Most Underrated Console Feature?

[Red Baron]

A great, and completely underrated, feature of the Sega Saturn: direct-dial online gaming.
The Sega Saturn's NetLink modem peripheral, one of the world's first console-based online gaming devices, didn't use servers to facilitate online play. Instead, you entered the phone-number of your friend with a NetLink, and your NetLink dialed them directly over a regular telephone connection.
The advantage to this? As long as you still have a phone-line, it STILL WORKS. You just have to know somebody with a Saturn and a NetLink, and tolerance for high phone-bills.
Unfortunately, very few, if any, modern consoles use a feature even remotely like this. This is bad, because as soon as the latest generation of online games loses their servers, they'll be useless.

Wow. I totally didn't know that. Maybe in a few years when I have the spare cash, I'll get into more of the mid-era Sega systems and try to give this a shot, just to say I did it once.

It'd be nice if more systems would do this, but alas.. I remember being rather sad at the X-Box version of Live finally going down for good recently, and thinking of all the games that would never be played online again(or played multiplayer period, in some cases.)

[Auto-Fox]

...meep...
Anyway, about NetLink, I SHOULD mention that it's at risk, these days. All modems are designed to deal with a certain amount of lag-time. However, the NetLink, being designed during the mid 1990s, was designed to work primarily with analog phone service.
For long-distance play (outside your local area code), it can't deal with the high-latency connection afforded by digital phone service.
So, you either have to have to still have an analog telephone line, or you can only play against people in your own area code.
Outside that, the connection is too buggy these days to be workable.
^^ Still, the concept is pretty awesome. Online multiplayer that NEVER goes offline!
Take THAT, Microsoft!

[Press_Start]

A shoutout to a very overlooked aspect of controllers....wings! Without them, where will we put our palms?

[Sonicwolf]

A shoutout to a very overlooked aspect of controllers....wings! Without them, where will we put our palms?

I salute the rare PlayStation Dual-Analog controller and its elongated wings for being the best. That controller died so fast and is very unappreciated.

[garagesaleking!!]

the xbox hard drive, not having to use memory cards, an amazing upgrade.

[The 1 2 P]

the xbox hard drive, not having to use memory cards, an amazing upgrade.

Thats an excellent answer but I'm going to go one better. The original Xbox had the ability to burn your music cd's to the hard drive and then listen to the music in game(for some games). Then the 360 took it to the next level and let you use custom soundtracks from your hard drive for pretty much every 360 game thats released. Although I mostly use the feature in racing games, it's nice to have it available for every game. You know, for that occasion where I'm playing a good game with crappy music.

[crazyjackcsa]

The Xbox hard drive, the CD format, the DC's VMU and others aren't really underrated. They were heavily marketed as the "next big thing"

How about the Gamecube's disc brake, or that the music when the system turns on differs depending on which button's you hold on the controller.

[Astrocade]

The Xbox hard drive, the CD format, the DC's VMU and others aren't really underrated. They were heavily marketed as the "next big thing"

I agree. "Underrated" to me is something that you rarely hear mentioned in the same breath as the other data regarding the console. The Sega Genesis being 16-bit was not overrated, but you rarely hear about its ability to go online or its unique headphone jack. Those are underrated features.

That's like saying that the Virtual Boy was underrated because it was 3-D. 3D was kind of its whole point, unlike the dual D-pads which were unique to that system at the time, and as such an underrated feature.

[Goodwill Hunter]

Jaguar CD VLM is freaking awesome, beats any other music visualizer imo.

I second that...I always play CDs on my JagCD for the on-screen display. I can't image the programming is that difficult for geometric designs set to music...don't know why all of the CD-playing systems since don't do something similar or better than the Virtual Light Machine.

Rich

[shopkins]

Others have said it, but it's very nice when consoles use standard AV connections instead of special AV ports. I can hook my 3DO up with any cables I have around the house, RCA and S-Video. Heck, even the power cord is a very standard model that's easy to find and compatible with several of my consoles. It makes it easier to switch things out if all I have to do is take the cables out of, say, my DVD player and plug them into the 3DO.

I also really like when consoles have the soft reset button combo. It's a lot faster and easier than getting up to cycle a hard reset.

[Nintega Grafx-16]

The original Xbox can be a very useful paperweight. A lot of people overlook that feature

[Enigmus]

The original Xbox can be a very useful paperweight. A lot of people overlook that feature

So, you're saying the Xbox is meant as a ballast and not a game system with a library of great games?

That's like saying a SNES can machine wash my pants.

[tentencanidae]

How bout the use of the so called "Fourth Wall" on the Sege Genesis/Megadrive. When playing XMEN, at the end, you have enter a door by breaking the fourth wall (or something of that nature..), which literally involved the gamer quickly hitting the reset button. I know that plenty of consoles HAVE a reset button, but I don't know of two many that have incorporated it into the gameplay. I never beat XMEN because of that. I found out about it years later.

[Nintega Grafx-16]

So, you're saying the Xbox is meant as a ballast and not a game system with a library of great games?

That's like saying a SNES can machine wash my pants.

The original Xbox was an overrated PoS system. 360 however....

[Enigmus]

The original Xbox was an overrated PoS system. 360 however....

You, sir, are overrated.

The 360's a finnicky piece of crap compared to the first Xbox. You want overrated? Look at most of the 360s fanbase.

Case closed.

[Nintega Grafx-16]

You, sir, are overrated.

The 360's a finnicky piece of crap compared to the first Xbox. You want overrated? Look at most of the 360s fanbase.

Case closed.

True the launch 360s where crafted by a bunch of retarded monkeys, but library is much better than the original Xbox. Much more variety and that includes the XBLA games. Also the Halo and Call of Duty crowd you are refering to IHMO are not people. Anyone who says that group is the entire 360 fanbase has his head in the sand.

[Sonicwolf]

Anyone who says that group is the entire 360 fanbase has his head in the sand.

The best selling title on the Xbox 360 is...

Wait for it...

HALO 3

*gasp*

[Nintega Grafx-16]

The best selling title on the Xbox 360 is...

Wait for it...

HALO 3

*gasp*

And? By your flawed logic, all Wii owners like are Mario games because Super Mario Galaxy is the best selling game for the system. I think not.

[Black_Tiger]

I've always loved the Genesis (since the launch), but I'm not crazy about Sonic games (or many other popular brands across platforms).

[Enigmus]

And? By your flawed logic, all Wii owners like are Mario games because Super Mario Galaxy is the best selling game for the system. I think not.

I thought Wii Sports sold the most due to the pack-in clause.

So, you are saying all Wii owners are casuals who only play Mario and Wii Fit (WHOOPS NINTENGA SAID THIS GAME NOW)?

Also, he never mentioned the Wii. That's you who brought it up.

EDIT: Self-fulfilling prophecy is Nintega-caused.