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[iapetus]

Just looking at the recent post-your-collection thread got me thinking about little features that make gaming better, which it would be great to see as standard on all consoles. Not the big things, like built-in HD or bigger and better graphics processors. But the little stuff. What features of consoles current or past do you feel qualify?

My humble list of starters:

1) The XBox breakaway controller cord. I lost a perfectly good copy of Tekken 3 to the sort of accident that this prevents. A miracle of modern technology.

2) Daisy-chaining controllers. Unless my memory's failing me, the 3DO allowed you to daisy-chain controllers. No need for a multi-tap, no need for a limit on the number of controllers (though I'm sure there was one) and no need for all players to sit within a single controller-cord's length of the console.

3) Headphone sockets on controllers. Another 3DO innovation which just seems so right. Why can't this return?

 

[Blackace]

Well this isn't related to hardware... but journals in RPG games... put a game down for 2 or 3 days and damn! I'm lost... And the f*ckwad in the town just keeps asking me if I finished what he asked me to do!

 

[Wario64]

Wireless controllers, dont think I need to explain this. It's just more convenient to play with

Soft-reset button combo. I know some PS2 games have a soft reset (FFX I think). Gamecube has a soft reset combo, as well as Dreamcast. The reset is quick and I don't have to get up o push a button on the console



As for games, every game needs skippable cutscenes, volume control, and subtitles

 

[tedtropy]

Every console from henceforth should have DVI output BUILT INTO the damn console. I shouldn't have to buy an expensive adaptor just to enjoy some high-res gaming on a high-res display that I already own. Also it should come with a DVI-to-VGA adaptor do-whacky.

 

[ge-man]

On a related note, make sure that the damn dashboard/OS outputs to proscan as well, just like the Dreamcast did. Not everyone is using a display that can output both interlace and progressive signals.

 

[BuG]

Competent GUIs and menuing systems. Note to devs: If I finish a level and you did your job of creating something which was fun for me to play, I probably want to play it again. Let me select Try Again straight away, with no loads and without having to navigate two other menus just to get to the option. Don't make Quit the default selection when I pause, that's just begging me to quit your stupid game and play something else. Don't have Start and A doing the same thing in menus, Start should be reserved for pausing and unpausing, my finger is already poised over A. And for god's sake, make your menus look somewhat decent. They're the second impression (box-art being the first, and provided you don't read the manual (but no-one ever does that before playing the game anyway)) of your game anyone gets after buying it, five shades of brown != somewhat decent.

edit: Oh, this is relating to hardware... sorry, I was distracted by Blackace.

 

[Vlad]

What I'd love to see next generation is a way to turn a system on with a wireless controller. I can turn on my VCR, TV, DVD player, receiver, etc with a remote, but I've still gotta get up to turn on my video games.

 

[Nerevar]

The ability to put a bigger harddrive in my console and load all my games to it. Now, whenever I want, I just boot up the console and load the game directly from the dash, with all my games at my fingertips and no annoying dvd-swapping (as well as worrying about the associated concerns of scratching your precious games).

On a side note, remember when consumers actually used to talk about things like fair use?

 

[neptunes]

Nintendo Dual Screen : The touch screen.

 

[tedtropy]

The ability to put a bigger harddrive in my console and load all my games to it. Now, whenever I want, I just boot up the console and load the game directly from the dash, with all my games at my fingertips and no annoying dvd-swapping (as well as worrying about the associated concerns of scratching your precious games).

On a side note, remember when consumers actually used to talk about things like fair use?

And the line between consoles and PCs blurs ever more...

 

[6.8]

Competent GUIs and menuing systems. Note to devs: If I finish a level and you did your job of creating something which was fun for me to play, I probably want to play it again. Let me select Try Again straight away, with no loads and without having to navigate two other menus just to get to the option.

What is more offensive is when the level reloads after you die. Thief 3, I'm looking at you! Ugggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh.

 

[Lord Error]

What I'd love to see next generation is a way to turn a system on with a wireless controller.

You can do that already if you have a new PS2, and a DVD remote. OK, it's not from the controller, but you don't have to stand up either.

The ability to put a bigger harddrive in my console and load all my games to it.

This too can be done on both Xbox (for a while) and PS2 (as of recently).

 

[6.8]

I think he means legally.

 

[Wario64]

Being able to install games on the HDD is pretty risky. Unless the console does a CD check (which would kinda defeat the purpose sorta), people would just borrow games from a friend and install it to the HDD and essentially get a free game.

 

[DopeyFish]

it would also kill renting games

 

[Kiriku]

Xbox controller S. Partly because the original controller existed before-hand.

 

[Kiriku]

... people would just borrow games from a friend and install it to the HDD and essentially get a free game.

Well, when I borrow games from my friends, I usually play the games until I don't want to play them anymore, then I return them. So it would only be a formal difference, for me that is.

 

[hobbitx]

I wish for consoles they would make controllers that come with little rolling balls so you can have mouse-like quality with fps games. FPS type games are just too popular these days to not make some kind of innovation for them.

 

[Die Squirrel Die]

Memory card management in game. If I discover that I don't have enough space only on loading the game up I don't want to have to reboot the console and take the disc out in order to fiddle around with my memory card.

Also on memory cards. Being able to load a file from both memory card ports. Me and my brother both have our memory card, but when you get games that only load from port 1, well there's switching around, and it has accidentally lead to deleting/saving over each other games.

 

[DopeyFish]

I wish for consoles they would make controllers that come with little rolling balls so you can have mouse-like quality with fps games. FPS type games are just too popular these days to not make some kind of innovation for them.

trackballs are annoying.

i bought a trackball (MS made) and tried playing some fps games with it

ARGH i say

it's worse than using a controller

 

[miyuru]

How long did you try?

Not that I use trackballs myself, but the best FPS'ers use 'em I hear. Perfect circle strafes and such, and yeah I don't see why not. Just takes some practice.

 

[DopeyFish]

for about a week. now it sits on my shelf rotting

 

[Lathentar]

Memory card management in game. If I discover that I don't have enough space only on loading the game up I don't want to have to reboot the console and take the disc out in order to fiddle around with my memory card.

Also on memory cards. Being able to load a file from both memory card ports. Me and my brother both have our memory card, but when you get games that only load from port 1, well there's switching around, and it has accidentally lead to deleting/saving over each other games.

On Gamecube you just hold down A.

 

[belgurdo]

I wish for consoles they would make controllers that come with little rolling balls so you can have mouse-like quality with fps games. FPS type games are just too popular these days to not make some kind of innovation for them.

Yeah, either replace right stick with a trackball or stick one on the side (lil cumbersome though)

 

[Kon Tiki]

Wireless Controllers. Sure breakaway cords preven the xbox from falling, but you still have to get off your ass to plug it back in.

HDD. A bit ahead of its time (as far as legal issues). Loading games from the HDD is a great feature.

 

[davis]

I use to play madden on 3DO with it connected on top to other controllers, it worked but was awkward the way it stuck out at the top and cords dangling but I guess they could implement it better. The headphone jack and volume control was nice but I am sure it added a bit to the bulk of the controller which was still smaller than xbox's and DC's but then it didn't have analog or as many buttons. The DVI option sounds nice too and I would want it since I have DVI but its already kind of being replaced so I think we might still see some sort of multi port where you can connected all.

I would like true HD support 1080i and 16:9 options also a brightness option should be standard unless your game is obviously something bright already where it wouldn't be a problem like most Nintendo games.

 

[shpankey]

XBox

- Breakaway controller cord.
- Dimpled analog sticks (concaved) - the PS2 domed analog sticks suck ass.
- Dashboard (just neat and I like it).
- HDTV gaming

3DO
- Headphone jack on the controllers. Late night gaming in bed without annoying the wife or waking up the baby (at that time).

GameCube
- Wavebird wireless. Probably the greatest invention of alltime. There is not another wireless controller out there that even comes close.

 

[op_ivy]

3) Headphone sockets on controllers. Another 3DO innovation which just seems so right. Why can't this return?

IIRC genesis was the first system to have this feature...

 

[Gattsu25]

don't remember headphone jacks on genny controllers but do remember one on the console itself


i'd like that to return if the controller thing doesn't



daisy chained controllers would be nice, too :b

 

[etiolate]

The Genesis had the headphone jack on the console and it also had a volume control.

Not a hardware thing, but I really wish all games had a sound/music test. This is a feature that went away and hardly any games have it anymore.

 

[bobbyconover]

I love multiplayer party games that let you save unique player names, complete with detailed tracking of stats such as win/loss records and which characters have been used when. Unfortunately only very few - Smash Bros DX and Made in Wario for GC are the only games that come to mind - include this feature. I can't even imagine what the saved stats would look like for some party games that I've been playing for years (i.e. Mario Party 1) would look like today, had they included similar systems.

In racing games, I love it when you can enter your name and then see the names of your opponents hovering above their cars as you race past them. I can't remember the name, but I played a Namco arcade racer in Japan that had this feature - in fact, it also took your picture and showed your face floating above your car. How cool (and easy) would that be via EyeToy? It makes it not only much easier to figure out who you're passing, but that much more satisfying when you do so.

 

[shpankey]

IIRC genesis was the first system to have this feature...

Nah, that was on the system. 3DO was the first to have it on the controllers. What was cool though, was it was independant I believe (?) where if you were split screen racing, you'd hear the sound in context to yourself, and not hear both cars/bikes. Was quite cool actually. That's one of my biggest complaints about split-screen racing today, it's hard to make out my cars engine sound for shifting... on 3DO, this wasn't a problem if you both used headphones.

My friends and I are always talking about that old 3DO feature and how it kicked ass. We miss it and I'd kill for it to come back. I even posted some stuff to the Xbox devs when they were fielding questions a long time ago pleading with them to add the feature, and they said the Xbox controller just didn't have enough bandwidth to pull it off with all the other stuff they were also doing (XBL headset, rumble effects, memory etc)

Imagine split-screen racing with headphones and only hearing sounds from the perspective of your own cars cockpit and not having to listen to all your friends cars drowning out yours.

P.S. I didn't like the daisy chaining controllers on 3DO. We always fought over who got the End controller, which didn't have the other users controller plugged into yours and thus making it big and cumbersome.

 

[hobbitx]

Yeah, either replace right stick with a trackball or stick one on the side (lil cumbersome though)

Yeah, for the PS2 I was thinking it could go right in between the analog sticks and underneath the little analog button.