20 MORE Pointless Video Game Mechanics Nobody Used

The games industry likes to go through different phases every few years. In the late 2000s, for example, every platform implemented their own form of motion controls to compete with the Nintendo Wii. Following that, loot boxes and live service games became just as ubiquitous. 

Another trend that tried to get off the ground in the 2010s was companion apps, which began with the release of Xbox SmartGlass in 2012.

Pitched as a revolutionary way for players to seamlessly interact with their games and media, these apps introduced unique new mechanics and features into certain titles. In Dead Rising 3, the app became a phone for NPCs to call players, Assassin's Creed Unity offered a real-time depiction of the game's map, and GTA V had the iFruit app, which was the only way players could train Chop.

In practice, though, dividing attention between two screens made playing games more convoluted than it needed to be without providing any worthwhile benefit to players. It wasn't long before these apps began to be phased out, with Microsoft closing down SmartGlass in 2018.

Almost a decade later, this trend's greatest legacy is the missing or broken features it left behind.