Prototypical Design: Nintendo Switch meets Gamecube

The Nintendo Switch is a good console, and a great handheld. The option to swap coloured controllers out is a great move towards customisation, and that also opens the door for custom painting hues not available via retail.

My favourite Nintendo colour of all time is known as "Spice Orange", so in lieu of living with the blue/red or grey options available at launch i went with a third option.

Both the original Gamecube purple and the aforementioned spice orange are right up there as my favourite gaming hardware colour choices of all time. The lime green Wii shown when it was initially revealed as the "Revolution" would've been my number one, but sadly it never came to be.

The previous generation consoles were monochromatic boxes, the peers of the Gamecube were monochromatic boxes, and the following generation were monochromatic boxes. The PS4 and Xbox One are truly dreary devices, with the original design of the latter having more in common with a window-box air conditioner than any forward-looking technology.

The N64 made admirable inroads into colour by releasing a rainbow of controllers, but with the GC Nintendo threw off the shackles of hiding their boxes in with the entertainment system, and embraced their design as a stand-out feature of the living room. Gaming consoles are nothing to be ashamed about.

This was then taken further with the Wii. Its slanted design broke from the square, angular regularity of every other system. Its dominant, bright blue light breathing a cool glow across the room with every message, news blast, and update.