Microsoft held a press conference on June 4th at the Galen Center at 9 am, all centered on the Xbox360 and its unceasing evolution. The title it went by, 'Xbox: Entertainment Evolved', was definitely one to remind of the glory of Halo, in association with 'Halo: Combat Evolved'. I found it useful that they opted for streaming the event on Spike TV and also on Xbox Live. The attraction factors for the day were the screening of enticing sequels (Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Halo 4, Resident Evil 6), newbie productions, and also the new Ascend: New Gods and LocoCycle. Sure, there were some Kinect new titles as well. As expected, this was a fairly nice bonus to those with a rave for these highly interactive products. This was, however, the time for the showdown with Usher performing to prove what Dance Central 3 is about.
The annual trade show for the video and computer games industry was marked by Microsoft especially by advocating the new multimedia features of Xbox360, which is actually going to benefit of great new partnerships. Those that caught my attention were the ESPN, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League, which certainly sounds fabulous to me, as a sport lover, and to anyone alike. In fact, regarding the Xbox360, the whole suite of games to be available is absolutely epic. Additionally, Xbox Music is going to make about 30 million tracks available, and the console will also benefit from Internet Explorer. However, the new developments concerned Xbox360 go beyond gaming, transforming your gaming console into a device to be efficiently paired with other systems, as you are going to see right away.
All in all, the truly sizzling news for me at E3 2012 coming from the giant were related to a brand new coinage that's ready for release – an application for Windows that connects your Xbox360 with your phone, tablet, or PC. Microsoft was seriously thinking of 'fun on the go', and this led to the hot release of SmartGlass, the application that promises to deliver new ways of entertainment, whether you are at home or far from it. It 'knows' what you are watching when you are in front of the TV and shows you extra features, and it can also immerse you in a game right on your TV screen or let you browse your favorite websites. SmartGlass is available for Windows 8, Windows Phone, as well as for iOS and Android devices.
I do like the idea of my mobile devices becoming a second screen. It is not only about gaming. SmartGlass causes a turn in the Xbox360 experience, connecting all fun together: games, music, Internet, movies. You may start playing something on the small screen and selectively choose to watch it on TV. With SmartGlass you have these actions available: scroll, browse, pinch, zoom. Beside, there is a whole range of custom options that apply to each form of entertainment, based on each program's specific features. Thus, it becomes easy to use this innovative technology to have a new, better tailor remote control.