The eight generation of home consoles was a strange time for video games. There were a lot of big ideas at play at Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, as each tried to capitalize on a number of developing and receding trends. All three platform holders were trying to set themselves apart, keep up with one another, and determine what might be the next piece of technology that took off among gamers the way motion control had for the Wii. It was a time that led to a lot of gimmicks and ideas that slowly fizzled over the life of the consoles--and others that appeared midway to become pretty successful.

Ahead of the PlayStation 5 and the next generation of game consoles, we're looking back at some of the best and worst tech ideas of the Playstation 4--from the capabilities of the DualShock 4 controller, to the advent of PlayStation VR. Over the years, there have been some things that worked, plenty that didn't, and many that were either abandoned or iterated upon.

Sharing And Streaming Become Quick And Easy

If there's one idea that made sense from the start with the PS4, it's the console's simple, easy-to-use sharing controls. Using the DualShock 4 controller's dedicated Share button, you can snap screenshots while playing, make a recording of whatever just happened in-game, start or stop a recording, and stream to services such as Twitch pretty much instantly. Sony recognized how big a deal streaming games had become in the PS3 era, and included robust, extremely useful content-sharing capabilities for the PS4 in response.