Your favorite obscure console feature

Using SMS gamepad on a C64 and Amiga. Many consoles using the same joypad type connection (atari 2600, c64, Amiga, Genesis). Granted not all the buttons worked, but you were always guaranteed backwards compatibility.
 
kasane said:
Yeah it had a devilish aura around it. Its like you broke your PS2
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It really creeped me out. Errors in general scared me as a kid. Music stuttering, weird freezes, loud fans, loud lens noises, and error messages like this:

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Did anyone ever encounter where the screen would turn into a green hue on the original Xbox? I witnessed it a couple times at GameStop, always under the impression the system was malfunctioning.
 
You guys are BLOWING MY MIND.

I don't really know any of these. Maybe I just don't remember.

I remember when my Gamecube made a special start-up noise on my birthday I got really excited! Same goes for my DS and the Happy Birthday message in Pictochat!
 
Not really obscure, but I miss having a handle like on the Gamecube since I end up shuffling around my consoles somewhat regularly.
 
The 3DS having those little dioramas before you start the game.
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I wish all consoles (with menus) did this.
 
I remember reading a gaming magazine in 2005 that told about secret features about the upcoming Xbox 360.

USB powered items would work on the 360 if you plugged it into the 360! So they tested a bunch of items and one of the items that worked was a USB powered warming plate for mugs. I never tried any USB powered item that wasn't gaming related on my 360 but it was interesting nonetheless. I'm not sure if its my favourite but I've always liked that idea.

The one I use the most? I like that I can use my phone smartglass feature for typing messages on the 360. I don't know if thats obscure enough.
 
yeah, figuring out the SMS snail game one time as a bored kid prolly takes the cake for me

BumbleChump said:
Putting music CDs into a PS1 during gameplay to change the music.
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Iacobellis said:
Yeah, certain games such as Ridge Racer allowed it. I think it's because the race would be loaded into the RAM, while the music would still be steamed from the CD.

In the original Animal Crossing on GameCube, the entire game could be played without the disc.
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...damn, learn something new everyday
 
Using the Photo Channel on the Wii as a music player and a puzzle game machine. The puzzles could actually get pretty cool as it was co-op.
 
I loved being able to plug my iPod nano into the 360 via USB and playing custom soundtracks directly from it.

Then I got an iPod touch and iPhone and the custom soundtrack feature didn't work with those devices. :(
 
Soft reset on consoles and handhelds. Used it often for the Nintendo DS (Holding L, R, Start, Select).

You can also pull this off on the 360 by signing out of Xbox Live!. As so as you sign out, you are brought back to the game's main menu. Faster than quitting a game and relaunching it.
 
Using every CD I could find laying around my house and put them in the PS1 for Monster Rancher. Growing up I literally thought every CD had Monster Rancher data on them somehow.
 
How those white square pillars that you see when you boot up your PS2 represent all the games you've played and how much time you've played them.
 
Put a Dreamcast game disc inside your Saturn console and it will say it's for the Dreamcast. Time travel!
Not really but it's fun to think that's the real explanation for it being able to do that.
 
i like the way you can change the way the sparkly dots flow in the original wave theme background on the ps3. swing your dual shock left, the dots flow left, swing it right, the dots flow right.
 
Using my old PS1 a/v cables on my PS3. (I moved to HDMI since... but I used the same cables from when I got my PS1 through the PS2, and now PS3)
 
Xbox 360's OS level party chat

You laugh, but so far the 360 is the only home console on the market with this feature over 7 years after launch.
 
Dug said:
Not exactly obscure but...I like it when you hover over a game on the XMB and it changes the background/plays music.
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I like this feature too. As long as the music in the background isn't atrociously loud like the DMC4 or White Knight Chronicles in the XMB. My ears nearly fell off when I hovered over it the first time.
 
If it counts as "obscure," I'll have to pick the Dreamcast's VMU screen. It was a brilliant idea for letting each player in a local multiplayer game have access to info other players didn't (like, yes, picking plays in sports games).

I really wish the VMU had been better executed. The idea of a memory card that also functions as a "mini portable" is a great one. Too bad we'll never see anything like that again, now that we have "the cloud" and huge console harddrives.
 
Soft reset: A + B + Start + Select or L1 + R1 + L2 + R2 + Start + Select

Probably my most used 'hidden' feature before the guide/home buttons came about.
 
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