Games console concepts we wish were real

Nintendo Wii 2

Nintendo Wii 2

Okay, so this one didn't quite come to fruition, but maybe this could be life after Wii U.

Using brainwaves to control Mario and company, the headset is accompanied with immersive in-ear headphones and a streamlined Wii remote boasting just a single button. Simply point and press and let your frontal lobes do the rest. The technology behind it is already in use on other products, so you never know - it could just happen.

Link: T3

Xbox 720 portable

Xbox 720 portable

If or when the Xbox 720 does appear on the scene, designer Djeric believes this is what its portable compatriot could look like. Apart from looking like something the Jetsons would be proud to call their own, the 720 portable has a keyboard tucked into its nethers for online chatting.

Link: Xbox Freedom

PS4

PS4

Will this be the successor to the PS3 and PS3 Slim? Designer Tai Chem certainly hopes so. Featuring a transparent design theme continued all the way down to the controller, a touchscreen will also allow you to select and click thumbnails that correspond with different elements of the disc. It's some way away from the classic black look, but all the same a feast for the eyes.

Designer Tai Chem on his PS4 and Xbox 720 concept consoles: "I'm a gamer, so I thought it'd be cool to come up with something interesting for a next gen console. I wanted to design something a little bit out there, incorporating new materials and technology. While it was primarily a styling exercise, I wanted to ground it in reality - having the touchscreen directly on the PS4 itself is doable, for example.

I think the future of gaming is direct, full-game downloads over the net. Physical discs will be history, and you'll have hot swappable drives with massive capacities."

iWish

iWish

Wishful thinking indeed - The chance of Apple joining forces with Sony to build the ultimate portable games machine is about as likely as Cameron and Brown adopting a baby together. Nonetheless, designer Mat Brady is hoping one day we will see PSP, iPhone and a QWERTY keyboard all converge into one seamless whole.

Link: Planet Mat

Sony PSi/ PlayStation Interactive

Sony PSi/PlayStation Interactive

Designer Anh Nguyen conjured up a concept of what the motion controlling PlayStation console of the future. Featuring wand-like motion controllers, the peripheral can be used in unique ways for different games, like playing tug-o-war or adding weights to turn them into fully-functioning dumbbells.

Link: Yanko Design

Xbox portal

Xbox 360 portal

This take on the Xbox-yet-to-come is an orb-shaped offering that employs touch interfaces and wireless controls. Can also be used for Mystic Meg-style future-telling.

Link: Yanko Design

Xbox 360 portable

Xbox 360 portable

we'd like to think that Microsoft has a hard time watching Sony, Nintendo and Apple eating up the portable gaming market, which is why something resembling this concept may not be too far away. Featuring the familiar X logo and coloured buttons of the X-Box, the slim and sleek Zune music player would also be incorporated, with a 64GB flash drive and mobile phone features also built in. A Microsoft Zune, Xbox 360 and mobile phone hybrid? Sounds too good to be true...

Link: T3

PSP 2

PSP 2

Yet another console contribution from Australian designer Tai Chem, this time with the PSP 2 which we now know is the PlayStation Vita, and looks nothing like the above. Sporting a flexible OLED display that rolls out of a tiny main body, the portable gaming Goliath would use electric charge to make the screen rigid and boast built-in stereo speakers.

Xbox 720 new

Xbox 720

Just because Microsoft plays down talk of life after the 360, it doesn't mean creative folk like Australian designer Tai Chem should stop dreaming up what an Xbox 720 might look like. Taking the shape of what can only be described as an alien cycling helmet, this would surely go some way towards brightening up your TV unit. Oh, then there's his vision of the PS4...

PlayStation 4 concept

PlayStation 4 concept

Could this eco-friendly vision of the PlayStation ever come to fruition? Designer Joseph Dumary certainly hoeps so. Constructed from 60% recyclable materials, the console uses 0 watts in standby mode and has an ECO Restart function that let's you resume games from the place you last played without a full boot up. Other notable features include full 3D 4K2K compatibility, support for Blu-ray "DEUCE" which will hold three times more data than current Blu-ray discs, live TV, 1.5TB HDD and Sony Ericsson sync.

Link: Yanko Design