Boring and pointless post here, but I'm waiting for some files to copy across, and I was wondering about this today: As a gamer for more than thirty years (where does the time go?), I've owned and used a lot of hardware, including some transparent stuff. You know, joysticks, mice, etc, that are transparent, so that you can see though the casing and see the circuit board and what it inside. And even though I like the idea, I've always found it a bit disappointing in real life, as they aren't interesting to look at. What I mean is, I've seen clockwork items with a transparent case, and it's interesting to look at them as the movement of the internal cogs and chains can be fascinating, especially if it's an ornamental clock, such as a reasonably complicated (and expensive!) Cuckoo Clock thing. But electronics in a transparent case are boring as there are no moving parts, and usually not even flashing lights (though even if there were lights, they'd bore anything more intelligence than a Magpie, after a few moments). So I was wondering, was there every a gaming peripheral, or even a full console, that was transparent AND interesting to look at? Actually, is there any electrical item that has a transparent case and is interesting to look at for more than a second?
I pretty much agree with you. It was interesting to think about PCB's and what they look like back before I had any real understanding of them, but now, it is ho-hum. I don't know if this fits your description, but Konami's MSX SD Snatcher sound cart is cool since it has a little cut out for an led light where the snatcher's right eye would be. It lights up when powered. I think this is how you make these things interesting... Partial transparency and actually showing us something besides the PCB below. That said, my favorite transparent (gaming related) item is probably the salamander famicom cart: I like the frosted blue color combined with the label. It's boring but it is unique. I tend to look at what's going on in the game rather than the game itself Combine with an Everdrive (which has a blue pcb & an led that turns on for read/write operations), and you have an interesting look.
I have a transparent Game Boy Pocket. I think it's really cool looking. The one I have is in really good condition, too. Like most of my collection, I probably spend more time just staring at it and admiring it than actually playing it. I'll take some pictures later, if you'd like.
The clear PS2s like ocean blue and zen black, you can see "some" of the parts move. Like when the disk is spinning you can see the middle white part of the disk drive spin, and when you ejects the tray you can see the mechanism moving.
There are also the original iMac models, which had transparent cases that came in various different colors.
