What Gaming System do you prefer?

XBOX360 GRADE: 7/10
  Winner of the most-improved design from the first generation. It's very clear that the brutal, awful design of the first Xbox has been vastly improved in the Xbox 360. We think it's nice. What's funny is that it looks a lot bigger than it really is. It doesn't seem as classy as the PS3; the PS3 has some very nice glossy surfaces. It looks like you must've paid a [pretty] penny for that, and you did. The Xbox 360 looks more like the middle-of-the-road consumer device - the textured surface, the choice of white. It's very nice and elegant, but it doesn't look expensive; it looks competent. There are some really nice touches that integrate with the software; We like the lights and the placement of the button. The concave form is a nice choice.

We think [the detachable faceplates] are clever; it appeals to a certain class of gamer. We haven't tried out ourselves. We tend to like to admire the product for what the designer intended, so we leave it alone. The idea of customization is great. However, the shape of the console tends to fight the idea of customization; it has a narrow waist that's so pronounced. If you just had a simple rectangular form, then the idea of customizing would have a certain value, but here it's a bit to superficial.

PS3 GRADE: 7/10
     What is interesting about all three of them is this dichotomy between how they appear in a photograph and how they actually look when you're standing in front of them.
The PS3 is one where the design in a photograph looks very elegant and makes it look smaller than it is. But when you stand in front of it, you realize that this is a fairly large box. With that said, it looks like a much higher quality product that it has in the past. It looks like a much more serious box than the previous one. We wonder where that takes their brand? The PS2 was successful not only because it was a good all-around box that supported a lot of popular games, but that it looked like a simple device to own. This thing seems so monolithic. We wonder if that can win as many customers.

We think what they've done is so nice in the sense that it's a fairly original form and [the arched top] tends to mask the mass of the device. But at that much of an investment, they're starting to get into the customer that insists that the box integrates with the rest of their system...at the point we're spending 600 +or- on the box, we're thinking, 'Hey this needs to integrate with my system a lot better.' But, aesthetically it's a nice box and it looks like money, which is good for something that cost 600 +or-. In pure aesthetic terms, we'd give it a pretty high grade. In terms of meeting a certain brand promise and potential, it's stuck between what it costs and what it appears to be and the actual impact it has when you're using it.

Wii GRADE: 8/10
  This is where we started thinking about the Nintendo Wii, because the Wii looks very slick in it's pictures. Like a lot of the Apple products it's a super-simple form where these are nicely chosen materials and shapes. It's not screaming, 'Love me, look at these cool curves.' It's the simplest shape they could come up with. But, when you get up close to it and touch it, you realize it's really cost optimized. The thing is made of the cheapest materials they could get away with. So, it's a little bit of a letdown to hold it as opposed to the photographs.
But it photographs well and looks fine on the shelf at home. I think it was fantastically clever idea to put it in a little riser. It totally changes the nature of what otherwise would have been a very disappointing brick. Very clever in that sense, so for that and utter simplicity, we'd give it a [grade] above the other two.
  Wii GRADE: 8/10    PS3 GRADE: 7/10 XBOX360 GRADE: 7/10

 The Wii's whole message of simplifying games is being much more populist in its presentation. The whole gaming stlye is the populist, trying to get grandma and mom involved. The shape is sending the same message; it's not so serious. It dosen't look like a computer; it looks innocuous. That's important."