>>57225464I don't see a lot of people talking about this, but it was when they stopped trying to make the most out of the hardware that they were on for connectivity purposes.
>Gen 1Ample use of the link cable, had use with the N64 Transfer Pak
>Gen 2More or less the same as gen 1 + the IR port on the GBC for Mystery Gift
>Gen 3GameCube link cable for multiple games and the storage app, eReader compatibility, wireless adapters for non-RS games + the standard link cable compatibility, expanded memory on carts for record mixing in Hoenn games
>Gen 4First online connectivity that came with multiple modes like the WiFi Tower, friend codes and live online battles, the GTS, Mystery Gift distributions, and more later like having the entire Battle Frontier available for co-op play online, the WiFi Plaza, alongside standard connectivity without the need for a cable, Wii compatibility for PBR/Ranch, the Underground. Eventually we also got the expanded GTS with the WiFi terminal with uploads of battle videos
>Gen 5Entralink, Global Link/Dream World, Tag Mode compatibility (most people don't even remember that DS technically had StreetPass before StreetPass, it was just software based instead of enabled for the entire device), online random battles, Battle Competitions, the return of Battle Videos and the WiFi Tower/Subway
Starting in gen 6 they started to get stale with how they were utilizing the hardware. The expanded capabilities of StreetPass were not utilized in XY with the exception of getting PokeMiles after passing someone. They realized that people were not really using the Tag Mode, but that was only because Tag Mode did not give you a whole lot. The PSS was a good use of the 3DS online compatibility, and it goes to show that people realize this because it's nearly the only thing praised about it in post. Dream World did not continue, some WiFi features like the WiFi Tower format were cut. Friend Safaris were added.
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