Games

5 amazing unofficial console apps

The downloads Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo don’t want you to know about.

By Joe Svetlik

5 min readPublished on 01/19/2017 · 10:30 AM UTC

Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo have all been busy adding new features to their consoles this year. Just lately, for example, Microsoft made the Xbox One backwards compatible, with over 100 Xbox 360 titles able to be replayed on Microsoft's latest console. These include Bioshock Infinite, God of War 3 and Fallout 3. Not to be outdone, Sony quietly added backwards compatibility to the PS4– it can now play eight PS2 titles, including Grand Theft Auto III, Dark Cloud, and Twisted Metal: Black, and you can bet more are incoming.

But what about these consoles' hidden features? The ones even their manufacturers aren’t making use of yet? Which third-party apps let you use your machine for purposes not officially sanctioned by their makers? Basically, how can you get the most from your console without needing an official piece of software? We've rounded up the best apps and tricks that the console makers don't want you to know about. Download them quick – who knows when they'll be banned...

PS4 Remote Play for PC

Xbox One owners have been able to stream their console games to their Windows 10-running PC for a while now. This app lets PS4 owners do the same. It's the brainchild of a YouTube user calling himself Twisted0ne1989, and is an update to his Remote Play PC app. "I've got a basic GUI implemented along with hardware accelerated video and V-Sync so the video is very smooth (doesn't look too good on here after conversion)" he reveals on the YouTube clip above. He also noted the app has new dynamic controls with profiles, so you can map your keyboard, mouse and alternate controllers to mimic the functions of the gamepad. It's not perfect, though. Since the games weren't made to be played with a mouse, you will experience some lag. But it certainly caused waves. Soon after the app made the news, Sony confirmed it was working on an official Remote Play app for PC and Mac. Coincidence, of course.

FoulPlay: The Unofficial PlayStation Network App

Sony likes to tend to its walled garden, watering its leafy PlayStation tendrils while outside those vagabonds foolish enough to use other platforms are forced to fight it out to the death in the Thunderdome, tutting gently whilst sipping a lemonade in the cool of the shade as it hears their deathrattles echo over the wasteland. The PlayStation Network is PlayStation-only, you see.

Except when it isn’t. Using this app, you can log in to the PlayStation Network using any Windows 8 device. While it doesn't let you play games, you can manage friend lists, send and receive messages, compare trophy lists, view your friends' recent activity, and even see and respond to game invites. It also has Live Tile and Toast Notification support, and means you'll always know when someone is trying to contact you through PSN. To use it, you need Internet Explorer set as your default browser on your PC (sorry), but once you've logged in you can change it back.

Remote Play on Android

Remote Play is a great feature, but it only works on a select few devices: PlayStation Vita, PlayStation TV, and certain Sony Xperia smartphones. That means if you want to play PS4 games on your non-Sony Android phone, you're out of luck. Or were. Because now you can play PS4 titles on almost any Android device.

Though there's a caveat – you need to sideload an APK onto your device, but once you have, it's pretty simple to get up and running. Just connect to your PS4, and you can start streaming. You can even stream over the internet, if you roam outside of your Wi-Fi's range, though it will eat through your data allowance in no time, so careful not to rack up a big bill burning through The Witcher 3 on the bus. It's also a tad laggy, but that's a small price to pay, because as previously stated, Witcher 3 on the bus. It comes with a touchscreen facsimile of the PS4 control pad, or you can hook up a DualShock 3 or 4 to your phone using a separate app, though you will need a rooted version of Android to do so.

Xboxie.com

If you want to access a ton of new games for your console, but don't want to empty your savings in the process, the Xboxie.com site is for you. It features a roster of games that can be played through your browser, completely free. Obviously none of them have the latest, cutting-edge graphics, but you'll find a good few time-wasters in there. Mobile sensation Flappy Bird, for example. Or sixth form favourite Snake II. You can play on your Xbox One, PS4, Wii U or Windows machine – visit the site using your console, and it'll detect which you're using and only load the compatible games. All the games have been tested to make sure they work with a controller too, for that authentic experience.

PC games on a Wii U GamePad

The Wii U might not have taken off as Nintendo would've liked, but maybe it would have if it'd had this feature. Hackers took to the 30th Chaos Communication Congress hacker convention to show off a modified Wii U GamePad that could stream games straight from a PC. Using a series of techniques far too complicated to go into here, the team reverse engineered the GamePad, and while the demo of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker running on the Dolphin Emulator is a little buggy, the fact they got it working at all is something of a miracle.

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