Is Second Screen Gaming The Future of Gaming?

The emergence and propagation of mobile devices has completely reshaped our perception and approach towards life. Mobile devices have also put significant pressure on a number of other technologies, one of which is the gaming console, particularly the portable versions.

Despite their continued growth in sales, portable gaming consoles have been losing their market share to devices such as the tablet. The number of people owning tablets is increasing rapidly, and most tablet users have at least one game on their device – anything from Angry Birds to Real Racing 2 HD to Dungeon Hunter HD. The presence of these competitors has prompted the likes of Sony to rethink their famous and well-established PSP device.

Sony distributed their PS Vita early in 2012, with a number of specifications to rival current tablets such as a 5 inch OLED touch screen as well as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and optional 3G connectivity choices.

But the real innovation lies in the Vita’s capability of doubling up as a PS3 controller, soon to become available via a software update. This innovation flows through to their Mobile service, which enables users to push the game from their PS3 onto the Vita which becomes the ‘second screen’ so that they can ‘take’ the game with them and continue playing whilst on the move.

But innovation like this is difficult to keep out of public knowledge and it is unclear who was the first to come up with idea, as Nintendo also look set to release their version of the second screen, the WiiU Gamepad.

As well as possessing the capabilities of the PS Vita, this upgrade comes complete with an accelerometer (typically used for location tracking), a camera, a microphone and NFC technology which is used for close range wireless data transfer and contactless payments… is this a gamepad, or a tablet with enhanced gaming potential?

However, Microsoft’s Xbox SmartGlass is the hot topic at the moment. SmartGlass is a Windows 8 app that can be downloaded to a variety of Windows-based technology, including PCs, laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

SmartGlass enables users to interact with games and other content such as music and video on their console using any one of these devices, bringing Microsoft into the second-screen market. Users can initiate any activity on their console which can be pushed onto their SmartGlass enabled device. The key here is that this activity is not limited to a single device as with the PlayStation and WiiU, but can be any enabled device.Users will also be able to check stats or modify settings on their second screen, whilst gaming or running other media.

An important advantage of Smartglass is that consumers will not have to spend on purchasing a new device altogether, but can simply download an app across all the Windows-based devices they already own. Microsoft hopes that this open system will be advantageous over their Sony and Nintendo rivals.

In a further bid to push their Xbox console, Microsoft has promised that the app will eventually be available across all operating systems including Android and iOS.

Many believe that second screen gaming is the future, and rightly so. We are becoming increasingly dependent on mobile devices and it is likely that they will become our companions during any form of media interaction, including gaming.