Microsoft Releases 'Xbox SmartGlass' for iPhone and iPad

[jayenh]

Originally Posted by DavidLeblond

Not sized to the iPhone 5... really, Microsoft?

Kind of like iTunes not being compatible with Vista, right?

[Blomkvist]

Haven't downloaded this app yet, but will be doing so soon.

I wish the app would let you play using the iPad as your primary screen...but I guess latency would be too bad.

[Deadman64]

Originally Posted by ArtOfWarfare

And Nintendo has lost.

Microsoft didn't even need to release a new console, just an app. Kind of funny how easily the threat of the Wii U has been brushed aside.

I expect Nintendo to announce that they're exiting the hardware market and will be focusing exclusively on releasing games. Or maybe they'll be able to strike a deal with Microsoft or Sony allowing them to be an official accessory partner or something (so that Nintendo can continue making their games have new and unique interactions without Nintendo having to make the entire console themselves.)

Agreed, I see Nintendo just being a game studio in the future. I bet Sony or Microsoft would love to swoop in on that purchase...

[Akarin]

I just tried this SmartGlass stuff. When playing a DVD, you can pause/play/next chapter and that's about it. No fast forward, go to DVD menu, etc.

As I would certainly not use my iPhone instead of the Xbox controller for games, I thought the app would at least be useful as a remote controller for DVD's. Well, not even.

Half implemented stuff starting from a good idea, that's Microsoft!

[brownpaw]

Originally Posted by Akarin

I just tried this SmartGlass stuff. When playing a DVD, you can pause/play/next chapter and that's about it. No fast forward, go to DVD menu, etc.

As I would certainly not use my iPhone instead of the Xbox controller for games, I thought the app would at least be useful as a remote controller for DVD's. Well, not even.

Half implemented stuff starting from a good idea, that's Microsoft!

The usefulness is going to be in games that implement it well, like a sports game that lets you use the second screen for picking plays, or an RPG that lets you have immediate access to your inventory on the second screen.

It's not a half-implementation when 90% of what it does is going to be the job of other game devs.

[Yvan256]

Originally Posted by ArtOfWarfare

Where did you come up with $500? As I recall, the consoles haven't been priced like that in a half decade. Here's the current pricing data (all prices are the lowest available from Walmart, because that's where our hypothetical "Little Timmy's mother" is going to shop and what she's going to buy):

The XBOX 360 is $200.
The PlayStation 3 is $250.
The Wii U is $300.

I'm glad to hear that the iPod touch is now bundled for free with the Xbox 360.

[the8thark]

Originally Posted by ArtOfWarfare

And Nintendo has lost.

Microsoft didn't even need to release a new console, just an app. Kind of funny how easily the threat of the Wii U has been brushed aside.

I expect Nintendo to announce that they're exiting the hardware market and will be focusing exclusively on releasing games. Or maybe they'll be able to strike a deal with Microsoft or Sony allowing them to be an official accessory partner or something (so that Nintendo can continue making their games have new and unique interactions without Nintendo having to make the entire console themselves.)

You are assuming a great many things. Which might or might not be true. Awesome MS app. But downside is you need iOS device and Xbox. A lot of Xbox users do not have an iPhone. If anything this promotes Apple and MS hardware working together in tandem. A co-operation of sorts.

Nintendo to the same thing out of the box with the WiiU. Whereas MS use people who already have an Xbox and iOS device to get a lot more functionality out of the two devices they already own. Two totally different ways to achieve the same end result.

One would hope the Surface tablet has this app too. But if the iOS app is as good as the WiiU controller then I see both Apple and MS benefiting from this. This App won't kill anything Nintendo. Cause it targets a totally different market. The Xbox and iOS device owners. It seems both Nintendo and MS have this same feature now.

[Foggy]

I had a good play with SmartGlass last night and really like it. As a free extension to my xbox it is great! Loved having the map and GPS stuff for Forza Horizons running on the ipad. Was handy being able to message my friends without having to try and use my controller to type the message in!

[Rodimus Prime]

Originally Posted by DavidLeblond

Not sized to the iPhone 5... really, Microsoft?

why not good. At the same time Apple change fair amount of stuff in iOS 6 and where I work it is causing world of problems in the long list of undocumented changes. The fixes are requiring some fairly crazy work arounds and I can promise you that iOS 6 broke a lot of apps out there. Those fix take much higher priority than dealing with the larger screen sizes and poor design standards Apple encourage for years.
Something like glass is fairly complicated on the back end and under the hood. Chances are they are working on a patch to go with iPhone 5 but it was farther down on the list of things to address for it.

[Geckotek]

Originally Posted by the8thark

You are assuming a great many things. Which might or might not be true. Awesome MS app. But downside is you need iOS device and Xbox. A lot of Xbox users do not have an iPhone.

A lot of iPhone owners have Xboxes.

[RobNYC]

Originally Posted by knewsom

If only Sony woul take a cue on this one...

Exactly what I was thinking.

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Originally Posted by DynaFXD

iPhone has bluetooth, PS3 has bluetooth. Wonder why no one has generated an app that lets you use an iOS device to use the PS3 when using it as a media center?

There's some app called "Pocket Blu" app that allows you to control the PS3's dvd playback for certain blu-ray discs. It's kind of useless and I think it goes through the wifi network now that I think about it.

[Akarin]

Originally Posted by brownpaw

It's not a half-implementation when 90% of what it does is going to be the job of other game devs.

Only partly agreeing... One could expect that the very least would be to support properly the stock features such as the DVD player.

[wdomon]

Originally Posted by the8thark

You are assuming a great many things. Which might or might not be true. Awesome MS app. But downside is you need iOS device and Xbox. A lot of Xbox users do not have an iPhone.

This isn't only limited to iOS devices either. SmartGlass was released on Android last week. With more active cell phone lines in the US than actual humans in the US, I think you'd be hard pressed to find an Xbox owner that didn't have an Android/Windows/iOS phone.

For what it's worth, having used both, I can tell you that the iOS flavor works MUCH better (at least on tablets. I haven't bothered using it on my iPhone 5 since my iPad 3 gives me more real estate to work with).

[DavidLeblond]

Originally Posted by Rodimus Prime

why not good. At the same time Apple change fair amount of stuff in iOS 6 and where I work it is causing world of problems in the long list of undocumented changes. The fixes are requiring some fairly crazy work arounds and I can promise you that iOS 6 broke a lot of apps out there. Those fix take much higher priority than dealing with the larger screen sizes and poor design standards Apple encourage for years.
Something like glass is fairly complicated on the back end and under the hood. Chances are they are working on a patch to go with iPhone 5 but it was farther down on the list of things to address for it.

It's really not that hard to make it size correctly to the iPhone 5. Unless they have the world's worst programmers working on the project, and I doubt they do.

[Rodimus Prime]

Originally Posted by DavidLeblond

It's really not that hard to make it size correctly to the iPhone 5. Unless they have the world's worst programmers working on the project, and I doubt they do.

Not hard is true but it still takes time. They only have so many programming hours per week. Chances are they only have 2-3 people at most working on it. Putting that in place means it takes longer to get to a minor issues like the screen size.
Also depending how it was originally designed and developed it may be a lot harder to fix as they might of subclass some key things so it means more rewriting which means more time. Plus you have testing to go threw and the apples approval process.

[Geckotek]

Originally Posted by DavidLeblond

It's really not that hard to make it size correctly to the iPhone 5. Unless they have the world's worst programmers working on the project, and I doubt they do.

How many other major app have not been sized for the iPhone 5 yet? Pointless complaint...they'll get to it when they get to it.

[KdParker]

Originally Posted by ArtOfWarfare

And Nintendo has lost.

Microsoft didn't even need to release a new console, just an app. Kind of funny how easily the threat of the Wii U has been brushed aside.

I expect Nintendo to announce that they're exiting the hardware market and will be focusing exclusively on releasing games. Or maybe they'll be able to strike a deal with Microsoft or Sony allowing them to be an official accessory partner or something (so that Nintendo can continue making their games have new and unique interactions without Nintendo having to make the entire console themselves.)

The Wii was done a long time ago.

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Originally Posted by ncaissie

You don’t know what you are talking about. The Wii U tablet is a controller and much more than an app. And you don’t have to spend $60 a year to use it. The 360 is total crap. And Yes I have one, and a Wii and 3 PS3s and I will be getting the Wii U.
I also have all the iOS devices as well as all the handheld consoles.
Nintendo will take the lead again this time unless the Kinect tech actually gets to a point you can use it. Right now it sucks for everything but dance game which are done just as well on the move and Wii.

Guess your experience is based which games you play.

We have Wii and Xbox360 and the Wii is starting to get dusty, and I just don't see a reason to buy a beefed up controller for the outdated Wii.

[ArtOfWarfare]

Originally Posted by KdParker

The Wii was done a long time ago.

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Guess your experience is based which games you play.

We have Wii and Xbox360 and the Wii is starting to get dusty, and I just don't see a reason to buy a beefed up controller for the outdated Wii.

The Wii U is an entirely new console. It is capable of playing both Wii and Wii U games, and using Wii or Wii U controllers.

But with Apple (AirPlay), Microsoft (SmartGlass), and Google (IDK if they have a name for it... It's a part of Android 4.2) all having released their own touch screen + external TV screen set ups, I think Nintendo might be delivering too late, at too high a price.

I may be wrong though. Their set up has a few key advantages:
1 - Everyone who buys a Wii U will have the two screen set up with virtually no effort.
2 - All Wii U developers will be taking advantage of the two screen set up.
3 - The Wii U includes several physical controls on the controller that may make games on it far superior to those on touch-only devices.

At the same time, the two screen idea was already done with the DreamCast, and Sega no longer makes hardware, now do they?

So... We'll see how the Wii U does. I hope it succeeds because I think Nintendo makes the best console games by far. (Shooters are better done on the computer, and Valve + id vie for taking the cake on that. Blizzard is basically uncontested for the best computer RTS games.)