So you're telling me a sega saturn controller in 1997 could turn the TV on and change channels plus change the inputs, but it's 2023 and no video game console controller can do that?
Technology has not moved forward, only sideways.
EDIT: https://cohost.org/plumpan/post/2538758-a-collection-of-responses
Also please do me a favor and drop a like on this feature request that would allow me to completely silence notifications on this, without deleting the whole post. TBH I stopped caring about this a couple of days ago and I want my doots to be about sega rally or Dovi's ass and not someone saying Wii U again.
The PocketStation for the PS1 can do this too. One of the apps you can install on it is a little remote control, which uses the infrared port the PocketStation has for some reason. And since Sony's never once changed their remote protocol, you can still use it with any modern Sony HDTV. I was really surprised when Jessica pulled out her goofy looking little memory card-sized thing, turned on the TV and started messing with the menus.
You want to know what else can turn your TV on and off? For absolutely no reason?
Mission Impossible for the Game Boy Color. People often forget the GBC had an IR port on it, I think it was used for maybe 4 games for gimmicky little data-beaming things, but M:I can learn signals from your actual remote and then also send them to your TV, VCR/DVD player, satellite/cable box, or stereo system. It offers a surprisingly high degree of control over what signals get bound to which Game Boy button, too.
[edit] yeah the people are saying "Wii U" to me too
I know they mean “modern consoles today” and that may be true but even consoles that are not that old can do this: the Wii U can do this, and a whole big chunk of the Xbox One pitch was that you would route your cable box or whatever through it and use the Kinect to change channels.
Folks have tried this a bunch of times and I think just nobody wants it.