8 Video Game Console Design Flaws That Made Us Rage

3. NES - Dodgy Cartridge Slot

This massive oversight is solely responsible for the frustrated tears of a generation of children. The NES is undoubtedly one of the most important consoles in the history of gaming. It jump-started the entire industry and brought us some of the best games ever, which only makes it more frustrating when it won't read your favourite game cartridge for the hundredth time. The cause of the problem was the system's front-loading cartridge mechanism.

Players would lift up the little NES flap, push their cartridge into the slot and then push the slot downward. This worked fine when both the cartridge and NES connectors were clean, but dust could wreak havoc with the system. Additionally, the routine motion of forcing a cartridge into the slot would cause the pins on the connectors to bend over time.

Later models of the NES didn't suffer from this horrible problem, but that's little comfort for those that spent more of their childhood blowing into cartridges than actually playing games.