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

[mrstickball]

Darc Requiem said:

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.

Yet time has proven that given the choice of "Free" and "Expensive", they are going to choose free with a minimal reduction in quality, if or when it is available.

If a device gives you a slightly degredated capability of another system, but at no cost, consumers will buy it up. Look at YouTube. it's not the greatest quality for videos, movies, or music, yet people clamor over it because its free. The same can be said for paid/free gaming apps. When users can get them free, they will clamor over them.

This situation is the same way. Will the WiiU tablet be "Better"? Probably. Will consumers purchase it due to this differentiation? Not any more. Its the same thing with handhelds vs. Smartphones. There isn't enough differentiation between the devices, which has caused a significant reduction in market penetration for the new generation of handhelds. Primarily because they'd rather game on devices they already have than buy a dedicated system for it.