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Today at E3 2012, Microsoft announced Smart Glass - a tablet experience to accompany your Xbox 360 and mobile usage. Functionality seems to sit squarely between Nintendo's Wii U and Apple's AirPlay - enabling users to interact with their games and media from their tablets, TVs, and phones
The tablet-friendly gaming future is inevitable - so which are we most excited for?
Wii U vs. Any tablet
Microsoft has a huge leg-up on Wii U in regards to cost of entry – provided you already have an Xbox and Tablet. Microsoft made a big deal of the ultimate compatibility of Smart Glass, even going so far as to say the words “iPhone” and “iPad” in the Microsoft presentation.
However, actual gaming on Smart Glass looks to be more refined (read: limited). An example of a play being drawn in Madden gives a sense of the depth you can expect, at least initially. Whether Microsoft’s Smart Glass will wage an all-out war with the Wii U is yet to be seen.
The chief difference between the two is that the Wii U is gaming hardware and Smart Glass is software. The Wii U GamePad is capable of Near Field Computing, can instant message, shoot photos and video, and comes packing a touch screen, and - most importantly - hardware buttons. Smart Glass is software that allows you to interact with media on different devices - using your phone as a remote control, your tablet as a reader or viewer, and your TV as your primary gaming or viewing hub.
As for now, the Wii U represents the gaming device, while Smart Glass represents a convenient entertainment-centered tablet setup – capable of more with your media, and less with your games.
Microsoft's Smart Glass is undeniably similar to Apple's Airplay, which enables you to start gaming on your iPad or iPhone and then switch over to your home theater through the $99 Apple TV.
From AirPlay-enabled devices you can shoot media from iPhone, to iPad, to Apple TV - all with a few taps of your finger. This even works for games, which allow you to flick upset birds from your iPad, while watching on your couch.
However, what Apple's popular service doesn't do is integrate so totally with the media being consumed. Onstage, Microsoft showed off episode integration in Game of Thrones - allowing users to watch their favorite characters traverse a map, while reading background information (and otherwise being entirely distracted from their viewing experience, we imagine).
In game, Smart Glass looks to function similarly. During Halo 4, Master Chief was given additional information from scanning the side of a ship; that information updated in real-time on a real tablet nearby.
With widespread adoption, Smart Glass could change the way we interact with our media, and their commitment to openness and multiple tablets is a winning strategy.
However, currently there's just not quite enough known about Microsoft's tablet gaming experience to warrant too much excitement on that front. Meanwhile, we’re still waiting to see how the Wii U will handle media and games – but likely lock it all on the GamePad and Wii U.
But how can we not be excited about adding tablets to the mix? A convergence of successful features across the mediums is a guarantee, and we predict the tablet as a gaming companion is here to stay. The us of five years ago wouldn't believe we'd be swiping through in game data, Mass Effect-style, this soon.
The future is awesome.
We'll have a chance to see Smart Glass and the Wii U GamePad in person at E3 2012, and Apple’s WWDC is right around the corner, and sure to show off new features and improvements of AirPlay. Keep your eyes peeled for an update.
The tablet-friendly gaming future is inevitable - so which are we most excited for?
Wii U vs. Any tablet
Microsoft has a huge leg-up on Wii U in regards to cost of entry – provided you already have an Xbox and Tablet. Microsoft made a big deal of the ultimate compatibility of Smart Glass, even going so far as to say the words “iPhone” and “iPad” in the Microsoft presentation.
However, actual gaming on Smart Glass looks to be more refined (read: limited). An example of a play being drawn in Madden gives a sense of the depth you can expect, at least initially. Whether Microsoft’s Smart Glass will wage an all-out war with the Wii U is yet to be seen.
The chief difference between the two is that the Wii U is gaming hardware and Smart Glass is software. The Wii U GamePad is capable of Near Field Computing, can instant message, shoot photos and video, and comes packing a touch screen, and - most importantly - hardware buttons. Smart Glass is software that allows you to interact with media on different devices - using your phone as a remote control, your tablet as a reader or viewer, and your TV as your primary gaming or viewing hub.
As for now, the Wii U represents the gaming device, while Smart Glass represents a convenient entertainment-centered tablet setup – capable of more with your media, and less with your games.
Microsoft's Smart Glass is undeniably similar to Apple's Airplay, which enables you to start gaming on your iPad or iPhone and then switch over to your home theater through the $99 Apple TV.
From AirPlay-enabled devices you can shoot media from iPhone, to iPad, to Apple TV - all with a few taps of your finger. This even works for games, which allow you to flick upset birds from your iPad, while watching on your couch.
However, what Apple's popular service doesn't do is integrate so totally with the media being consumed. Onstage, Microsoft showed off episode integration in Game of Thrones - allowing users to watch their favorite characters traverse a map, while reading background information (and otherwise being entirely distracted from their viewing experience, we imagine).
In game, Smart Glass looks to function similarly. During Halo 4, Master Chief was given additional information from scanning the side of a ship; that information updated in real-time on a real tablet nearby.
With widespread adoption, Smart Glass could change the way we interact with our media, and their commitment to openness and multiple tablets is a winning strategy.
However, currently there's just not quite enough known about Microsoft's tablet gaming experience to warrant too much excitement on that front. Meanwhile, we’re still waiting to see how the Wii U will handle media and games – but likely lock it all on the GamePad and Wii U.
But how can we not be excited about adding tablets to the mix? A convergence of successful features across the mediums is a guarantee, and we predict the tablet as a gaming companion is here to stay. The us of five years ago wouldn't believe we'd be swiping through in game data, Mass Effect-style, this soon.
The future is awesome.
We'll have a chance to see Smart Glass and the Wii U GamePad in person at E3 2012, and Apple’s WWDC is right around the corner, and sure to show off new features and improvements of AirPlay. Keep your eyes peeled for an update.
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