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

[Darc Requiem]

mrstickball said:

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.

Software that is going to be on a multitude of devices of varying capabilities that the user may or may not have. That is setting aside the it would require you to be Shokan to use as effectively as a Wii U Gamepad. Which is a standardized piece of hardware with the same capability for everyone included with every WiiU.