From A to Wii – Aesthetics

Today marks 26 days until the North American launch of the Nintendo Wii. In anticipation of this once in a half-decade event, 4cr has decided to countdown like the Jackson 5… with ABC’s. If all goes according to plan, everyday until November 19th we’ll have analysis, description, or just enlightened opinion on something about the Wii. So sit back, relax, and enjoy that pompous ass of a letter, A.

A – Aesthetics

For some odd reason, Nintendo has always had an intense fascination with the color purple. Purple was used as a highlight color for the dominating SNES, purple atomically launched the Game Boy line into color, and then did the same for the Game Boy Advance and SP. Finally (perhaps most notoriously) Nintendo launched its GameCube in a lovely shade of purple and with a handle no less. It kind of makes you think, “Are Nintendo’s hardware designers smoking something purple as well?”

I, for one, love my purple little cube. As far as personality goes, the GCN has its competitors beat. Where the PS2 and Xbox were dressed up in high-tech, monolithic black, the GameCube was something unique. It was funky, cute, and different. It spoke to the rebel in me, the artist; the guy who loved to be a little different, while the others looked like glorified DVD players, The GCN was unabashedly and intentionally playful.

Fast forward 5 years, and quite a lot has changed. Well, at least for some consoles. The PS3 is still that monolith, black beast of a console, trying (in vain) to be “high tech chic.” I think it tries a bit too hard, and comes off looking like the nerdy kid trying to look hip. The Xbox, on the other hand, has done a complete (ahem…) 180 in terms of design. Even though the thing is about the same size as its predecessor, it looks high tech without looking like it came from the movie set of Bladerunner. The 360 successfully pulls off the aesthetic that both the PS2 and PS3 have tried in vain to accomplish.

This brings us to the Wii. There is no doubt in my mind that the Wii is the sexiest console since the PSP (or perhaps the DS Lite?). Yeah, it’s a basically a shiny, white rectangle. But Nintendo managed to inject some personality into the plastic with a couple of subtle design elements. Obviously there is that big, beautiful blue light. I swear, the thing is like a bug catcher… it just attracts people. There is also the oh-so-tasteful silver stand or the small diagonal notch in the back if you prefer to go standless. The Wii certainly recalls Apple design sensibilities, but it does so without seeming like a cheap knock off.

Where the purple cube aesthetic said something about the GCN, the boxy white says something different about the Wii. It is almost appliance-like in simplicity, and I’m sure that’s exactly what Nintendo wants the Wii to be. Unfortunately, functionality gets in the way as it usually does when it comes to design. When playing GCN games, the aesthetic value of the Wii is sure to drop (especially with Wavebird dongles hanging out all over the place). But it’s a relatively small chink in the Wii’s strong design armor.

I love the Wii design, and think it’s the strongest of the three next generation system. I’m not sure that this design strength will amount to any more sales (I mean, look at the PS1), but it certainly helps in marketing and advertising. In the Wii’s case especially, it pays to look as simple and welcoming as possible to all consumers. The Wii pulls it off without a hitch.

So what do you guys think? From a strict design point of view, does the Wii live up to it’s forerunners? What would you change about it? Let your rebel voice be heard in the comments…