by 
There's a certain purity of form when it comes to cubes. It's four lines of the same length, arranged into a square, then extruded by the same length again into three dimensions. Deeply symmetrically satisfying.
I'm also starting to think that cubes are objectively the best possible form factor for a games console, as exemplified by the GameCube (released 25 years ago) and the GabeCube aka Steam Machine (which is officially on pre-order now). After all, that pleasant cube shape allows for maximum fan size (140mm in the case of the Steam Machine) in a minimal footprint.
I've wanted to see the two units side-by-side for some time, so receiving the shots from Rich above was exactly what I wanted from my morning. As you can see, the Steam Machine is a little taller than the GameCube, but that makes it even closer to being an perfect cube than its forebear. Not having a handle jutting out the back also sells the illusion. And, of course, you can always add on the Game Boy Player attachment to the GameCube if you want the two devices to become even closer in size.
It also tickles me that while only the GameCube has a "graphics by ATI" sticker on the front, you could pretty easily transplant it onto the Steam Machine without too many arguments from me. AMD acquired ATI way back in 2006, and of course still uses their Radeon branding for their modern-day graphics cards.
I'm glad to see both devices also buck the trend for smoothed-off corners. The M4 Mac Mini, which is otherwise a pleasingly cubic device (as is the Mac Studio), suffers from having more of a squircle shape which just isn't as pleasant to behold - at least to my geometrically inclined eyes. That streamlining reduces internal space, but it also cuts down on the usable area on each outside face. The Mac's I/O is therefore limited to the centre, while the GameCube and Steam Machine each have ports and buttons right into the corners.
Wrapping up, I've got a request to make. I know we haven't yet seen any Project Helix or PS6 leaks concerning form factor, so I'd like to take the opportunity now to formally petition Sony and Microsoft to agree that their next-gen consoles will be cubes of various sizes. Closest to symmetrical would be ideal, with greater power demands of course allowing for larger cubes. I'd probably want something smaller than the Borg Cube PC case, but anything between this and the GameCube would be fine with me, thanks.
Are you also a cube fan? Or do you prefer your consoles and computers to use a vertical or horizontal rectangular prism format? Or whatever monstrous shape the PS5 is? Let me know in the comments below.