SmartGlass to be included in every future first-party game

[garyopa]

Phil Spencer confirmed it



All Microsoft's Studios games for Xbox 360 will have the SmartGlass treatment

Good news we have here.

Phil Spencer has confirmed that all future first-party games for the Xbox 360 will have the SmartGlass' capabilities enabled fo us to enjoy.
So, this Fall we all have a new way to use our tablets and smartphones.

According to Joystiq:

Microsoft's SmartGlass initiative aims to enrich the entertainment offerings on Xbox with an informative, context-sensitive "surface," spread across compatible tablets and smartphones.

Phil Spencer, Corporate VP of Microsoft Studios, tells me you can expect SmartGlass support from all of the company's games after the feature becomes available this fall.

"It just makes so much sense for a developer who wants to supply, maybe not time-critical information, like 'that enemy is getting ready to shoot you,' but information that augments what's happening on screen," Spencer says. He used last year's Halo Waypoint Atlas app, which offered multiplayer GPS tracking, as an example of how SmartGlass features could share additional game information without hampering the moment-to-moment gameplay.

"And then you're even going to see situations like with Ascend, where there's actually gameplay that happens on the phone, even when you're away from your television and that interacts back with the online game that's happening. So I think you'll see information sharing, context sharing while you're in the room, with video and with games, as well as gameplay happening in more distributed environments."

SmartGlass will be encapsulated in a single app that syncs with your Gamertag and enables features based on what you're playing or watching (provided they support SmartGlass).

"You don't have to log in and out of each app – you know, 'I'm gonna start the Mass Effect app, and now I'm gonna start the Game of Thrones app.' So you have this surface, this smart surface," Spencer says, "that sits on any device that you already own that's always in sync with what's happening on the television, and it knows where to go and grab the right content to display at the right time, to make sure that if you're playing Halo, then the Halo surface is available on SmartGlass."

NEWS SOURCE: Expect Smartglass support in every Microsoft Studios game going (via) JoyStiq

Our thanks to 'Kaos2K' for this news item!

[garyopa]

The one question that been bugging me how does the info get to your 'screen' from the Xbox 360.

#1 - The 360 does not output 'Bluetooth' like the PS3 does, it has it own secret RF controller interface.

#2 - Ok so it streams it by Wi-Fi, so what about homes that have their x360 hooked up directly, not shared thru a Wi-Fi router, I know many gamers that have second internet line direct to their x360 just because they don't want lag from others using the 'net, etc.

#3 - Ok, so no bluetooth, no wifi, leaves you with 3G, yikes so those with bandwidth caps both on their home 'net line and their 3G plans, will be in tough spot.

At least the Wii U does not have these 'expansion add-on issues', it comes out of the box working! (Except for the sync/tracking issues, which I sure will be solved a bit before actual launch!)

[billysastard]

The one question that been bugging me how does the info get to your 'screen' from the Xbox 360.

over the internet, say hello to super lag.

[tech3475]

I can see this ending up being like kinect support in otherwise non-kinect games, it may be useful in a few places but otherwise being used more as a gimmick or otherwise unnecessary.

When released I can see me trying it out before never touching it again except when I have to, mainly because I'll be concentrating on the TV.

[Ahmed_p800]

Over internet for sure, thats why this won't work for everyone, and thats why it isn't comparable to WiiU.

[Battlefield]

I have Internet speed which can handle this (VDSL 30/30.Mbit) and Turbo 3G, but soon 4G network on cell phone.
It will work for me if MS servers can handle it. There is no transfer limit on 3G here, and there is no limit on my home line.
In 5 mins i can get up to 400/400 Mbit line at home with free use, but that costs alot more
100/100 Mbit is cheap, but i dont need it.

....but i know that most people doesent have lines for this.
I know that many other countries will have problems with it even when they have high-speed everywhere like we have, but its common with transfer limit which is LAME.
Whats the point with 100.MBit lines when the line cap is at only like 20.GB a month???

Unlimited use on cell phone network isnt common either in most countries... even in 2012..

[JonathanD]

Well at least Microsoft and Sony are not waiting long to try and add a feature in this time... lol

They need to have it come included in the box for the next console or its going to fail. It's just that simple.

[Cyber Akuma]

#2 - Ok so it streams it by Wi-Fi, so what about homes that have their x360 hooked up directly, not shared thru a Wi-Fi router, I know many gamers that have second internet line direct to their x360 just because they don't want lag from others using the 'net, etc.

Lets be realistic here, how likely is it that people have a Xbox360 AND broadband internet, but:

1. Have their 360 connected directly to their broadband modem, thus meaning no other device in the house has internet access.

or

2. Have a switch but not a WiFi router connecting their network together. Can you even GET a router that isn't WiFi anymore (I am not talking about thousand dollar corporate-level routers with 100 ports, I mean consumer grade ones) that aren't just switches instead of routers?

Chances are pretty damn high that if you have a 360 and broadband, you have a WiFi router, probably over 99% of people with broadband and a 360 have WiFi, so this is a total non-issue. Wired and Wireless devices can talk to each other on the same LAN after all.

And since they can do the SmartGlass thing over WiFi LAN, the bluetooth, RF, and 3G arguments are not really relevant.