Remember When You Could See Inside a Gaming Console?

The thought-provoking article from Wired discusses the translucent design of older video game consoles to provide an insight into gaming culture. Translucency allowed intrepid gamers to look inside their consoles, which enabled a culture of creative console modification and repair. The author notes that current generation consoles have sharply diverged from the aesthetics of translucency and embraced a more “impenetrable” style that denies gamers access into the inner workings of their consoles. Such a shift in style also reflects the video game industry’s concerted effort against console owner’s right to repair their own machines.

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