Microsoft revealed Xbox 360 SmartGlass at this year’s E3, something we called a complete gimmick and a pointless attempt to compete with the Nintendo Wii U. Now, Nintendo didn’t have any harsh words for Xbox 360’s knockoff feature, they simply called it “flattering”. According Nintendo’s Scott Moffitt, VP of sales and marketing, it took Sony and Microsoft 3 years to add motion control systems to their consoles, but that this time, there were a lot quicker to copy Nintendo’s technology. Here’s what he had to say about Microsoft’s new “idea”:
“We announced second screen gaming last year, and it’s somewhat flattering that it only took people a year this time around.”
He added that SmartGlass doesn’t look like it’s made for a games system, and that players would find themselves “limited by their number of hands”. Since, obviously, you still have to use a regular controller in addition to the SmartGlass device. Moffit throws in another little zinger at Microsoft:
“I’m not sure how, as a gamer, I would manipulate a second screen with most hands on my controller. We don’t have three hands, unfortunately.”
Indeed. SmartGlass has other major disadvantages, namely, developers can’t count on that players will have access to a secondary screen. This means that the screen can’t contain any major gameplay feature since there’s no assurance that players will have a screen at their disposal. The Wii U on the other hand, includes a touchscreen controller with every single console.
