The ten checks every used console passes before we list it
Published 30 Aug 2026
Every used console is checked against ten fixed categories: power, display output, storage and drive, controller ports, wireless, audio, cooling, battery health, shell and screen. The results produce a ranking that nobody can raise by hand.
Most used console listings describe condition in adjectives — mint, clean, like new. Adjectives are the seller’s opinion. A checklist is a record, and it can be wrong in ways you can point at.
The eight functional checks
- Power — cold boot, sustained load, no unexpected shutdowns
- Display output — docked and handheld, full-white and full-black test patterns
- Storage and drive — read and write, and the game card slot
- Controller ports and connectors — every port, physically exercised
- Wireless — pairing, and range held at a distance
- Audio — speakers and the headphone jack
- Cooling — fan behaviour and temperature under sustained load
- Battery health — measured capacity against the rated figure
The two cosmetic checks
Shell and screen, recorded separately from function. A scratched console that works perfectly is a different proposition from a clean one that overheats, and collapsing both into one word hides which you are buying.
Why the score is computed
The ranking is derived from the checklist by a published rule. A technician can lower it and must write down why; nobody can raise it. A number a person types in is marketing. A number that falls out of a test is a grade.