14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is set to hold its E3 2012 press conference later today, but already one of its biggest announcements has been foiled by a new report. This says that the company will turn the Xbox 360 into a true entertainment center by allowing it to communicate with devices like smartphones or tablets by sending and receiving content.
The Xbox 360 has been selling quite well in the past few years and, in order to attract even more people, Microsoft is now set to debut a brand new service.
This is the so-called Xbox Live Companion application for the Android, iOS and Windows Phone operating systems (not to be confused with the existing Xbox Companion app).
This new service, according to Kotaku, will allow users to stream content from their console onto smartphones and tablets running those operating systems, effectively turning them into accessories for the Xbox 360.
The app is made by Microsoft and developers need only implement support for it into their games in order to take advantage of it.
As such, when playing Halo 4, for example, players can check out content like the inventory by turning on the Xbox Live Companion app, while Xbox Live Gold members will be able to access advanced things like hacking minigames and other such things.
The new companion app also works both ways, allowing people to stream content from their phones, like photos or movies, to the Xbox 360.
While the Xbox Live Companion system is unable to stream actual gameplay from the Xbox 360 onto a device, apparently Microsoft is working hard on such a technology, so we’ll get to see it at some point in time, probably when the company debuts the next-generation Xbox 720.
Expect to see the full reveal of this new Xbox 360 service later today, during Microsoft’s E3 2012 press conference.