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All first-party Microsoft games going forward will feature SmartGlass support

'It just makes so much sense'

All first-party Microsoft games going forward will feature SmartGlass support
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Microsoft's Phil Spencer has suggested in a recent interview with website Joystiq, that all first-party Xbox 360 titles released after this autumn will feature support for SmartGlass - an application that allows you to control and interact with your console via your smartphone or tablet.

"Expect SmartGlass support in every Microsoft Studios game going forward," the Microsoft Studios vice president purportedly told Joystiq.

The SmartGlass application will allow you to view game data, such as maps and statistics, on your handheld device as you play, or select tactics and command troops on the fly.

"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 remarked when talking about third-party games.

Clever girl

SmartGlass will automatically recognise the game you're playing on your console and display its corresponding data on your portable device, meaning you don't have to fiddle with separate apps for all of your games.

"So you have this surface, this smart surface, 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."

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Anthony Usher
Anthony Usher
Anthony is a Liverpool, UK-based writer who fell in love with gaming while playing Super Mario World on his SNES back in the early '90s. When he isn't busy grooming his beard, you can find him replaying Resident Evil or Final Fantasy VII for the umpteenth time. Aside from gaming, Anthony likes hiking, MMA, and pretending he’s a Viking.