For mobile, that is. I personally think it is a very important feature to have as the game looks a LOT more visually appealing to the user, and gives the game a nice 'uni body' effect, especially with a background that tiles with the background in the next scene.
Here is a small game that will elaborate on what i'm trying to portray:
iOS App Store:
http://apple.co/1Fa6MWMGoogle Play:
http://bit.ly/17R4rVU