As you can probably guess, I have owned a fair few consoles over my lifetime. For the most part I’ve grabbed or was given was out, usually at the time it’s ‘current gen’ and this lasts me for long after it’s considered retro like how the PS3 is now?! This is particularly true when you are a kid, you have it as long as it lasts or until you stop playing and it’s given away (to your own Mother!). Way back when prior to the internet and little knowledge you buy what's out at the time. But having thought about it recently there are far more iterations that I had realised. You have probably seen it with the ‘Pro’ models from the last generation but far from being a new thing this has actually gone on for decades! So let’s have a look back on the console iterations I have stumbled across…
For what feels like a millionth time I have to tell you all about my Sega Mega Drive and the classic grey brick GameBoy. These were my absolute staples for about seven years and set me up with series I still love to this day. Both continued to work for years so there was no need for me to change them but I did come across the later iterations. The Mega Drive Model 2 was Shifty's mode of playing Road Rash and Ecco the Dolphin, or at least trying to play Ecco the Dolphin. For all I could tell at the time this version of the console was smaller and better looking? An actual useful revision was my brother's GameBoy colour, a huge upgrade over the original. Smaller, half the battery requirement and in colour? A brilliant little console that I still need to give back to you Cal…
My next console was the original PlayStation, a fantastic second hand birthday naturally! It really was light years ahead of everything else and again Shifty had the next model, the PS1 mini, a much smaller form factor console that still ran all the same games. Unless you had the attachable screen for playing on the go there were not many reasons to upgrade to this. Actually, thinking about it he also had the GameBoy Pocket, which was the middle iteration between the OG GameBoy and Colour while smaller would only need a couple of AAA to run.. He must have felt a giant with all the mini console versions!
Before this turns into Shifty’s Console Iterations we finally hit the Xbox 360. This one I did eventually get a new model after losing not one, but two original consoles to the infamous red ring of death. A fatal flaw due to the poor build quality of the system, this led me to finally moving on to the pretty sleek looking black Xbox 360 S. It worked, had inbuilt HDMI and Wifi. These days that sounds a given but it was incredible at the time. The memory inside was pretty good as well. But for all that I still have fond memories of the ones that died on me! Limbo, Super Meat Boy…. oh what an era!
With the Wii being the Wii and only nabbing a slim PS3 many years after relevancy we have to speed forward to last gen. In the past upgrades were rare for me, usually just to be able to keep playing. Now with slightly more pocket money console revisions have become more of a viable (and probably unnecessary) purchase. Having jumped on the PS4 day one and eventually Xbox One these were not great consoles in hindsight. Some great games there but severely underpowered and very noisy.. It was a pretty easy sell to get the pro models, Xbox Series X and PS4 Pro. 4K graphics, quicker loading times and the knowing every game released would work on them made it a must.
We are definitely entering upgrading-for-the-sake-of-it territory, for me at least. In hindsight I am surprised how many iterations each console got (even the Wii got three!) but it’s really the handhelds that went wild. Nintendo loves to release new versions of its handhelds every other year. Currently my flat has three versions of the 3DS, two of the DS and a smattering of GameBoys. It's amazing how often these would happen, probably because it wouldn't need to be a massive upgrade and keep it relevant. It seems like only failed consoles like the Wii U don’t evolve.
This all leads me to my favourite console, the Nintendo Switch. From the original phenomenal model that I got thousands of hours out of to the perfectly formed Lite that is ideal for on the go. The lack of dock connectivity was a real sticking point for me but it is otherwise bloody brilliant. So I got the new OLED model for Christmas from HtuR (thanks dear!!) and this is an excellent excuse to finally talk about it! The question is whether the higher price tag is worth it for the upgrades you get with it? For those with consoles already and not as obsessed as I; then no… . As the name implies it's just an iteration of the original.
It’s a damn good one mind. If you own the original day one Switch this has the newer chip that gives you more battery life but not any more powerful as fans like myself wanted. The new kickstand all along the base is sturdy but I would guess unnecessary for most players. The speakers do sound much better. Where the console shines is the new OLED screen. It looked great, far better colours than the old LED models but this isn't even the best part. Though it is only .7 inches bigger it looks bloody huge in comparison! On this alone it was totally worth it, with games like Metroid Dread and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 looking absolutely stunning.
Did I really need it? No but having been with a Lite for two years getting a bigger screen and being able to use the TV again are fantastic. My advice stays pretty much the same, if you are not playing on a TV; nab the cheaper Lite. Otherwise go redbox Switch and save yourself £80. The OLED screen is pointless if you just play on the TV the whole time. Most people won't get this though you may be tempted by the current Splatoon 3 or soon to be Pokémon Scarlet & Violet model?! It is one of my favourite iterations and it still beats buying a new graphics card every two years!