19. A Functioning Camera
Right away, we have a big use for a smartphone. San Andreas gave us a clunky SLR camera that we could use to snap pictures and save them for later. That feature was removed in GTA IV, although your phone had a Camera" function that was only used in a few missions. Outside of those specific occurrences, you weren't able to save any photos you took with your phone. What gives, Rockstar? Of course there's no in-game benefit for such a feature, but gamers like to share their experiences with one another, and what better (and simpler) way than to just get out your camera and take a picture? The photos can be uploaded to the Social Club straight from the game, or shared online via another social network (Facebook or Instagram) or medium (email, for example). They can be tagged and mapped, searchable and sharable. I realize that would require teaming up with some real-world companies that may not want their names associated with a game such as Grand Theft Auto, but you never know. This is a wish list, after all. Heck, let's go nuts: let's make it even more like a smartphone and give it a video camera as well. It doesn't have to be anything fancy - let's say you can record 10 seconds of footage at a time. That's being conservative - if Rockstar can cram more available time into the game, then go for it. The video can be small (pixel-width, that is) to save space on your drive. I won't go asking for the moon and the stars with this one, just a way for those playing on every platform to document some of the crazy things they come across in the game. I realize that the ability to record gameplay and share videos to the Social Club or YouTube has always been around, but having the features integrated directly into the game via the smartphone and therefore available to everyone is a bit more fair (and easier for the less technically inclined).