Dear Future Gamer

With regards to Kevin Preston's letter in FG49, concerning the look of PlayStation 2, I must admit I'm very much the same - the first time I saw it, my initial reaction was that it was a DVD player in a 1980's VHS video recorder case. The more I've seen and heard of it, I've become far less sceptical. I still think it looks retro, but I've grown to like it - like I guess a number of people did of the Dreamcast when it was revealed last year.

The important thing to remember is that when it comes to computers, the look of it is of little or no importance. In the past, Sega's Mega Drive was hardly the prettiest thing about, but it was arguably the most successful console of the 16bit era. PCs, too, are hardly drop dead gorgeous, though some manufactures have attempted to make the cases look more appealing. But at the end of the day, that's what it is - a case. PlayStation 2 will take gaming into the 21st century, even though it may appear to belong in the 20th, and will introduce gaming to an even wider group of people than PSX. Which, let's face it, can't be such a bad thing.

Chris

FG: We all know that it's what's inside the box that matters, but it's still important to make your new machine aesthetically pleasing - you're not only trying to capture the hardcore gamers, you're trying to convince non-gamers that they should buy your machine, and one of the first things they'll consider is what your machine looks like.