Will Xbox 360 Smart Glass Kill the Wii U before it even launches? Yes or no?
Will Xbox SmartGlass be a Wii U killer? Yes or No.
That is the major question on everyone’s mind after Microsoft’s major Pre-E3 2012 Press Conference last night, which sent the internet abuzzing with the possibilities that Microsoft’s new “SmartGlass” system will bring to the Xbox 360, allowing your mobile devices to connect to your Xbox and add additional functionality, features and control to it… Be it a tablet, smartphone, iPod Touch, iPad, iPhone, Android or Windows Phone device….
Here is the E3 2012 Microsoft Pre-E3 Press Conference Xbox 360 Smart Glass Reveal.
Browsing the Internet on Xbox 360 is finally a reality with Internet Explorer for Xbox 360!
The full internet is explorable directly from your TV, additionally using Xbox SmartGlass, you can control the cursor on your screen by using a tablet, smartphone or iOS/Android device like an iPod Touch!
No word on whether or not you can download from the Internet or not.
Notes:
Fast, fluid, intuitive web experience, web transormed to TV. Control the website page with your tablet or phone, using the touchscreen of your device to control your cursor. Worldwide launch this fall 2012.
If you aren’t familiar with the term “digitital download”, it refers to the ability to purchase and download a digital copy (as opposed to buying a physical object in a real brick-and-mortar store) of a videogame file that is stored on the device you purchased it on. In this day and age, digital versions of major videogames are available from many publishers and for almost every platform.
Additionally, the Personal Computer platform has hosted digital downloads for a much longer time period. It wasn’t until this decade that console systems, mainly with the advent of Microsoft’s Xbox and it’s “Xbox Live” service that console users were finally given the ability to download digital products and digital updates These updates included “patches”, that fix issues with the original release; Or “DLC” which stands for “Downloadable Content” and adds all-new gameplay content and features to an existing product, expanding it and ensuring the life of the product is extended as players dive back in to play the new content.
With the advent of the iPhone and Apple’s runaway success in revolutionizing the MP3 Music Player market with their iPod and it’s “App Store” digital marketplace, the cellphone market with their iPhone and the tablet PC market with their iPad and the mobile gaming market with their iPod Touch; the term “App” (which is short for “application”, like a computer application you install on your PC… basically a replacement word for “program”) became a household name. Along with actual Apps that give you expanded functions for your device, like a Calculator, Guitar Tuner, Music Program or Alarm Clock (which is what the traditional word “App” originally described, those types of programs), the word “App” eventually became a catchall term that meant any downloadable program for a small “mobile” device like a Cellphone, iPod, Android, PDA or Tablet… and eventually even downloadable videogames were sometimes referred to as “Apps”. Btw the catchall term for Apple devices is “iOS” as they use the “iOS Operation System”.
All this history is to make a point… these days almost any device, including portable videogame systems, consoles game systems, computer systems (PC, Mac, Linux), cellphones, tablets, eReaders and other devices, all of them can download digital products. More and more everything you know, from movies and TV shows to videogames to books, magazines, comics and newspapers, are available in digital form and purchaseable in a non-physical state for access on a certain device.
Here I will list the Videogame Digital Downloads of the Week for many of these services. For an overview of what each service is (or means), read the footer at the bottom of this article.
New Digital Videogame Releases This Week (April 23rd-April 29th 2012):
Game Name: Bloodforge
Price: 1200 Microsoft Points (US$15 / €14.40 / £10.20 / CAN$18.60 / AU$19.80)
Availability: Check availability in your Xbox LIVE region
Synopsis: With a brutal combat system, stunning art style, and a deeply compelling story, “Bloodforge” empowers you to slaughter hordes of demonic soldiers, deformed worshippers, and the gods themselves, using ferocious Rage Kills, devastating Rune attacks, and furious Weapon Combos. Help seal Crom’s fate – and the fate of the rest of the world – in this dark, visceral story of revenge, betrayal, and destiny.
