With the arrival of Microsoft’s newly redesigned Xbox 360 console in Europe this week, the team here at Electronic Theatre though it would be appropriate to offer our readers a look at some of the best console hardware revisions the industry has yet produced. This week’s Sunday Special does just that, presenting Electronic Theatre’s picks for the best console revisions around.
The hardware design of a gaming system could warrant a change for any number of reasons. With the average lifespan of a videogames console as the primary model for consumers being around five years, it’s obvious that the technology powering the system updates at a much quicker rate, causing components to drop not only is price, but physical size also. Couple this with the changes in social acceptance and renovations in the impressions and attitudes of consumers, and it’s not hard to see why many systems have been revised during their shelf life, some more than once.
Of all the hardware manufacturers that have been involved in the console market, it may be surprising to learn that Nintendo are seemingly the least keen on redesigns, especially given their recent history with the Nintendo DS console family. However, none of their home console releases have ever seen a revision in Europe, bar a colour change. However, Nintendo does offer the only console not to be released in Europe on the below list, as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), simply because it was clearly a bold statement about the industry and it’s vision of society at the time.
10. SEGA Multi-Mega
SEGA’s Multi-Mega, known as the SEGA CDX in North America, was a single combined unit capable of playing both Mega-Drive (Genesis) and Mega-CD (Sega-CD) games. Released in late 1994, the Multi-Mega was SEGA’s third and final attempt to influence support of its failing CD add-on, but was undermined from within, as SEGA’s 32X add-on loomed greatly, precisely pin-pointing at SEGA’s lack of interest in continuing to support the Mega-CD format. The unit itself featured the ability to act as a CD player through a high quality stereo output and disc controls on the front of the unit, and could also be powered by batteries. For games however, the system required a mains adapter and an external monitor or television screen.
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