Product Facelift: Difference between revisions

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[[File:NES versions.jpg|link=Nintendo Entertainment System|frame|The original NES and the 1993 redesign. Same specs, different packaging.]]

 

The system has been out for awhile. What was once new hotness is now yesterday's headlines. The system has built up a great library, but everybody already has [[Killer App|the best games]]. You've dropped the price, but maybe the [[Console Wars|next generation]] is starting to horn in on your sales. What's a video game company to do?

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** The DS systems are a rather bizarre form of this- first, the DS was released, then it was updated to the DS Lite, which was a smaller version of the same thing. Then came the DSi, which was about the same size as the DS Lite but with different features- and finally the DSi XL, which is a ''larger'' version of the DSi. So, is bigger better or not?

*** The [[D Si]] XL was made predominately for use by [[Cool Old Guy|seniors who could benefit from a bigger screen, and different lighting]]. It's an interesting sign of the change in Nintendo's target demographic from the time of the DS Lite release to the XL's.

*** The [[Nintendo Wii]] has been updated to a black version with the Wii Motion Plus integrated into the Wiimotes. Led to a [[Console Wars]] gag on ''[[Penny Arcade (Webcomic)|Penny Arcade]]'' where Sony say the [[PlayStation]] Move [[Suspiciously Specific Denial|is nothing like the Wii]] because it's black, only to be informed that black Wiis exist now. "WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?!"

** In Japan, the [[PlayStation 2]] also got a 'media hub' makeover as the PSX.

* The [[PSP]] was redesigned as the ''PSP Slim & Lite'', gaining a better screen and TV-Out capability along with losing some weight. A second revision has been announced, the main changes apparently being a better analog stick and a microphone for Skype.

* The [[Sega Genesis|Sega Megadrive/Genesis]] went through more versions than any other console, according to [[The Other Wiki]] (and miniaturised ones are still being released ''today''). Its Sega Mega CD add-on also went through one, which somehow effectively ''doubled'' its size.

** Consoles were often more upgradable and PC-like in the '80s. An example of this was Sega's earlier Master System, which was really just the latest iteration of their first multi-game console, the SG-1000.

*** Cartridge ports were in most cases a direct connection to the console's main bus, not unlike various PCs expansion slots, and were widely used as such. Aforementioned Master System was in fact a major inspiration for the [[ColecoVision|Coleco Adam]] and [[MSX]] home-PCs, the latter of which used its cartridge ports as expansion slots ''by design''.

* Although their aesthetics remain mostly the same, both the [[Play Station 3]] and [[Xbox 360]] have been released with numerous different configurations, mostly revolving around hard drive size. The [[Play Station 3]] models also have varying levels of backwards compatibility, memory card slots and USB ports.

** To clarify: The new [[Xbox]] 360 (commonly referred to as the "[[Xbox]] 360 Slim", although it's official name is "Xbox 360 Elite"... [[Name's the Same|just like the version it replaced]]) is a bit slimmer, much quieter, has a huge vent on one side of it for cooling, and also includes built-in wifi and an internal hard drive. [[Most Wonderful Sound|And it beeps when you use the buttons on the console to open and close it.]]

* Non-videogame example: this is common practice in the automotive industry, where cars will have their appearances "refreshed" every few years. Many cars (the Ford Mustang, the VW Beetle) have gone over a decade on the same platform, having their body work periodically updated.

** Sometimes this works in reverse to the console version. For example, the VW Golf has got progressively larger over the years. According to some, this is deliberate: the idea is that someone fond of the Golf brand started out in [[The Eighties]] with a small cheap fun hatchback, then every five years as they grow more prosperous and settle down they can keep buying the new Golf but every time it's bigger, more family-friendly and more sensible. In turn, VW releases new smaller cars to replace the older Golf as the first-adopter option, such as the Polo and Lupo.

 

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