One of my favourite reviewer said "It is either going to be a classic, either one of these critically acclaimed games nobody played".

When I saw the sales I cried a little =(

An extra screen is useful in games that don't pause. For example if you have the inventory on the gamepad you can still keep an eye out for movement on the main screen while changing weapons in Dark souls. Pausing is better though, NFS rivals' map is useless for a racer to plot an escape since the game doesn't pause.

Snap can be useful when you're following a guide, if you're own of those people :) For anything else it's just a nuisance having to divide the screen. Not once since win 95 have I thought, let's run this game in windowed mode so I can browse, watch Youtube etc at the same time.

I did use pip in '99 while playing Everquest when meditation was still slow and locked you to the book screen. A simple tv card put the tv picture in the corner, something to watch while staring at the book screen for minutes at a time in single player. But that's just bad game design, I doubt anyone is going to put up with that anymore. Plus watching anything with a plot was dangerous, get distracted at the wrong time and you can lose hours in that game.

I used it again on my old HD ready tv. It had split screen down the middle, I could play a game while my wife watched tv. It wasn't great, half the game experience (mixing the sound was terrible, so tv obviously won out for sound) and distracting for us both. So we rather watched and played together.
The only time I still use pip on tv is when I browse the guide or other channels during commercials. For the latter it's easier to simply hit record and watch it a bit later and skip the commercials.

Maybe the facebook generation likes it though. Keep a couple of chat windows open while playing or watching. Not for me.

a really well written well thought out thread forevercloud! ...and i completely agree.


DS sort of worked because the screens were so close together but even then most games didn't use two screens. i played TWEWY as well and frankly the game was exhausting. i got maybe 20 hours in and i just couldn't take it anymore, information overload.

wiiU (when i played it at the store; rayman) kept having a prompt that said "Look Up/Down" and i wasn't actually using two screens at the same time anyways. the screens are too far apart to utilize them.

xbone's snap is EXACTLY like PiP. i would never play a game while watching tv. ...and then why would i ever want my 48" TV reduced to 40" to make room for that second info.


nope,.. rapid switching is really the way to go. i being able to switch between things. i'm gaming now let me check my trophies real quick. i'm stuck on a level let me check gamefaqs/youtube real quick. i need a break from this level for a while let's watch some tv for a bit.

This is exactly how I feel.

DS Dual Screens, XBO Snap, Wii U(except with Multiplayer stuff), PS4/3 and Vita Rear View Mirror type functions,  I think they all have this same issue.

Going back to one screen for Pokemon in particular would be awful. Lots of other series use the second screen too well to abandon it -- Ace Attorney for instance.

I don't like dual screens, not even in my computer.

Rapid switching for me. I have pip and you've been able to snap in windows for a while now. I never use either feature. But dual screen gaming can be pretty cool. IF devs wake up and use it right. I'd kill to able to use my vita as my gauges in GT7. Speed, revs gear indicator and shift light. Or playing a game like cod or BF you could use the second screen to highlight an area that needs help or where you want you're team mates to hold or gather.

Your Everquest example sounds like its no different then switching when a game is paused. Like flipping the channel when commercials are running. There was nothing going on in your game so you could divy up your attention more easily.

It doesn't count  as multitasking if you are not the single person taking advantage of it's dual screen fuction. There is nothing wrong with one person using  different screens controlled by the same device. Thats not what is in question here.

True, that only leaves following along with a video guide.

Some games use pip, for example Siren blood curse, sight jacking. You're usually hiding somewhere though when looking through the viewpoint of someone else, so pip is not essential. The experiment is the only game I can think of that would not work the same with switching.

Not the same again I admit. Many windows simulting a security guard monitor. Nothing to do with snap or dual screen.

I've never liked dual screens for pc either. I can only focus on one at a time and tend to 'lose' stuff on the other. Alt-tab works better for me.