii was primarily designed to be laid horizontally instead of vertically now some people already laid their Wii horizontally uh you know I I I did that a couple times does anybody else kind of ever like change whether their system is vertical or horizontal just just because you want to you want to try something new did that with my Xbox 360 Wii U uh and my Wii I remember seeing a lot of other people do that with the Wii where they lay it horizontally and I always thought that looked like they were really serious they were such core gamers in reality I mean it's just just saves some space in some cases I guess it just makes a little more practical in certain entertainment centers but uh yeah I mean you could do it but uh you know the lettering uh all all the all the logos and all that wouldn't really match up with the uh horizontal format so the Wii Family Edition does that you know the Wii logo is uh flip so then everything makes more sense horizontally doesn't come with a stand none of that junk so that was one easy way that you could save cost pretty much saving a nickel not including the plastic stand but in addition they got rid of GameCube support uh no GameCube discs no GameCube controllers none of that surprisingly though uh on the disc channel for the Wii Family Edition uh it still shows a GameCube disc they truly didn't care but the we Family Edition came with like a $50 price drop it was like 150 compared to like 200 which the Wii was at at the time not all too interesting All Things Considered but the Wii Mini this is where things get a little tart so just a year and a half later in Canada they got the Wii Mini yeah this was a Canadian exclusive for a bit there it was only 100 bucks so 99 bucks and uh it's it's even more stripped down than the Wii Family Edition uh no internet access which is absolutely absurd uh mainly because there is still One USB port on this thing uh which does mean theoretically uh you could connect like the Wii ethernet adapter or the wi LAN adapter and then plug this in for a hardwired internet connection doesn't matter still doesn't work just not at all they just they they cut any option to use the internet on this thing you can mod it and then use the internet on it uh with the uh USB adapter but still they cut internet support from this not even an SD card slot is on this thing so you can't even use the photo Channel man and of course it kept the tradition alive from the Wii Family Edition and there's no GameCube compatibility either now the theory with why this soft launched in Canada was there's a lot of like Cottages in Canada like you know oh let's go take a family weekend trip out to the cottage where there's no internet and uh you know we'll just hang out there so this would theoretically uh be pretty practical for that a standard Wii would as well you know just taking out the option for internet doesn't do a damn thing but whatever but you know you just have this and a couple Wii games and you know this is a good offthe grid video game console well like what I just said the original Wii is a good off thee grid video game console as well just don't connect to the internet and I got to say I do really like the design here you know like goes for a completely different vibe from the Wii and Wii Family Edition the top loader aspect to it uh the red and black color scheme feels very retro feels very cool which is all I could really ask for from like a redesign like this if you're going to cut so many damn features at least make it look kind of interesting and it does it looks completely different from any other Wii system and I think that's what makes it neat however uh the amount of features that they cut from this thing pretty much amounted to getting a $50 price drop so going from the Wii Family Edition to this it's it's only $50 less and I don't think that's really worth it at that point I always felt like Nintendo lost out on a on a big selling feature of this including internet because that way you could kind of advertise it as a bit of a streaming box you know everybody used the Wii for Netflix back in 2012 2013 when this thing launched so advertise this as kind of a competitor to like a Roku box or an Apple TV oh they could have even added HDMI to make it a better streaming experience uh but instead they just kind of pushed this out as like a just a just a just a fuing Wii mini it's not even much smaller than any of the Wiis it's basically like the same size now all we have here is a similar case to the Wii Mini pretty much something that was done just to cut cost this is the PSP Street or the PSP e104 this wasn't really in North America but I remember when it was announced this is one of the worst PSPs you can get so the thing about all the PSP redesigns uh before this uh pretty much anything after the original uh they all had their own kind of value to it uh you know the original PSP is the original PSP but the PSP 2000 and 3000 you can kind of pick and choose between either or based on preferences uh they both had different screens one of them was kind of prone to ghosting which meant like uh sometimes like if the action was a little too little too action you'd kind of start to see like bit of double going on there but the screen itself was much clearer while as the other one uh the screen did not have ghosting but you had a bunch of scan lines there which some people may prefer uh overall I'd probably say the PSP 3000 is the way to go but then you also have the PSP Go and of course I could have included that in here but like I I think it's like its own fun little thing yes it was one of the first digital only consoles out there which is you know not super fun who likes digital only consoles come on fellas tell me you don't want to own the box I totally understand a digital only lifestyle uh however in my opinion I think a digital only console is just really annoying because it completely locks you out of having the option of buying physical games which you have with like a regular PSP or a regular like Xbox or PlayStation 5 or something you know like if you get a digital only Xbox like you can never get a physical disc for that thing where is if you get the Xbox that can play physical games like you can go digital only with that thing it doesn't matter but I don't really view the PSP Go as like Sony trying to uh you know nickel and dime consumers and make the most money possible by going digital only I kind of feel like that was more of their response to the fact that UMD is kind of suck and nobody wanted to deal with them anymore so uh you know their solution was like hey let's make a digital only PSP you know let's kind of make it like a slider phone so it's even smaller and all that you know I think the PSP Go was was all right for the time you know it kind of keeps up the the amazing lineage of PSP redesigns you know pretty pretty good slate of redesigns there where they kind of just kept on getting better or gave you different options every single time and as you may be able to tell I have not been talking about the PSP Street this is a chunky little bastard Now isn't it uh this genuinely feels like like just like a dollar store version of the PSP uh you know it has it has like a bit of a unique design it doesn't look bad uh but uh you know it definitely does have a much cheaper feeling quality to the whole thing and that's not even talking about the features no Wi-fi connectivity much like the Wii Mini uh mono speakers there's no like physical brightness switch which other PSPs had you have to go into the set for that uh you know like overall you can still get by with this but like at this point why would you my main problem with a lot of these low cost console redesigned is by the time they actually come out uh they still cost more than like just getting like a refurbished older model of the PSP or the Wii or whatever like in 2012 2013 when the Wii Mini launched and let me reiterate I say 2013 because it launched everywhere in 2013 with a copy of Mario Kart including Ed so you know it was it was a better deal for 100 bucks at that point but by the time that initially launched the Wii like you could get a used Wii at GameStop for significantly less than $100 and the fact this doesn't do anything other than just be a cheaper PSP it just it just solidifies itself as just not a great redesign here speaking of the Xbox One S All Digital Edition uh so this was rumored for a bit and finally released I believe in like 2019 or so and yeah this took one of the best redesigns out there the Xbox One S fantastic console redesign of the Xbox One and just uh pissed on it they just removed the disc drive that's it and the way they always talk about it is like disc free gaming like having a disc drive is a huge nuisance like oh son of a like there's a slot here pricewise this this made like no sense 250 bucks for this $50 less than the regular Xbox One S that that ain't worth it oh wait but it includes Minecraft C if theves and fortnite a free ass game oh well never mind what a steal this is pretty much Microsoft testing the waters of a digital only console about a year and a half or so before they uh launch the Xbox series X and Series S at least with the Xbox series s like I've always felt like that makes a lot more sense you know it's a less powerful version of the series X but uh it you get significant savings by doing that now series X launched at 500 Series S launched at 300 uh you know you don't get a disc drive it's not as powerful doesn't have as much storage but it's 300 bucks so I just kind of felt like it was like a good Baseline oh I just want to play a couple games uh a couple of the next gen experiences but I don't really care that much about getting like the craziest experience uh you know I I think that made a lot of sense this one they they just got rid of the disc drive there's nothing different about this console other than they just got rid of the disc drive and you sa 50 bucks but like you could easily find a regular Xbox one for like 200 around that time hell I I guarantee you I remember actually buying my Xbox One in like 2017 2016 actually for like 200 bucks or something on Black Friday however this does not stand alone in the realm of bad Xbox console redesigns hooray it's the Xbox 360e what the hell is up with that letter with these redesigns this launched in 2013 and it was supposed to kind of be uh the Xbox 360 refresh to go alongside the Xbox One and uh what they did was uh pretty much make the Xbox 360 look like like a bootleg Xbox One see this looks very similar to the original Xbox One with like you know it's it's two-tone finish there you know one is super glossy the other is kind of not this one was advertised as being a lot quieter and also faster internet I don't give a damn about that 10 years later what I do care about uh not really uh but uh you know hey they just removed a couple of ports uh lost a USB port optical audio you know just just a cheaper Xbox 360 this this could be a lot worse it's not like a a bad choice to only have this for your Xbox 360 needs I just hate the redesign man I really loved the first two Xbox 360 designs the original is Iconic the second one it's an X kind of kept the original kind of shape of the original but made it like new and more refined and it also made it a lot more reliable that was a big thing about the Xbox 360s now that is one of the best console redesigns but you know what was really stupid about it the 4 GB model has a matte finish which is perfect like like I I love matte finishes mwah I kissed mwah the 250 GB model or like anything other than the 4 GB model uh was shiny glossy plastic stupid just attract so many fingerprints and scratches there's no way to keep it completely like safe from any of that it was stupid and this has even more shiny glossy plastic and it looks just like the Xbox One and I've told this story before but it always stuck with me how my local newspaper you know in the entertainment section uh which I always proved I only cared about entertainment and not news about the world crumbling around me but they did a front page story in the entertainment section about the uh the 2013 console launches so PS4 and Xbox One and uh you know they had a picture of the PS4 there but they use like this image of the Xbox 360 uh because it looked very similar to an Xbox one so they just they use this image without real realizing that oh this is the Xbox 360 just an odd Trend with the console manufacturers uh where they they make their previous generation look similar to their new one and I don't know why they do that maybe it's to get a couple extra sales out of the older generation maybe I I I don't know but why would you want to do that you have this brand new generation don't you want people to buy that cuz like even Sony like the the PS4 has those you know blue cases and and the blue headers on those cases and for a little bit there Sony uh redid the PS3 box art so we have like a handful of games that released that that have a PS3 box art that's like blue like the PS4 and people didn't like that so they switch back to like black PS3 box art but like why would they even do that that just confuses the consumer more if anything I don't know why but speaking of Sony I want to talk about this I don't actually own this console so you're going to have to take a look at this dusty ass dual shock 4 but the original PS4 I think has a great design it may not be like my favorite looking console ever but it's very unique and functional that's what I like about it I like it's something like the PS5 and I respect that it looks different but like it it's it's it's very stupid it looks a little stupid I kind of like that about it um but the PS4 looked very elegant but unique and cool with its slanted design it's like two layers uh I I really liked it but then when they did the PS4 slim I think this console looks like ass you take like the two layers and and you like soften the edges and you get rid of like the multiple tones of of black and like what the top the top layer is like super thin I think it just looks dumb I don't like it I think it's stupid and they Capt with like this weird design thing with like the PS4 Pro where that has three layers which I I think is also kind of dumb it's like you go from a really good design with the first one and then you just kind of like take it in in really dumb directions with the PS4 slim and PS4 Pro I think the PS4 Pro looks fine I mean like I I still don't really like it at all but I just I just don't like these things because it took such a cool design with the first one and just and just ran with it in in a completely wrong way in my opinion they just look silly and here we have the new Nintendo 2DS XL what the hell did I just say this was the last of the 3DS redesigns which uh that handheld got a fair amount of wacky ones but for the most part I think they all made a lot of sense you know you go from the original 3DS which is just mama what a silly looking that was but then we go over to the 3DS XL and uh I I think that was definitely a big Improvement however it definitely felt like you know they cut cost in a lot of areas the packaging and uh the amount of accessories you got and the overall build quality of the unit definitely didn't feel as premium as the original 3DS it felt fine it wasn't like oh wow this thing is going to fall apart in my hands but you know just just feeling it in comparison to the original 3DS definitely felt a little cheaper and then we have the original 2DS now I'm not a huge fan of using the 2DS however I think enough people are where I wouldn't consider it to be one of the worst console redesigns out there it served its purpose you know it gave you an alternative 3Ds if you were worried about the hinge design uh being a big problem with your kids uh if you just wanted a cheap ass way to play 3DS games or if that style of system felt a lot more comfortable in your hands there you go it didn't for me I hate the 2DS but I can see how some people may prefer it and at its cheapest it was only an $80 system my Lord and keep in mind this was all during the height of the 3DS where the eShop was still up games were still coming out for the thing and often times an $80 2DS got you a game with the console so overall it was like wow this is a steal and then we had the new 3DS and new 3DS XL which gave the 3DS uh a bit of an improve roed processor where uh you know you could have a couple of exclusive games on there like Xenoblade Chronicles 3D then you could also have SNES games on the Virtual Console on the eShop faster smoother experience alt together uh but uh yeah I think that lineup made a lot of sense you have the 2DS for people who just who just want to play a 3DS game usually that would be like if if a game was coming out and you wanted to play Mario you want to play Zelda Animal Crossing Pokemon whatever but you weren't weren't really interested in fully committing to the 3DS as like an ecosystem you just want it in and out baby that's all it was there for and then the new 3DS and new 3DS XL that was definitely more for if you were a big 3DS Enthusiast you were like I want the best possible experience and if they kept the original 3DS and 3DS Excel around I think that would have been a great like mid-range experience where you get kind of The Best of Both Worlds obviously no this was nintend end's new mid-range experience the new 2DS XL for $150 I think this thing is the worst 3DS they've ever made I mean functionally it's it's great because then you get all the benefits of the new 3DS XL outside of the 3D screen um but I hate how this thing feels so cheap so lame I just it doesn't feel good to use this thing and at $150 like for for only $50 more you got a new 3DS XL which is just far better in every way and the benefits the new 3DS system brings you it just isn't like a ton man it's like you want all these benefits but you don't want the full kitten Kaboodle you know like it just it just feels a little strange uh because there's not enough new 3DS software in my opinion to really warrant like this existing and it's not that much less expensive compared to a new 3 3s XL to the point where I'm like oh yeah yeah yeah this makes sense I never thought it did this released in the middle of 2017 right after the Nintendo switch launched and uh to be fair you know Nintendo was pushing a lot more 3DS games around that time they just had a bunch of 3DS games in development probably just in case the switch failed because you know kind of moving forward with the switch that became their handeld and their Home console there was no need for the 3DS so they obviously wanted to keep the 3DS alive with uh some more lower effort releases just in case like if the switch doesn't work out well we're still supporting the 3DS and we can just hop right back into the handheld business but this felt more like just something to release to to prove that they were still supporting the 3DS rather than like a handheld with a legitimate reason to be you know and I am still shocked at how many people in this thing released consider this to be the definitive 3DS like I I swear you can see a bunch of like written reviews by web to say this is the definitive 3DS I'm like have you even used it it feels so damn cheap and lame they just moved around where it's just like yep there there's a flap for some reason now and then the buttons just feel so cheap and lame they just move things in weird spots like the dual cameras are on are on the bottom half of the system now for some reason I mean it's it's once again it's perfectly playable like like you're still getting a decent 3DS experience with this but man everything just feels feel so much cheaper so much worse this is in my opinion my least favorite 3DS system well I take it back this is the SNES Juni uh I I believe that's a fan term for the thing not actually sure though uh I just think this looks very uh I don't know incomplete it's like it has no character to it it almost feels like you kind of combined the North American SNES and the European and Japanese uh designs and just kind of put it together where you kind of have this curved design but you still have the purple buttons and I just feel like it looks weird man it's it's just it's it's a weird size like it's smaller that's cool can I just say I don't like how this looks that's all I really have to say about this one it's fine it does the job I believe you can't get like s video out of this which I I I don't really care about anyways man I got like the CRT setup with a bunch of retro consoles plugged in but uh I don't really I I I don't really care about the in quotes best picture quality possible out of them because uh the CRT there it's all it's all for a novelty really like I'm not doing this as like oh I need the best quality experience possible no like a CRT is just kind of fun to have there for the novelty of like it's an old TV and there's something Charming about watching stuff and playing stuff on it so I don't I don't really care about s video to be quite Frank but regardless this kind of takes the SNES and and it just kind of rips all of the character out of it and just kind of leaves this as like just kind of a weird design to me personally and you know what that reminds me a lot of three this is the Sega Genesis 3 uh this was released in the late 90s and uh yeah this is unbelievably tiny even by today's standards like look at this thing this is actually released by mesco yes we shovelware ass company mesco and this was just a cheap ass Sega Genesis to put out during that time uh a lot of weird design choices on here uh for the sake of cost uh like for example they don't have an LED light on here they just have an orange sticker and this will play most Genesis games outside of uh I believe virtual racing won't work on here maybe a few others and then there's also no compatibility with Sega CD or Sega 32x I mean if you were probably buying this for cheap in the late '90s but like after the the reign of the Sega Genesis you probably weren't interested in playing Sega CD or 32x this is mainly for people who just want a cheap game system you know you can play The Sonics you can play you know Mortal Kombat you can play your sports games you can play a lot of the third party multiplats all that stuff like it'll work on here I do find it strange how they they they call it the Sega Genesis 3 like why do that it it just it just it's just an odd choice in my opinion why do that makes it seem like this is like this is like an evolution you know no no this is just a way to resell the Sega Genesis for pennies and that's what I feel like the worst console redesigns really do uh they're just kind of there and you can just feel the cheapness oozing from them you can just feel that they were only done to save on money and they weren't done with the consumer in mind outside of offering it for a cheaper price but like I said before the cheaper price barely ever matters half the time you can find the better models of that system for cheaper they might be used refurbished or they just might be like on sale at a different retailer I don't know but most of the time if you look around hard enough you can find a better deal than what these console manufacturers claim is a better deal but I got to be honest like the Sega Genesis 3 uh you know I kind of put it in here just because like I mean it qualifies for Worse console redesigns but it is it is kind of charming you know like it is pretty impressive how small they were able to get this uh but to be fair uh making a console this small is not always great because uh you know you have the wired controllers here and uh a damn it yeah

Channel: Scott's Stash

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Id: O1SqtBBGYZ8

Length: 28min 8sec (1688 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 18 2024