Things you had no idea your gaming consoles could do


There was once a war between PCs and game consoles for gaming superiority. While many will tell you the two now exist in harmony, the general consensus is that consoles emerged victorious. Sure, there were casualties – remember the Sega Dreamcast? For the most part, consoles won and ushered in an era of recreational gaming that reached unprecedented heights.

If you don’t own a games console, it’s very likely that you at least know somebody who does. In addition to being wonderfully immersive and great for social gaming, there are other things your consoles can do that you probably never knew about! Here are some of the best things that might tempt you to dig out your old consoles when you get home.

Retro gaming

One of the biggest appeals of consoles is the games they allow us to play. Because the consoles and the games themselves seem to be forever evolving, this often means we can’t play the old games we used to love. Well, console manufacturers seem to have listened to our prayers, and many of them have enabled backward compatibility. This allows us to play older, retro games on newer consoles, and this has even translated to handheld consoles like the PSP as well. 

Photo: Getty Images

Wiimote for the PC

PC gaming definitely has a die-hard fan base these days, but there is something satisfying about clutching a controller as opposed to using a mouse and keyboard. Well, one of the best things you can do these days is to use your Wii remote as a controller for your PC. This way you will be able to play PC games using the Wii remote and have the feel of console gaming, no matter what game you are playing.

Doubling up

Handheld game consoles have always been popular, even since the original Game Boy was released. There are more modern equivalents that have proven to be hugely popular, such as the PSP. We bet you didn’t know that you can actually double up the way you use your PSP as well. In addition to being an excellent handheld console in its own right, you can even use it as a spare controller for the PlayStation 3. Mind officially blown!

Personal soundtrack

The original PlayStation was one of the most popular consoles around, but, we bet you weren’t aware you could play your own CDs on it! Indeed, users could achieve this by removing the CD in the drive and replacing it with a CD of their choice. Think about the endless opportunities this affords you. Now you can listen to that Soundgarden album while playing Metal Gear Solid. Time to dust off the old PS and get involved!

Photo: Getty Images

These are just a few of the amazing things you probably never knew you could do with your old games consoles. There are so many different possibilities, and they all help us to see our old consoles in a new light. Time to go home, rummage around in the apartment, and dig out one of your old units to see what secrets it may hold!


More about Roi Kadosh

“A world-famous writer, if not for the fact that very few people actually know me. While I wait for the collective penny to drop, I write about all things pop culture.

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