Nintendo flattered by SmartGlass, untroubled by Apple TV

Amidst concerns that its rivals could steal Wii U's thunder by offering similar features, Nintendo claims that Microsoft's SmartGlass technology isn't comparable, and that it's not worried by rumors of an Apple TV. One of Wii U's key differentiators from other systems is its GamePad tablet controller, which adds a second screen experience to the home console. But Microsoft appeared to offer a similar feature for Xbox 360 last week with SmartGlass, which allows smartphones and tablets to interact with games or media playing on the system. During an analyst meeting at E3, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata said his company was encouraged by others approaching a similar idea. He noted that while it took Microsoft and Sony three years to follow in Nintendo's footsteps to implement motion controls, the SmartGlass announcement came out only a year after Wii U's reveal. "I think that an approach that nobody follows is one that few people see value in," said Iwata. "So the fact that we have so quickly seen somebody following in the footsteps of what we first introduced with the Wii U, suggests that there are people who see great appeal in what we're offering. I think that's proof of that." At the same time, he suggested that SmartGlass suffers several disadvantages compared to the GamePad, such as the lack of physical controls with tablets and smartphones, problems from having a variety of possible devices to support, and issues with latency (the time it takes for commands from the controller to reach the game). "Clearly and naturally the latency for a situation like that is going to be very different from a device that has specifically been designed to achieve that type of seamless interaction versus a device that simply has conventional technology layered for each device to be purchased for individual reasons," pointed out Iwata. Indeed, while SmartGlass isn't intended to launch until this holiday, when Gamasutra previewed demos for the technology at E3, it was unclear if a games with support for the feature could use tablet or smartphone screens as real-time, responsive input devices in the same way as Wii U's GamePad. At the meeting, analysts were also concerned about Nintendo's plans to establish Wii U's GameTablet as consumers' primary point of interaction for their TVs. They worried that Apple could quickly displace the console if the company releases its long rumored TV, similar to how it disrupted the handheld games space with the iPhone. Iwata responded, "We see in the mobile phone market that typically there is a cycle of people replacing their phones roughly every couple of years so a new device like a smartphone penetrates the market quickly. But when it comes to the television market, the cycle for television replacement is actually much longer; say a five-year cycle at the shortest, to a seven or even 10-year cycle at the longest." "So, however fantastic the new television is to be launched, it's not as likely that people will immediately move to upgrade a television necessarily because of that longer cycle," he added.