Unimportant & Seldom/Never Used Console/Gaming Features?

[disgaeniac]

I know that some of you VGC-ers here have been playing games & collecting them for just as long as I have (even longer, in some cases).

Remember when a gaming console was just that...a console that simply played your games for you?

Anyway, change + progress + new & better/faster/smaller tech (*can* be -but- IMO, isn't always) a 'good' thing that can enhance the capabilities of our consoles/systems; making them much more diversified, convenient, & capabie machines.

Hell, I remember playing CD's & DVD's on my older PS2's, and being glad that I was able to do so.

My PS3 is still my primary Blu-Ray player and (one of my PS3's) eliminates my need to keep a PS1 and/or a PS2 connected. 

I also enjoy being able to check/respond to my e-mail, coming to sites like this one (and G*FAQs & trophy + walk-through sites when I need them), and - I'll admit it...I've even liked & used the PSN Friends feature more than I would have ever expected to.

Being able to have broken games fixed/patched, cloud-saving (via PS+), having annoying updates downloaded while I'm sleeping, and more options for those consumers who'd prefer to purchase digital versions of games rather than the physical versions (even though, I still don't "get" that & it seems almost...sacriligeous to me) all = win 

BUT, what I'm really wondering about more here is...which features and/or capabilities of modern gaming do you find non-essential?  Stupid?  Things that you just don't give a shit about, know that you'll never use, and - maybe things that just don't make any sense to you at all and that you can't even understand why *Anybody* would ever use them and/or why anyone would even find them important enough or significant enough to even care about, one way or the other?

A quick example for me would be earlier access to a game; being able to play it a day, a week, or even a month before everyone else.

[mrnikon]

I was thinking of R.O.B. for the NES, there were only two games made for it. I guess you could say that that was a never used console feature. Since here in the USA it was more of a gimmick to make retailers think of the NES as a toy rather then a game system. I know its not a modern system but its one of two I can think of. The other is the Street Pass thing on the 3DS. its cool, but do we really need it?

[argyle]

To me, web browsers on a console are pointless.  Too hard to read on the TV, pages don't fit properly, and unless you buy a keyboard way too clunky to navigate. 

Street Pass is a good one.  I didn't even pull it up until after I had had my 3DS for more than a year, and then it was just to see what the heck it was. 

[karyann]

I know that there are a few things, but I can't think of them off the top of my head... I'll think about it a little!

Street Pass is a good one.  I didn't even pull it up until after I had had my 3DS for more than a year, and then it was just to see what the heck it was.

Streetpass is really neat, but you need to live in a very populated area. I've experienced it in 3 different areas: small city where I never got any streetpass except from friends at school, a big city where I get a few streetpass tags at the biggest mall in the city, and a very big city where I get my 10 streepass tags daily. And after all that, I have to say: it's a really cool feature, but it can't be enjoyed by everyone because of population limitations  

[turf]

Internet browsers, twitter/facebook, youtube, blu ray players, that all-in-one entertainment idea. 

It's a game system.  Just let it play games.

[burningdoom]

As for the CD thing: The original XBox made the CD-function awesome. Back in the early 2000s, it was able to burn your CDs to the hard drive, which then allowed you to have a personal jukebox in your room. And some games like Tony Hawk's Underground even allowed you to add those songs to the games soundtrack.

I know, nowadays everyone is all like: "But, Windows Media Player and MP3 players." Yeah, but back then MP3 players were still very expensive, and CD-burners were starting to become common on PCs but still were a bit pricey themselves.

[dashv]

Backward compatibility according to Sony and MS.

Rather ironic that now they think there is a big enough market to open up a subscription service for it.

[kamikazekeeg]

I loved being able to have my own music on my Xbox lol It was pretty cool. 

I would also throw my hat in for any of the social stuff that gets added, mostly with like Facebook and Twitter stuff.  Streaming capabilities are fine and cool, Mario Kart 8 video sharing is nice, but things that are just telling your friends on facebook that you unlocked achievements or what you are playing now or any other useless thing like that I find annoying.

[abe]

Nintendo's Miiverse. Apparently it was worth bringing it to the 3DS after it was already on the WiiU. I've never used it aside from one time to see what it was. Seems pretty pointless for me.

[argyle]

I'll agree with the social media stuff, but I stream video on my systems all the time and love it.  Seems pointless to have to switch to yet another box to do that when the consoles can do it so easily.  Especially on the PS4, since I can tap a button & switch out to watch something on Netflix or Hulu or whatever, then when I'm done jump right back into my game where I left it.  Awesome. 

[davifus]

Xbox Live/ PSN

Who needs friends when I have all these Gamesssssssss

[maximo310]

I don't really care for watching tv, netflix, or other tv/streaming apps with my console because most of the time I use them just to play games( especially with those xbox one ads making a big deals about  the nfl tv app). I also didn't really care about swapnote and pictochat on the 3ds and ds too much since I didn't have many people who wanted to swap pics back and forth.

[davifus]

I don't really care for watching tv, netflix, or other tv/streaming apps with my console because most of the time I use them just to play games( especially with those xbox one ads making a big deals about  the nfl tv app). I also didn't really care about swapnote and pictochat on the 3ds and ds too much since I didn't have many people who wanted to swap pics back and forth.

I remember when The Ds first came out Pictochat was the shit in my bus. Everyone in my bus would bring their DS and go into Pictochat and draw and chat and shit... I in the otherhand... didn't own a DS back then  :'(

[maximo310]

I don't really care for watching tv, netflix, or other tv/streaming apps with my console because most of the time I use them just to play games( especially with those xbox one ads making a big deals about  the nfl tv app). I also didn't really care about swapnote and pictochat on the 3ds and ds too much since I didn't have many people who wanted to swap pics back and forth.

I remember when The Ds first came out Pictochat was the shit in my bus. Everyone in my bus would bring their DS and go into Pictochat and draw and chat and shit... I in the otherhand... didn't own a DS back then  :'(

Same here, I didn't get my first ds until mid 2009, but by that point everyone who had used it moved on to other systems. I just wish that it could have had a game or something out of those elements but it just stayed the way it was. :/

[pacpix]

I know that there are a few things, but I can't think of them off the top of my head... I'll think about it a little!

Street Pass is a good one.  I didn't even pull it up until after I had had my 3DS for more than a year, and then it was just to see what the heck it was.

Streetpass is really neat, but you need to live in a very populated area. I've experienced it in 3 different areas: small city where I never got any streetpass except from friends at school, a big city where I get a few streetpass tags at the biggest mall in the city, and a very big city where I get my 10 streepass tags daily. And after all that, I have to say: it's a really cool feature, but it can't be enjoyed by everyone because of population limitations

Yeah streetpass is pretty lame in small towns.  I only have one streetpass tag and it was from my sister's 3DS ha.