Thoughts on what the PS3 "shoulda been"

Looks like a fridge... :/

That looks fudging awesome!

Nice design, however, the PS3 is looking good to me anyway. It's going to grow on the haters too, I predict.

Sure glad this isn't for real. How does that fit into an entertainment cabinet exactly?

That looks damn nice if you ask me. A lot better than the Foreman Grill design. And 'how does it fit into an entertainment centre?' - it could go sideways as well. Of course it'd have to be real to do that...

why does everybody have to have a vertical console? what was wrong with one that fit the way it should in your entertainment center? is it cool to have one that is vertical?

That's the stupidest looking console i've ever seen...

I cant stand artsy-fartsy types. That design is a POS and would be prone to tip over to the right all the time.

What's with the foot? I don't like how consoles seem to be leaning toward vertical design. My VCR (yes, I know, ancient) lays horizontally, my DVR/Cable Box lays horizontally, even my stupid Xbox lies horizontally, but the point is, my TV stand is made to hold horizontal electronics which lie (you guessed it) horizontally. Please help me maintain the status quo, and have room for my stupid consoles. Keep them horizontal!

I sorry but are we discussing the design flaws of a console that no one has played yet and the design specs are not even finished? Wow this industry moves fast! I personly think the xbox 420 isnt half its going to live up to be.

I think the verticle styling is to give a more PC like feel. And to have it stand out, instead of just being a DVD player, you can point it out and say... 'And that thing can cure AIDS.'

Hopefully, tomorrow, we will get to see exactly what the PS3 looks like. The only thing we've seen up till now is a concept design.

Tick Tock.

"Less is more" has never made sense to me. Less is not more, it's less. "Less is better," maybe? "Keep it simple, stupid," maybe? Marketing people drive me batshit.

Nice picture, Definitely prefer theis design to the current concept.

By the way Adam Portilla's "Ball Controller" already exists for Dragon Quest (released in Japan). Check out the link:
http://www.geekonstun.com/mt/archives/2004_10.html

Damn! I should have imported/bought one!

@ 7

I think you'll find those "artsy-fartsy" types do more than just make pretty looking things - practicalities and ergonomics are a huge part of design and a successful designer would have a good grasp of the practical elements of a design as well as the visual.

Chances are that, had this design been real, the foot would have been weighted in such a way to move the centre of gravity to a position which would, if anything, have been beneficial to the console, making the console sturdier standing up then a 360.

yep thats so much nicer than sonys. sonys is the ugliest out of the 3, youd think sony could make it a stunning piece of kit. the vaios, tvs and their latest mp3 player are all stunning. ps2 was ugly, ps3 is ugly. whats going on?

I like this design, but it would have to have a removable boot so that you could lay it down on its side. Also, it appears to be fairly small, a no-no with the hardware going in the PS3. And while the white is very in now, I think a glossy black version would look better with my overwhelmingly black entertainment center.

Hey 12. Less can be more because "more" is not meant in a quantitative sense. And it is also a figure of speach. Just like the phrase "addition by subtraction." It doesn't have to make sense on a math level to make sense on a human level.

And it really isn't marketing speak. "Less is more." has a different meaning than "Less is better." There is a philosophical undercurrent to the first while the second is merely an opinion.

Except for the funky "swoosh foot", I really like the design. If it bottom was the same as the top, allowing horizontal standing, that'd be a winner of a design.

White cases are not industrial design !

Hey 17. Huh? Look up "more" in your dictionary (and while you're at it, look up "speech"; it doesn't contain the letter "a"). There is no definition that does not entail the quantitative sense. You conveniently failed to define "more" in a non-quantitative sense; what does it mean to you that does not entail quantity?

Very nice, barring the balancing foot. looks very Mac Mini.

Still, the Rev seems to have taken the biscuit in industrial design.

If only all the people bitching about vertical console design would spend more time laying down in a box we'd probably be better off.

I find the current PS3 design to be hideous, but if I end up buying one of them I'll just hide it behind a printout of the old PS2 or some such - who cares?

it looks ok. i'm definately a fan of the logo, as it's what i always pictured the PS3 logo to be. i REALLY hope they decide to change that aspect of the design.

i could do without the foot. it would make the console even more akward than the rounded shell of the current PS3 design.

The current PS3 design is one of the ugliest and illogical consoles I've ever seen. Sony should get the people that design their minidisc players working on it.
And these "artsy fartsy" types are going to be defining what everything you own looks like for the rest of your life.

That thing is ugly as hell. It looks like a cheap Wintel mac mini knockoff that's been stepped on. Or maybe a rejected Phantom design. Take a minute to picture that monstrosity next to a beautiful flat screen TV. Now take a couple more minutes to get over the shudders that mental picture will no doubt create.

You crazy animals.... the foot is there so you can stack them on top of each other and still have breathing room.... like l7 (only sideways). I'll need two of them to run all 4 of my 1080p TVs...

Anyway - I like horizontal better. Media center PCs are going the same route as well. But I do like the above better than the current curvy design.

Don't you want something more out of life?

It's a Mac Mini on its side.

Sort of.

The difference is that the Mac Mini is real and available, while the PS3 is still vapor as far as we know.

Less can be more, but this mockup is just sort of bland and uninspiring. It screams, "I'm a male teenager and I think this is what a next-gen system should look like!" It's not terrible, but whatever restraint that's pleasant in Goh's design is ruined by that asymmetrical foot, superfluous chrome vent, and that hard edged black base. Blech. Looking through the rest of his portfolio, it's clear that Goh has some good ideas, but often can't leave well enough alone.

I only agree with one of Tran's points - changing the logo to the Spider-Man font and spelling out "PlayStation" on the case was completely, 100% unnecessary. Hopefully the final design will be revealed tomorrow, though at this point I'd wager that any information at all will be appreciated.

UGLY AS HELL.

I like the design, but I would change the end to not have a lip that protrudes out. Make both ends the same, and you have a perfect looking console that looks sleek.

The foot has got to go.

Beyond that, though, this would be an expensive design to produce. Lots of thick, shiny, laminated plastic, lots of different parts to fabricate (it's not all just one mold). Even what looks like some real chromed aluminum or titanium.

When you're talking external casing, even a few bucks makes a difference. That's why almost every mass-market product these days is made of cheap plastic, including the PS3, Revolution and Xbox 360. Still, some things look better than others, but this design is definitely not a mass-market design. It would add to the production cost and either add to the price of the system or take away from other internal components.

Slot-loading drives are also a safety hazard when you get up to the speeds the PS3 is running at. Not really because there's a danger of a disc being ejected at 60,000RPM's or anything (though there is that), but because a manufacturing defect in a disc can cause it to shatter, spraying shrapnel all over your apartment. If you've ever watched Mythbusters, you've seen the results when this happens. (No, it's not a myth.) That's why manufacturers don't use slot loaders in high performance machines - they look nice, but they're a liability risk. The Revolution can have one because it's presumably running its discs at a slower speed.

Nevermind that the designer of this concept has no idea what actually has to go INSIDE the PS3.

OOOO WHAT A PRETTY BOX... what needs to fit inside??? I DON"T KNOW. I just make pretty boxes that could hypothetically fit parts that I don't know what they might be inside of it.

Yes, that is a pretty box. Does it have any relevance or show up what sony might do in any way? Not really, since it's a pipe-dream with no foundation in reality.

What size heat sink will the ps3 need? What kind of cooling might be required? What fans might be needed? What sized drives and other componenets are there, what size and cooler is on the video card? Without knowing these things, it's simply not fair to state that sony was 1 upped in product design by this guy.

Anyone can make a pretty box. But can you make a pretty box given the constraints put on you by the hardware and cooling problems you have to deal with inside the box? That's the real question.

I would say it is slightly better at best; I don't care for either one.

I don't really care how it look. I just want to play it.

It looks kinda like a combination asswipe dispenser/blowdryer found only in certain pre-selected lavs in Lower Slobovian subways. lol!

the best next gen console aesthetics: Nintendo Revolution. It's simple, elegant, practical, and goes with all of your other vcrs dvd players, and television equipment. It doesn't draw too much attention, and it is still nice to look at, and it's not too big.

Looks like a skateboard halfpipe.

Lose the foot and now we are talking. And to all you people all up in arms about the vertical design of consoles today, you know what? You can still lay them all horizontally too. So why not do that, shut up about it, and try worrying about something important.

Looks a gazillion tons better than the current design (the one that looks like a failed family printer that fell into a pot of silver paint)!