E3 week is officially underway with their annual press conferences kicking things off. Microsoft had the honor of opening the week with their press conference and unveiled a new feature convenient for Android and Smartphone owners.
Syncing your Xbox360 to your device, “SmartGlass” grants the user many features such as being able to navigate a movie on their tablet while watching it on their gaming system. In one demo, Microsoft showed how you could be watching “Game of Thrones” on your Xbox while your tablet shows you an interactive map of Westeros, pinpointing events occuring in the story at the given time. ”SmartGlass” also is capable of turning your tablet into a controller for games as well. With Nintendo##Q##s “Wii U” utilizing similar technology with their built in controls, this could deliver a soft blow to Wii U sales upon their release.
Another new feature to be added to the Xbox will be the integration of Internet Explorer this coming fall. Users will now be able to integrate the motion and voice detection of the Kinect to browse the web. Maybe one step closer to us being able to utilize the hub technology Tony Stark used in “The Avengers”?
Microsoft also showcased multiple titles set to be released in the coming year. Special guests to the conference included South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker as well as Usher.
Parker and Stone detailed an upcoming South Park game for the Kinect “The Stick of Truth”:
Meanwhile, Usher had a surprise performance showcasing the newest installment of the hit dance series, “Dance Central 3″.
Other titles announced that had fans buzzing included” Halo 4″, “Tomb Raider”, and finally “Call of Duty Black Ops 2″.
While it wasn##Q##t the announcement of the next generation video game system that many of us were looking for, definitely a solid showing by Microsoft this year for gamers and tech enthusiasts alike!
