While this is nothing more than a guess, I'm pretty sure that the average Alienware buyer isn't interested in a gaming laptop that's discreet, understated, or like any other model they could buy. They want that alien logo glowing away, promising unearthly performance, and getting exactly that when they flip the lid open and fire up a game.
Well, that's certainly what you're getting with the new Alienware 18 Area-51 gaming laptop, although to be fair, it's not quite a lurid and ridiculous-looking as some of Alienware's older models. The chassis is really quite classy, and what looks like high-quality plastic is actually anodised aluminium, top and bottom.
