12 Weird Playstation Features You Never Knew Your Consoles Had

The Near Feature On Vita Lets You See Your Community

The Near app is actually one of the cooler features exclusive to the PS Vita. The short-lived mobile system had a special social media app called Near. This allowed you to see who was playing video games nearby, and even leave little presents in real-world locations, so friends (or strangers) could collect by visiting the spot. Too bad Near got dragged down with the PS Vita.

The Mysterious PSP Internet Radio

Yes, the PSP had its own radio station. It used internet radio — and according to some people, this feature was still working as of 2019. The bigger problem is just getting the PSP to connect online in 2020. You’ll need an old router or the stones to disable encryption.

The PSP used Shoutcast and the PS Vita continued the trend, giving you way more control of your radio stations. A lot of players have fond memories for this weird feature that I never used once on my PSP — I’m going to have to try it myself one day.

Auto-Download When Buying From Your Phone / PC

Going back to the PS4, there’s one cool feature you can enable while you’re at work or school — if you buy a game through the Playstation app on your phone, you can automatically begin downloading it remotely. That’s extremely handy for long download times, which are getting increasingly common.

Naturally, this is one feature that’s still available on the PS5. Heck, maybe I’ll try and use it for once.

Delve into more little-known Playstation features on the next page.