Did Microsoft just make Nintendo's Wii U tablet irrevelant?

[mrstickball]

Darc Requiem said:

mrstickball said:
It didn't make the WiiU irrelevant, but it made its tablet irrelevant. Big difference.

I disagree. That would be true if every 360 sold had come with smart glass, but that isn't the case. It's an add on. An add on releasing 7 years into a consoles cycle, that never bodes well for support. Every WiiU comes with tablet controller. Developers don't have to account for a splintered userbase.

... You do realize this is software, not hardware?

There's a big difference between adapting a piece of software late into a console's lifecycle versus buying a new perpherial. Smartglass costs consumers $0. Every consumer that owns a smartphone or tablet has Smart Glass. That is probably 80-90% of users. That is a huge advantage in the fact that it negates any qualitative advantage the WiiU had with its tablet. Alternatively, it also means that developers will probably put money into adding tablet-based features to games, which may bode well for that aspect of the Wii U's viability. But its a pretty bad thing when companies can counter a major hardware selling point with software.