Innovation

During the height of the Frutiger Aero period, there was a significant emphasis on trying to show the world what was originally thought to be impossible. This especially applies to the developments that went into game consoles. Every company prioritized showing off the coolest and most unique features that players could utilize to play games.

To us, the seventh and early eighth generations emphasized how far we could take interactive technology. From devices such as the Wii and Kinect introducing motion controls to the small 3DS handheld showing off what was thought to be impossible in the palm of your hands, those 9 years were both exciting and unforgettable.

A person holding a PS4 controller.

Let's take a deep dive into the past and explore all the notable devices that set the standard for where we are today in gaming.

 

The Seventh Generation

 

Nintendo DS (2004)

 

A launch model Nintendo DS device.

After the glorious sunset of the Gameboy Advance's success, Nintendo's president at the time desired the company to be placed back at the forefront of innovation. Something that would hand themselves a boost into the 21st century by providing players with new experiences.

The Nintendo DS was shown to the world at E3 2004. 

The new handheld featured a flip design similar to a laptop but with two LCD screens. The lower one being a touch screen designed to be used with a stylus. The controls featured a layout resembling that of a SNES controller. It also was backwards compatible with GameBoy Advance cartridges.

It dominated the handheld console space and got discontinued in 2011 after 1 revision.

Nintendo DSi (2008)

 

An image of 3 Nintendo DSi devices.

The Nintendo DSi was an upgraded iteration, one that most of us remember vividly. It was very similar to a DS lite but with two cameras, storage, new menu and the DSi Shop (much like the Wii Shop Channel) which included many downloadable exclusive apps and games through the internet (All of which was later available in the 3DS eShop).

 

It had an XL variant and both were discontinued in 2014.

 

PlayStation Portable (2004)

The PlayStation Portable device.

Labelled as the "Walkman of the 21st Century", Sony's entrance to the handheld gaming scene was rather explosive. The PSP was the most powerful portable console at the time and directly competed with the Nintendo DS in the market. The power potential and graphical fidelity capabilities made this a very viable choice for bringing your console games on the go.

As if that wasn't enough, it served itself to be a portable media player, providing video and audio playback as well as being the only handheld console to be used with a disc. Though Sony decided to make it proprietary (in the same way the Nintendo GameCube did) to avoid piracy concerns... Something that became a popular "issue" down the line.

It was generally well received and eventually discontinued after 5 revisions in 2014.

 

Xbox 360 (2005)

 

A launch Xbox 360 console next to it's controller.

Only a little over 4 years after the original Xbox (can't call it Xbox One for obvious reasons), Microsoft was fast at work to come out with the successor of their previous gaming console. So fast in fact, that it began the seventh generation of home video game consoles. A whole year before it's competitors appeared.

If you ignore the infamous "Red Ring of Death" from it's launch version, The Xbox 360 was a powerful system for 2005, featuring HD graphics, backwards compatibility with most original Xbox titles and instantly became the most influential console of that generation by how much it's Xbox Live communities were thriving while also becoming an great entertainment system for all media. Also, Halo 3 absolutely became the massive system seller we all knew at the time it would be.

It discontinued after 2 revisions in 2016. It is generally agreed upon that the 360 led the 7th generation.

Kinect (2010)

 

The Kinect accessory for the Xbox 360.

After the colossal success of the Wii, Microsoft sought to capitalize on the motion control trend by pursuing a new controller that didn't actually need a controller. The Kinect was a HUGE deal for many gamers, casual players, and your grandparents because now you don't have to bother with understanding how to use a (physical) controller at all. Just stand and interact with the screen using your body and voice.

The launch of this accessory also gave Xbox a whole new look that was more in favor with the Frutiger Aero aesthetic we know and love rather than the Frutiger Metro Aesthetic it launched with.

It was ambitious and for many reasons actually super awesome when it works well. It mostly appealed to casual and family audiences just like most of the games developed for it. Pair that with many of the tracking issues it had (for both versions) and the constant voice monitoring that was almost mandatory for Xbox One users for a few years, it wasn't looked upon favorably with players that owned them. It could have been significantly worse though, like the disastrous Power Glove.

The Kinect lasted until the release of Xbox One X where it was discontinued in 2017.

 

Nintendo Wii (2006)

 

A Nintendo Wii console with the Wiimote.

After the Nintendo 64 and GameCube, President Satoru Iwata had decided to completely shift the company's focus away from it's competition on raw power to instead prioritize the casual audience with innovation in gameplay. With that, the Wii was born and prioritized motion controls that everyone can easily understand and play.

The controller was the most standout feature. It worked similarly to the much forgotten Power Glove as both controllers are tracked using IR sensors. The Wiimote has traditional buttons alongside it's motion sensor controls. It's shape and plug at the bottom provided an ease of connecting various accessories such as the Nunchuk, Classic Controller, Wheel, and the Zapper. The Wii also supported internet connection off the bat utilizing their WiiConnect24 technology, introducing the Wii Shop Channel as well as downloadable games and Virtual Console for the first time on a Nintendo home console. It also was backwards compatible with all GameCube games (no emulation) alongside having GC controller ports on the top of the console thanks to the Wii having similar architecture to that previous console.

The Wii became extremely popular to the extent that about 1 in 4 homes owned a console. Though most generally used it for Wii Sports. Where the Xbox 360 and PS3 were directly competing for the gamer's choice, the Wii won the hearts of everyone else worldwide. 

As of now, the online connectivity has officially been shut down. Luckily, there have been some talented wizards that recently came together and revived it with their own replacement called WiiLink. Allowing everyone to continue using all of the Wii's defunct services and more!

After 2 revisions, it officially got discontinued in 2014.

PlayStation 3 (2006)

 

A PlayStation 3 console next to the DualShock 3 controller.

Development began in 2001, a whole year after the immense success of the PlayStation 2. Sony already had sought any way to dramatically go beyond what was thought to be possible with performance at the time for the PlayStation 3 (even with a crazy conceptual controller).

It also became the first console to use Blu-ray discs as it's primary way to store games in physical copies (instead of the commonly used DVD) and also play Blu-ray film (including 3D).

While today that sounds like the obvious move to do considering how commonplace Blu-rays are, at that time, it actually made the console launch with a pretty huge launch price of $499-599 USD (adjusting for inflation is about $800-$900 USD as of 2025). This, in turn, caused low initial sales and made Xbox become the winner of that generation by default.

Eventually with some revisions, price cuts, and a focus on exclusive games (as we know today), the PS3 actually outsold it's direct competition with a total of 87.4~ million units.

PlayStation Move (2010)

 

Two PlayStation Move controllers.

Similarly to Microsoft's idea with Kinect, Sony also sought to capitalize on the Wii's success with their own motion controller. A wand with internal sensors and an orb tracked by a camera. It pretty much was just a better Wii Remote without the sensor bar tracking. At launch it was applauded for having minimal issues. Unfortunately the game lineup for it was pretty nonexistent (much like the Power Glove) so it's popularity dwindled pretty quickly during the PS3 and early PS4 years.

PSVR launched in 2016, making the Move controllers pretty much mandatory for any game that utilizes genuine interaction, instantly bringing back it's use and relevance... At least until the PSVR2 launched.

 

Xbox 360 vs PS3

During the 7th generation, the Xbox 360 and PS3 were commonly known to be in very similar terms of performance.

This was because in the year 2000 (ha, Y2K! get it?) when the PS3 was in the SUPER early works, Sony had reached out to IBM to create a new, groundbreaking processor chip that would outperform "any game machine, any PC". None of IBM's in-house tech at the time piqued Sony's interest, so in the following year, they began creating from scratch to invent a "supercomputer on a chip". This was known as the Cell Processor.

The Cell Processor developed for the PS3.

Microsoft comes around in 2003 and also goes to IBM with the same request. None of the existing tech impressed Microsoft as well but they found a specific interest for the initial tech created for the development of the Cell Processor. They never got shown the actual Cell chip but rather just the R&D team's capabilities for what they had achieved working on the chip. IBM took their offer and now the team was hard at work creating two different processors using the same tech for both competitors. Though the Xenon chip (Xbox 360's processor), was modified differently from the Cell Processor.

The Xenon processor developed for the Xbox 360.

To note: Microsoft was NOT aware of the PS3 being in development right in front of them and Sony, at the time, never knew Microsoft had gone ahead to the same team taking interest in that same tech. Upon IBM taking both offers, this in short is why the performance capability in both consoles came to be relatively similar.

The Eight Generation

 

Razer Switchblade (2011)

The unreleased Razer Switchblade. The game shown is WarCraft.

Majority of gamers likely had forgotten about the conceptual Razer Switchblade portable gaming PC shown off back in 2011. Created from the ground up in collaboration with Intel, this device was among the first in bringing powerful netbooks to the mobile market.

This device had an integrated seven-inch touchscreen and a keyboard resembling an Elgato Stream Deck (Not to be confused with the fantastic Steam Deck) with a USB port to connect a mouse to it. The switchblade never actually released unfortunately but the development team did eventually integrate it's designs onto their early Razer Blade laptop models.

 

Nintendo 3DS (2011)

 

A Nintendo 3DS device with it's stylus.

To kick off the eighth generation, Nintendo decided to think outside the box quite literally and implement a stereoscopic 3D slider onto the DS successor in the wake of the 3DTV trend. There was a twist however... you don't need 3D glasses to be able to view it. At the time, this was entirely unheard of and to this day there is not much of any device that utilizes similar technology for flat screens. This wouldn't be the first time that Nintendo had taken a cannon ball dive into the idea of 3D technology, as they had explored it with the failure that was the Virtual Boy back in 1995.

The Nintendo 3DS was a pretty big upgrade from the DSi with features that is more extensive than what the Nintendo Switch is available to do. Continuing to utilize all features introduced in the DSi such as a Camera, a home screen, and the eShop that allowed downloadable retail applications. We are also introduced to being able to use the Mii channel portably for the first time, AR capability, a friends list, StreetPass, and SpotPass to receive notifications and exclusive content.

The 3D was also entirely optional as it was easy to cause headaches for many people. Nintendo also released a 2DS variant that outright removes it altogether while also saving money.

The 3DS released at $250 USD which at the time caused a huge delay in sales. The price was eventually cut by about $90 ($169) causing the sales to skyrocket. Anyone who bought it at the original price was met with the ambassador program that gifted 10 NES games and 10 GBA games exclusive to those devices as a reimbursement apology. 

 

New Nintendo 3DS (2014)

 

A white "New" Nintendo 3DS device.

The "New" Nintendo 3DS is an upgraded revision that included an improved processor, more RAM, face tracking 3D function, amiibo reader and extra buttons that were previously only on the Circle Pad Pro such as a small analog C-stick and extra shoulder buttons. Besides that, the system is otherwise identical.

Much like the Nintendo 64DD add-on back in the day, there were exclusive games that required the "New" model. But only 8 were released, not including the SNES games on Virtual Console.

After a total of 1 revision and 6 variants (2 exclusive to Japan), all 3DS models got discontinued in 2020 with online functionality shut down in 2024.

 

PlayStation Vita (2011)

 

A PlayStation Vita device showing it's menu.

Anyone who owned a PSP always knew that a successor was imminent.

Sony finally had announced the PSVita in the beginning of 2011 with massive improvements in every regard from the PSP. All of it's specs were essentially doubled, had a OLED touchscreen, rear touch pad, and two joysticks. The disc to be used for games was replaced with a cartridge similar to the Nintendo Switch cartridge. It aimed to combine both traditional console gameplay with mobile devices as they were on the rise at the time. Another notable feature of the device was the ability for Remote Play with the PS4 similar to the Wii U's gamepad. The successor to this feature was eventually brought back with the PlayStation Portal for the PS5. 

When the Vita finally dropped it was met to rave reviews with low sales. No chance at catching up to it's competition who had previously cut their price by a large, affordable margin. Games also were far between, eventually causing the device to become the definitive platform for JRPGs, Visual Novels, and indie games causing a dedicated cult following for the Vita. Sony also introduced the crossbuy feature for many games to encourage people to consider buying a Vita.

It eventually discontinued in 2019 after 1 revision.

 

Nintendo Wii U (2012)

 

A Nintendo Wii U console with it's GamePad.

The long anticipated follow-up to the immensely successful Wii. Where the predecessor introduced the Wiimote with motion controls, the Wii U had the GamePad with a touchscreen that allowed the user to dual-screen gameplay like a DS and also remote play with the console itself (as long as it's within vicinity).

Just like the 3DS, the console supported suspending an app to visit the home menu and multitask with other functions like the friends list, web browser, etc. The Wii U was also backwards compatible with the Wii but required the Wiimote to be navigated and used just like the original console.

Third party support was shortly dropped after launch and sales were less common, finishing with a lifetime sale count of about 13.5 million units, compared to the Wii being over 101 million. The naming of the console certainly did not help as the majority crowd that used the Wii were generally unsure if this was a new controller or a successor console in general. This was Nintendo's lowest point... also a necessary moment in the company's history that resulted in the creation of the massively successful Nintendo Switch in 2017. 

It was discontinued in 2017 with online functionality shut down in 2024.

 

PlayStation 4 (2013)

A PlayStation 4 console with the DualShock 4 controller.

The PS4 focused on hardware once again like it's predecessor (being the most powerful of all it's competition at the time). Social gaming and a strong emphasis on indie games also became a priority. It made sure to do everything right on launch against it's competition. Well everything besides the lack of backwards compatibility. It's launch game lineup and having to pay for online play was lackluster and but eventually made a massive comeback with exclusives we never could forget.

It's DualShock 4 controller had implemented a speaker reminiscent of the Wiimote, gyro controls, and a touchpad. The design was changed from the last 3 generations to become much more ergonomic and modern.

When compared to the Xbox One's reveal, the PS4 easily dominated the entire eight generation while maintaining everything the last generation did so well as a gaming machine. The fact that this console's coverage here is so brief stands the test of time for how great and simple the PS4 was for it's time.

It has 2 revisions and at the time of this blog post still has it's slim model in production.

 

Xbox One (2013)

An Xbox One console with it's controller and 2nd generation Kinect.

The Xbox One was introduced as an all-in-one combined gaming, TV, and entertainment hub. On the reveal, it seemed as Microsoft's main focus was about everything else besides games. It showed off it's seamless TV integration and all the many changes done for the Xbox Live online service such as heavy DRM (not being able to easily share games), constant online connectivity and the 24/7 voice monitoring with the (at the time) mandatory Kinect that caused countless privacy issues and unintentional account bans. In summary, this was more of a step back coming from the Xbox 360.

Historically, this proved to be the worst console reveal of all time, showing many anti-consumer practices overshadowing all the great advances it had. The PS4 notably took advantage of the poor reception by advertising that it still allowed sharing games the same way we always have. This, alongside the backlash, helped cause Microsoft to backtrack on many of these decisions.

Despite the controversy, the Xbox One was an upgrade to the Xbox 360 in every regard. It did unfortunately did embrace Flat Design over the Frutiger Aero aesthetic which is a shame unlike it's competitor. Eventually, the Xbox One had made an impressive comeback with the release of it's upgraded iteration, Xbox One X (Project Scorpio) taking the throne of being the most powerful home console until the Ninth Generation arrived.

It had 2 revisions that all went out of production in 2020 to begin prioritizing the Xbox Series X/S.

 

Oculus DK1 (2013)

An Oculus DK1 virtual reality headset.

The Oculus Rift DK1 was the first modern consumer headset pushed VR technology onto the mainstream market. We actually would have counted the Virtual Boy as the first if it wasn't for how terrible that ended.

Various popular "Let's Play" YouTubers such as PewDiePie, Jacksepticeye, and Markiplier had caused the VR market potential to soar through the roof.

It used a single LED display with an astonishing resolution of 640x800 per eye in 60 Hz. Unlike any headset today, it did not have dedicated controllers. You required a separate traditional controller. Most games were "stand in and watch" demos designed to experiment and showcase VR potential.

Eventually this device led to more commonly known devices such as the HTC Vive and the DK1's finished product, the Oculus Rift to brew a 'Console War' of sorts in their niche market. Today, we mainly have four leading competitors in the VR space: Valve Index, the Meta (Oculus) Quest series, PSVR(2), and lastly the VIVE series still holding on for dear life.

 

OUYA (2013)

An OUYA console with it's controller.

The OUYA, an android-based console, set itself up for limitless potential. Something resembling dreams only video game developers could think of. The main selling point of the console for it's Kickstarter campaign involved being able to easily mod the platform and being able to freely use the system and platform as a development kit. 

In translation, this was meant to be the perfect device for developers in an exclusive ecosystem. And in concept, this was in every way by definition to being the future we were promised.

To emphasize how optimistic this console was aiming to be, some of the few notable timed exclusives included: A Killing Floor spinoff, Broken Age, Polarity, Duck Game and Whispering Willows among a few others. 

The OUYA had reached $8,596,475 funding at 905% of the original goal of $950,000 releasing with the price tag of $99 USD. It was a commercial failure as well as a meme in the gaming community. Razer eventually purchased all of it's relevant assets and discontinued the platform in July 2015. Officially ending full support by June 2019 long after people forgot about it.

 

Long Lasting Legacy

Now that we have covered arguably the most influential period in gaming, let's take things to the present and go over where we these companies have evolved and improved.

 

Nintendo Switch (2017)

 

A Nintendo Switch console on it's dock with the joy-con controllers on the grip.

The Nintendo Switch released to massive success. While this device strays away from the Frutiger Aero aesthetic and features that the last few consoles mentioned in this blog, it can't be ignored the good this console/handheld hybrid took direct influence from.

Mixing the convenience of handheld gaming from the Nintendo DS/3DS, "sit down" home console gaming from it's competitors, motion controls from the Wii, and hybrid gaming the game pad introduced from the Wii U. The console itself being condensed to a tablet device paired alongside the innovative Joy-Cons provides an amazing and convenient gaming experience that helped Nintendo recover from the Wii U and skyrocket sales beyond all of it's competition.

The Switch has outsold the Wii console and just shy of the DS. It's successor, the Nintendo Switch 2 coming in 2025.

 

PlayStation 5

 

A PS5 console with the disc drive alongside the DualSense Controller.

The PlayStation 5 released embracing the futurism in it's design. While the user interface design embraces Cybermorphism. A general successor to Skeuomorphism and Frutiger Aero that also incorporates the current mainstream Flat Design aesthetic. 

Building on the lessons from both the PS3 and PS4, the PS5 focuses on more powerful hardware with a seamless experience using a special SSD for faster loading times. It continues to embrace the PS4's successful designs alongside having backward compatibility this time.

The PS5's new controller, the DualSense, continues expanding on the DualShock 4's emphasis on immersion but takes it much further with advanced haptic feedback and adaptive triggers that entirely changes the feeling of playing games. This also applies to Audeze's magnetic drivers that is implemented for the PULSE audio hardware. The same philosophy was implemented with the PSVR2.

This console went the extra mile from it's design to their functions in order to provide everyone an experience never before seen as gamers. A quality that arguably has not been as strongly felt since the Wii.

 

Xbox Series X/S

The Xbox Series S and X consoles alongside the updated Xbox controllers.

Improving upon the Xbox 360's online focus and the Xbox One's change towards gaming and services, the Xbox Series X is concentrated on raw power, and a robust ecosystem that includes deeper integration with Xbox Game Pass, a subscription service that allows any player to play any game at any time.

It also features a custom SSD for faster loading times, and the Xbox Velocity Architecture for enhanced performance. The Series X also prioritizes 4K gaming and future-proof hardware. Qualities that were introduced to console gaming alongside the release of the Xbox One X console. Microsoft also has changed focus from exclusive games to better services that can be accessed on any platform.

 

Meta Quest

The Meta (Oculus) Quest 3 VR Headset.

Coming from the Oculus Rift series of consoles kick starting the popular niche of Virtual Reality, Meta had changed the game once again by introducing a series of affordable, wireless, and powerful standalone headsets with inside-out tracking known as the (Oculus) Meta Quest.

Never again does the average person must have to invest a fortune to be able to dive in to the many worlds of Virtual Reality. External hardware such as a PC and lighthouse sensors are no longer necessary. Helping broadening the market for VR. All it takes is to put it on and begin playing in a matter of seconds.

And if you do have a VR-compatible PC, you are able to wirelessly play PCVR games without sacrificing much quality compared to a native wired connection.

 

EmuDeck

A Steam Deck in front of a backdrop full of various video game consoles.

Anyone who has a Steam Deck likely have already heard of the popular EmuDeck tool that allows you to emulate old systems with ease.

From something as early as the Atari 2600 all the way to almost every device mentioned in this blog post, the Steam Deck can handle emulating any of these consoles with ease on the go! 

Relive the memorable times spending countless hours playing (or missed out) the exclusive games released on any of these long forgotten platforms.

Note: We, at Skeuoss, DO NOT provide means of searching, downloading, or installing games for EmuDeck. Nor do we condone it, please be responsible. 

 

Conclusion

 

This list was arguably the most influential time for gaming ever. The Wii became one of the most recognizable consoles ever made, the Xbox 360 became a glaring example for what gamers want to see in our consoles moving forward, and the 3DS set a precedent for "a future that we were promised" in gaming when it comes to out of the box features that prioritized bringing everyone together in it's design. Even consoles like the OUYA established a more realized paradise that developers would want to see in our space even if it became a complete failure in the process. 

A Wii console sitting outside on the grass.