Smart Glass is going to be in every single first-party Xbox 360 game. 'Better with Smart Glass'?
The smart money's on tablet control
Kinect may have been subliminally woven into every facet of Microsoft's E3 2012 press conference, but it's not the only feature that's seemingly omnipresent in the Xbox's future. Speaking to Joystiq, Phil Spencer, Corporate VP of Microsoft Studios, confirmed that Microsoft Game Studios will be incorporating Smart Glass into every game it releases after the service launches this autumn. 'Better with Kinect and Smart Glass', perhaps?
In case by some miracle of ignorance you completely missed E3 this year, Smart Glass is a feature that connects the 'phone or tablet you already own' (assuming you do actually own one) to your Xbox 360, allowing you to browse extra information about TV and movies and see extra game information on your iPad or Android device as you play.
Above: A video showing how you could conceivably control Madden on a tablet device
You could argue it's a method of copying Nintendo's Wii U Game Pad without actually investing money in creating new hardware, but that would be a very cynical way of looking at what could be an interesting and worthwhile feature. Even if it does end up benefiting Nintendo more than it does Microsoft.
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Justin was a GamesRadar staffer for 10 years but is now a freelancer, musician and videographer. He's big on retro, Sega and racing games (especially retro Sega racing games) and currently also writes for Play Magazine, Traxion.gg, PC Gamer and TopTenReviews, as well as running his own YouTube channel. Having learned to love all platforms equally after Sega left the hardware industry (sniff), his favourite games include Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams, Zelda BotW, Sea of Thieves, Sega Rally Championship and Treasure Island Dizzy.