Any spell attached to a wand becomes incredibly useful because of it doesn't take a spell slot, so yeah I'm not taking wands into consdieration. Also I never really used Magic Missile in 5E, so I may not be right with that edition or fourth (I just don't like fourth, and it's been so long I don't have much of a frame of reference there).

As for other editions, first level that magic missile is going to put out roughly the same damage as a sling. Even first level in 3rd edition, it barely does more damage that the Acid Splash cantrip, which is really easy to hit with considering it's a ranged touch attack. The reliance of many DnD monsters on armor based AC makes most of your Ranged touch attacks have just as much a chance as landing as a fighters attack, so the guaranteed hit factor of your Missile isn't that big of a gain. First and second level the damage is just so minimal it's really hard to make a case for it.

Once you have access to second level spells, the damage still pails in comparison to the rest, and a lot of your other level one spells still remain more useful overall. When you still have such a limited pool at your disposal, why would you ever pick that one clutch spell? The damage is still incredibly low, even compared to other first level spells. Even if you want to get around enemy saving throws, an enlarge person on your fighter is going to have more of an impact with all the damage that comes along with that over the course of a couple rounds.

Because earlier games also base concentration checks of damage, if you have to break enemy concentration Magic Missile, even at third or fourth level, is doing so little damage you don't have a high chance to break it (Especially not if your foe has combat casting, at least in third edition). That low damage also makes it a bad choice if you 'need' to take out an enemy right now. At 4-10 damage at third and fourth level, Compare that to the 4-24 damage of Scorching Ray as a second level spell (Also Ranged Touch, so ignores armor) and even with the miss chance you are going to have a higher rate of taking down a guy that needs to go down fast.

I'd argue Magic Missile doesn't really start coming in handy until you get third level spells. Your spells like Sleep and Color Spray start to quickly lose effectiveness, and you really only have a handful of first level spells that do a lot at higher levels. Ray of Enfeeblement is always handy, as is Enlarge/Reduce person. Even then, Magic Missile only really becomes good if you are a really desperate situation and are out of higher level spells.

If you 'Have' to take out the enemy that round, you have no way of getting close for a Shocking Grasp (Let's face it, if you have to end it that round getting into Melee is the least of your worries at this point), you have no singe use items of any kind that are a better option, your foe is extremely low on hit points (Or in the case of breaking concentration, has a really bad concentration check), and supporting your front line with an enlarge Person of some kind is no longer an option, than you may get your moneys worth out of Magic missile. There is just almost always a better option at your disposal than magic missile.

That said, it's still not a bad spell to have. If you're a wizard, you certainly have the versatility available to you that having that in your spell book is handy (I would avoid it as a Sorcerer though, they have such limited spells any spell that has such niche use is a bit harder to justify). It's just compared to most other options it's very sub-obtimal.