Gaming consoles are meant to play video games; that’s their top priority. They aren’t made for watching movies or listening to music, even though some focus is still on those. Because of this, the last thing you expect is for gaming consoles themselves to show up in video games.
Often this is because the game is from a first-party studio or is published by the console maker, but not always. Sometimes it’s simply due to a good relationship between the developer and console maker. Console appearances didn’t show up much in older generations of gaming, but starting rapidly appearing in the sixth generation of consoles.
10/10 Halo Infinite: Original Xbox
Halo Infinite is the first entry in the series to be open-world, and the game is filled with easter eggs. There’s a giant sandwich, Red vs. Blue references, and a Craig easter egg. The coolest one by far is the appearance of an original Xbox. Hidden in a roof area towards the southern part of the map near the center divider is an original Xbox plugged into a TV. This original Xbox easter egg is likely to nod to the brand turning 20 years old in 2021, the same year of release as Halo Infinite.
While the easter egg is fantastic, it could have been more creative. It would have been cool if the room was a replica of the stage of CES when the Xbox was first revealed with Bill Gates and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
9/10 Resident Evil Remake: GameCube
The Resident Evil remake was part of an exclusivity deal with Nintendo over three new Resident Evil titles. Capcom’s partnership with Nintendo during this period didn’t turn out well for both parties, but at least it resulted in plenty of great games.
Near the end of the Resident Evil remake in the lab, you can put the MO Discs in their readers to access the cell where your other partner is kept. If you look closely at the readers, you’ll notice they look exactly like GameCubes. In the HD version of the remake, the readers were changed, likely due to legal reasons.
8/10 Alan Wake: Xbox 360
Alan Wake is one of the most celebrated titles by Remedy Entertainment. Originally published by Xbox Game Studios and exclusive to the Xbox 360 for two years, it’s no surprise to see the console itself make an appearance.
At the very beginning of episode four, as soon as you get out of your room, go to the room opposite and you’ll find an Xbox 360. You’ll also find a Death Rally poster, another game by Remedy Entertainment. While it is an easter egg, it is part of the story as the room belongs to Emerson, a struggling game developer. In Alan Wake Remastered, the machine looks far more generic, as the working relationship between Microsoft and Remedy was largely over at that point.
7/10 Ninja Gaiden: Prototype Xbox
The prototype version of the original Xbox is one of the most iconic early designs for a console. It’s a giant aluminum X that’s as striking as ever. In every game developed by Team Ninja made exclusively for the Xbox and Xbox 360, there is a prototype Xbox in it.
By far, the most useful one is the prototype design included in Ninja Gaiden (2004) and Ninja Gaiden Black. Next to Han’s Bar, you can wall run to a secret area where the windmill shuriken and the prototype Xbox can be found. Using the device will completely refill your health and ninpo and can be used infinitely. The first Ninja Gaiden does have a semi-open game world, so often, you can backtrack to this location to refill if you want to.
6/10 Dead Or Alive 4: Xbox 360
Tecmo and Microsoft had a great working relationship in the 2000s. This is mostly due to Team Ninja’s preference to develop on Xbox platforms rather than financial backing from Microsoft, which is incredibly rare in today’s age. Dead or Alive 4 made it clear that it was an Xbox 360 exclusive.
DOA4 had a playable character from the Halo series in collaboration with, at the time, series developer Bungie. The game also featured both the prototype Xbox and Xbox 360 as survival mode items. Once the Xbox 360 drops from an opponent, the classic 360 boot-up sound plays and will award you 360,000 points and refill your health.
5/10 Astro’s Playroom: Every PlayStation
Astro’s Playroom is a game pre-installed on every PS5 console, and it lets you know it’s a very PlayStation-centered game. This tech demo not only features easter eggs from many PlayStation series, but has every PlayStation in it as artifacts and many of the peripherals as well.
There are items modeled in this game that you might not even see or remember. So much nostalgia oozes with this game, but it is odd to see all these PlayStation items modeled in a PS5 game. To further reinforce the recognition of their consoles, the whole game resembles different areas internally within the PS5.
4/10 Luigi’s Mansion: Game Boy Color
The Nintendo GameCube didn’t launch with a new Mario game but a Luigi game. Luigi’s Mansion was a short but sweet adventure game involving Luigi busting ghosts. The map is very helpful because a big part of the game is collecting keys and figuring out where to go next.
However, the device you use as a map and access stats is a Game Boy Color, with Color changed to Horror to fit the theme of the game. The use of the system in this game is so popular people have even made custom Game Boy Colors to look like it.
3/10 Super Monkey Ball 2: GameCube
When thinking of GameCube exclusives, eventually, you’ll think of the Super Monkey Ball games. Both games are some of the hardest titles on GameCube, but the tight controls of the analog stick make these games like no other. In the second game, the final level of the Master Extra course pays homage to all of this.
The level is a rotating Nintendo GameCube you must traverse until to get to the goal, which is in the disc reader. It’s fittingly difficult for a final level. In Super Monkey Ball Deluxe and Banana Mania, the level was changed to a dice block, which was even more challenging to complete.
Metal Gear Solid 4 is still, to this day, a PlayStation 3 exclusive. A big part of the game is nostalgia, with so many characters from MGS1 returning and Snake returning to Shadow Moses in act four. In the game’s final act, you’ll encounter the Screaming Mantis boss fight.
After the boss has been defeated, Psycho Mantis will return and do some callbacks to the first game. He’ll try to read your memory card, but the PlayStation 3 has a hard drive, so no luck for him. During this section of the cutscene, you can press X to view a flashback showing the original PlayStation console with a memory card inserted. If MGS4 ever gets a rerelease, this flashback will probably need to be edited.
1/10 Shenmue: Sega Saturn
One of the most famous games to be released on Sega’s final home console, Shenmue was a game changer. The game accurately simulates 1980s Japan and gives you a lot of freedom to explore that.
However, one thing that is not accurate is the Sega Saturn in your home’s living room. The Saturn was released eight years after the time the game takes place, so the immersion is broken. At least you can play on the device if you manage to win Saturn titles from raffles in the in-game shops.
Be the first to comment