What’s always been missing from it for me is whether it actually mattered.

The NES wasn’t cheap. It didn’t do anything but play video games. Did its looking kinda (but not really) like some other piece of AV equipment (but having no other actual capabilities) contribute meaningfully to its success? Were a lot of its buyers, who weren’t exactly making an impulse purchase, swayed by the appearance?

I kinda doubt it. Meanwhile, the redesign did make it less-reliable than its Japanese counterpart.