

Microsoft Introduces Second-Screen Feature, Xbox SmartGlass - motti_s
http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/04/microsoft-introduces-second-screen-feature-xbox-smartglass/?icid=tc_home_art&

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evdawg
This is a spectacular move by Microsoft because it takes the main feature from
Nintendo's upcoming WiiU: a touch-screen for games.

Nintendo has released an entirely new system, while Microsoft has kept up with
Nintendo's innovation by using devices you already own.

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laconian
This sounds a lot more like a static information display than another screen
for gaming.

EDIT: but yes, there's no reason why this can't be as dynamic as what's on the
WiiU. Nintendo's competitive advantage can become a commodity overnight
through software alone.

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skymt
During Microsoft's E3 press conference they said they intended it to be used
for gaming. There was a concept video of a tablet being to used to call plays
and view the field in Madden.

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cyanbane
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_E2vRrPVBA&t=03m55s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_E2vRrPVBA&t=03m55s)

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Cushman
I'm not much of a console gamer, but I do play more than my share of PC games,
and I have to ask... is anyone else really unimpressed by this touchscreen-
peripheral concept, in any of its incarnations?

When I'm playing a video game, I want to be immersed in it. It's a very clever
illusion, though one I doubt anyone ever consciously invented, that since your
field of view is always in the same place in retina-space[0], a static screen
can trick you into thinking you're looking or moving around by displaying
moving images.

I feel like having a second screen, especially one I have to hold in my hands,
could only distract me from this effect and remind me that I'm actually
sitting on a couch, staring at a big lighted box... which doesn't really sound
like fun to me.

[0] Seriously, think about this. It blew my mind.

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rush340
I agree with it detracting from the immersion in many cases, but I think your
forgetting about casual games. Where this is really interesting is that it
enables hidden information in local multiplayer games.

For example, you can't play poker locally because you could see everyone's
hand. With this, the hands can be displayed on the player's phones. This goes
for a lot of board games.

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mitchellhislop
Also - playing games like Madden - you can have a playbook on your tablet, and
thus keep the other team from seeing the type of play you are picking. There
are a ton of games that benefit from the 'second screen' without busting
immersion.

I agree that Skyrim should skip the second screen, but imagine using the iPad
as the map from CoD or BF3 - issuing commands to squads via the iPad while
they control their characters with normal controllers.

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bradleyland
> I agree that Skyrim should skip the second screen, but imagine using the
> iPad as the map from CoD or BF3 - issuing commands to squads via the iPad
> while they control their characters with normal controllers.

I'm remembering commander mode from BF2 and thinking that if I had a second
screen for something like that, I'd be in heaven.

Even if the functions of the "start" screen (squad/team/comms/weapons
management) were relegated to a second screen, I think it'd be a big
improvement. It's a lot easier to switch context in the physical space than it
is to flick between screens with input lag and the fact that it completely
obscures your view. It's a modality issue. You can't effectively divide your
attention.

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prawn
Inventory management for Minecraft on 360? Easier to shift things around with
your fingers than moving a pointer with the standard 360 controller.

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klausa
I really don't think this is direct response to Wii U tablet controller, and
if it is - it's not a very good one.

Wii U tablet has buttons _and_ screen in one device you hold in your hands - I
can't imagine constantly switching between 'traditional' Xbox controller and
Android/iOS/Windows 8 tablet, whereas switching from pressing buttons to using
touchscreen on Wii U is infinitely easier.

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jpxxx
Being that Smartglass is a precise clone of Apple Airplay, I think it needs to
be interpreted as a response to Apple capabilities in cross-device media
sharing.

Airplay is exceedingly simple. There is no prior setup, no sync, no user-
visible state transfer, no unnecessary session management, it handles multiple
users properly, it backgrounds well on iOS, and authentication is "free" since
all that's handled at the Wifi layer.

When you see people in wizzy concept videos flicking content from one device
to another, this is what they're doing. The only thing they get wrong in these
futuristic videos is that this stuff has been shipping for the last two years
on a major platform.

Microsoft was correct to clone this.

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madoublet
To be fair, it is not a precise clone. While the play-to feature is the same,
to my knowledge, Apple does not allow in-game and in-movie tie ins. Plus, it
allows your phone to act as an extender of sorts. To me, this is the coolest
feature.

~~~
mitchellhislop
Yup - while I am a GIANT AirPlay nerd, the interactions between the second
screen and the main display is the big feature of this. Unless this handles "I
am watching YouTube on my iPad and want it bigger" better than AirPlay (which
is doubtful, as the Apple Halo is much tighter than MSFTs), AirPlay still wins
that scenario, and this wins the gaming/movies/second screen world.

~~~
madoublet
Had to check out the Apple website to see what Airplay was all about. I don't
use Apple products myself, but it seems pretty pretty sweet.

~~~
RandallBrown
It's one of those "I'm living in the future" things. You're sitting there,
browsing your iPad while your wife is across the room reading or whatever.
"Hey honey, check this out" and with the press of a button the youtube video
you want to share is on the TV, where she can see it.

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securingsincity
I think this is just as much a response to the wii u as an all out assault on
roku, google tv, apple tv and of course cable companies. They kind of waved
their hands at it but they plan on offering the ability to start a video on
any device and finish it on the xbox. The number of partnerships announced
along with ability to use IE on the xbox and your tablet as a remote for the
browser (along with your voice which is still the killer feature of kinect)
they have developed a tv box that makes competitors step up their game not
just playing catch up to others.

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jaylin
Check out www.demobo.com. It is a poor man's version of xBox SmartGlass. Any
web developer can do this easily with demobo api.

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talmand
IE on the Xbox? I wonder if that means I can request one for my desk at work
for browser testing.

Article is kind of light on details though. Does that mean the presentation
was light on details? I'm guessing this is only for Windows8 devices.

~~~
freehunter
From watching the Ars live blog, they announced it's on Android and iOS as
well. Good move, there.

~~~
talmand
If that's the case then that's actually quite nice of them. I would not have
expected that.

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ssharp
If this is going to be a competitive feature from Microsoft, they need to get
it in the hands of as many people as possible.

~~~
freehunter
Yeah, on this one they're not trying to kill Apple/Google, they're trying to
kill Nintendo.

Plus, the Xbox division runs at arms-distance from the Windows team. Zune used
to be there as well, but they've been pulled in/shut down.

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jamesmiller5
This is how I envisioned Google TV would work. I hope someday it will.

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leif
Plenty of iPhone apps do most of this with xbmc already.

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adventureful
I think arguments over whether this will be better than the Wii U completely
miss the real issue: direction. Where things are going. Companion devices
through smart phones and tablets will commoditize the proprietary Wii U
hardware very quickly.

Nintendo will be pushed out of the hardware business with this generation and
will pull a Sega and become a software only company. They don't have pockets
deep enough to afford even a single big hardware miss, and the Wii U will be a
miss.

Even stronger companies like Sony are finding it dangerous to stay in the
gaming hardware business. If the PS4 doesn't sell well enough, it's
questionable whether there will be a PS5 given the horrible condition Sony is
in (for reference, their stock is roughly, inflation adjusted, where it was 25
to 28 years ago).

Just my opinion, but I believe Sony and Nintendo will fade in the hardware
business, and Valve will replace one of them. The winners will have very large
online communities, neither Sony nor Nintendo have that going for them,
whereas Valve and Microsoft do.

~~~
freehunter
Nintendo has a large bag of cash and a huge fanbase that will buy any console
with Mario and Zelda. Will it repeat the Wii? Probably not, but that's a tough
act to follow. People predicted doom with the N64. Nintendo followed that up
with the Gamecube, another failure. They still survived enough to make the
biggest selling console by far. With them making money on every unit sold
(something MS and Sony don't bother with), even if no one bought any games
they still made piles of dough. Nintendo will sell _at least_ enough to keep
going. The casual market is huge.

Sega wasn't in good financial shape to begin with, at a time when games were
difficult to sell. They lost their retail partnerships by launching console
after console to compete with themselves. Sega had zero credit to ride on when
they folded. Nintendo will survive.

~~~
throwaway1979
I've bought pretty much every Nintendo console they've released (and some
handhelds). The post-wii world looks pretty different from my perspective:

1) The lack of quality first party titles for the Wii is very disappointing.
This is a contentious point ... but every single person I know both has a Wii
and currently uses it as a paper weight. Nintendo could have had something big
given the penetration of the lil Wii console. I used it for Netflix for quite
a while, for instance. They really blew this one though. I believe there have
been no feature enhancements for the Wii home screen since release! Netflix
updated recently but the experience is very poor ... I get buffering problems
all the time for instance.

2) I was stupid enough to buy the 3DS the first day. The device was pretty
shitty ... gave me headaches.. literally. Plus, the price reduction followed
by giving old owners shitty games in return was insulting.

Based on 1, 2, and my love for the 0.99-4.99 games on the iPad, means that I
am no longer going to buy consoles from Nintendo. And I might not be alone on
this one.

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freehunter
_my love for the 0.99-4.99 games on the iPad_

This right here is Nintendo's #1 competition right now, even Nintendo admits
it. That may be a driving factor in the tablet controller. If parents can give
their kid a basically kid-proof tablet to game on, they won't get their
sticky, clumsy hands all over the expensive iPad. Combine that with games for
a tailor-made gaming device (iPad is not) and buttons, and you've got a pretty
nice family-friendly gaming system.

With the iPad/Android/W8 Tablet market Microsoft is adding on to the 360, you
could liken it to further reinforcing the division between the systems.
Nintendo for families, Microsoft for college aged through adult gamers.

Not a week goes by where I don't hear someone my age (adult) say "I'm never
buying Nintendo again!" In the same timeframe, there are thousands of kids
coming to the age where they really want to get into gaming. I'm 20-something,
and my generation is really growing out of Nintendo. But we're having kids who
are just growing _into_ Nintendo.

~~~
RandallBrown
My nephew is 8 years old. He had a DS and loved it. BUT, like most 8 year
olds, he would lose his games, and eventually his DS.

Instead of buying him a new DS, my brother bought him an iPod Touch. Same
price as a DS but the games are free or cheap. Plus, he can't lose the games,
even if he loses the iPod.

Of course, the iPod does more than games. My nephew loves that he can video
chat with his cool uncle as well as listen to music, and all the other things
an iPod does.

