Second Screen Gaming Only "Complimentary" on PS4/Xbone - Superior GamePad Latency

From Ubisoft's Yves Guillemot. Something we really already knew about, but still...

Guillemot added that working with the Wii U GamePad as the secondary screen, Ubisoft learned a lot about the second screen experience, something they’re applying now to development of mobile and tablet games. He said that they’ve learned enough from working on the Wii U GamePad to better integrate tablets as second screens in the upcoming next consoles from Sony and Microsoft.

However, he pointed out that the Wii U GamePad is still superior because of its much lower latency. Second screen gaming on the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One will only be “complimentary”, he said, and won’t affect the gameplay in a big way.

http://wiiudaily.com/2013/07/ubisoft-wii-u-has-a-chance-if-nintendo-releases-good-first-party-titles/

Well that's just obvious. Current Smartglass works over TCP/IP, so there's significant internet latency (meaning that direct gameplay control is practically impossible) and the Vita-PS3 remote play function still features significant amounts of lag (even when connected directly via adhoc WiFi N)

Even Miracast, which is currently the best commercial solution outside of Wii U (and the tech that was used as the basis for the Wii U's own local video streaming solution), features significant amounts of lag...

The Wii U's functionality isn't due to be topped by any other device any time soon and smartphone/tablet connectivity won't be a significant part of the PS4/Xbone's futures outside of bullet point ancillary features.

But there's a difference between streaming what is going on on screen and having another player use a tablet for complementary gameplay - like in The Division.

I think this article is kind of twisting his words. No, they won't work like the do with the Wii U so the Wii U will be unmatched in that way - but I don't think that's how second screens will be used.

But there's a difference between streaming what is going on on screen and having another player use a tablet for complementary gameplay - like in The Division.

 

I think this article is kind of twisting his words. No, they won't work like the do with the Wii U so the Wii U will be unmatched in that way - but I don't think that's how second screens will be used.

Whaaa

~0 sec latency gameplay aspects only possible on GamePad. Disjointed, isolated, nonessential aspects available on all 2nd screen devices.

No one really knows where the Wii U stands on remote iOS/Droid apps ATM.

I heard The Division has 2nd screen ability for another player to control a remote flying turret to provide cover fire, yadda yadda - but with high latency, how the hell will that realistically workout?

'High' latency and 'higher' latency are two different thing. Why would the latency be higher than it is between two consoles in a standard multiplayer game?

'High' latency and 'higher' latency are two different thing. Why would the latency be higher than it is between two consoles in a standard multiplayer game?

I suppose there's a point there, controlling a turret or the like might only be like playing CoD over the net. Network latency is a thing though. Which brings up another point. I really can't see PS4/Xbone processing and steaming a dedicated feed to the device, surely the device app must be mostly self contained with graphical and audio assests which means large app sizes.

If the consoles do process and stream visual and audio data, then yeah, that's where high latency would come from... just can't see that as an option though.

That's what I'm saying, I don't expect this implementation of the second screen will stream visual and audio.

Personally, I don't think they should, either. Everything should centre around the TV screen, the second screen should essentially be a second controller - like in The Division. The idea of uneven co-op is great. I don't expect a lot of my friends to be good at something like The Division by virtue of the complexity of the controller and mechanisms within the game but assisting via the iPad or whatever, that's much easier to get a handle on. It's co-op gaming with two entry levels. I think it's one of the most exciting ideas to come out of the industry in the past year.

I'm not sure why large app sizes should be a problem (the assets would be made specifically for the app so I see no reason for them to be especially bloated).

Considering Wii U GamePad latency is lower than the latency between the Wii U and the TV, I'm not at all surprised by this

One interesting difference between the Wii U and XB1/PS4 (I'll just use PS4 from now for simplicity) is that the system can be used without the console present. Some games will allow you to interact with your game in some ways while out and about, like customising your character/vehicles.

I expect a lot of multiplayer games to allow you to cusomise your loadouts from your phone/tablets.

The Wii U system is designed for using it at the same time as the main game. The PS4 system is designed to be used by a second (incompetent) player or while out and about.

One interesting difference between the Wii U and XB1/PS4 (I'll just use PS4 from now for simplicity) is that the system can be used without the console present. Some games will allow you to interact with your game in some ways while out and about, like customising your character/vehicles.

 

I expect a lot of multiplayer games to allow you to cusomise your loadouts from your phone/tablets.

 

The Wii U system is designed for using it at the same time as the main game. The PS4 system is designed to be used by a second (incompetent) player or while out and about.

Yeah, but that's almost as bad as touchpad horn on MK8. Totally worthless gimmick IMO. And even then, Wii U could get these apps as well as GP features. Eek.

An example of the 2nd screen stuff the others definitely won't be achieving is the likes seen in Rayman Legends or NSMBU etc.

Yeah, but that's almost as bad as touchpad horn on MK8. Totally worthless gimmick IMO.

Really? It sounds incredibly useful. There's usually not enough time between matches to sort it all out and I'd rather jump straight into playing when I'm at home. Being able to sort out all my customisation and loadouts while on the bus would be pretty awesome.

I don't think anyone said it couldn't be done on the Wii U.

Custom loadouts is a pretty crap example and I don't think the latency is going to be anywhere near as bad as you think it'll be.

Would be cool to have the ingame map available in a game like Assassin's Creed and set up a to-do list or work out a strategy for assassination before going through with it - doodle annotations and such. There are so many neat ideas for an almost passive second screen.

Really? It sounds incredibly useful. There's usually not enough time between matches to sort it all out and I'd rather jump straight into playing when I'm at home. Being able to sort out all my customisation and loadouts while on the bus would be pretty awesome.

I just don't see anyone sat in work and suddenly thinking "oh, I just remembered, I'm nipping into larva village tonight to buy me the emerald armour, I better put on some shorts and flip flops so I can head straight out when I get back... save me all of 30 seconds" just nahh.

I don't think anyone said it couldn't be done on the Wii U.

 

Custom loadouts is a pretty crap example and I don't think the latency is going to be anywhere near as bad as you think it'll be.

 

Would be cool to have the ingame map available in a game like Assassin's Creed and set up a to-do list or work out a strategy for assassination before going through with it - doodle annotations and such. There are so many neat ideas for an almost passive second screen.

Maps and infantry on the screen are incredibly useful, not shit your pants revolutionary, but indispensable. Again though, the Wii U will always do this better because it's right there always in your hands. Putting a pad down to pick up your tablet is even more long-winded than pausing the game and going through menus.

The whole ethos of the Wii U doing it is that the gaming experience isn't as fractured, and something like Batman Wii U demonstrates that perfectly. Switching between pad and tab is doing the opposite.

I want it to be fractured. I want to be reading Reddit on my iPad in bed then decide fuck, I'm going to work out my plan for infiltrating and assassinating this dude. I want to do that while I'm listening to Spotify and then I want to check KNEE for what Rez thinks of Uncharted 27: Drake's Golden Pillar before having a go at him and telling him the only good Uncharted was the second and the rest are trash. Hell, I'll want to do all that while cooking dinner. I want the lines of gaming and web surfing, social media to blur.

It's about taking the game out of the livingroom; that confined and narrow area of play. I have my phone and my iPad with me almost always. I want them to complement my gaming without changing the core of it. I check Facebook and Instagram regularly, how awesome would it be if I could keep tabs on my villagers in Animal Crossing?! ...man, I stopped playing that game because I didn't play it for a week and I'm scared to go back because my village will be a mess. But with tablet/phone integration I could have kept tabs at any time. How is that not awesome or a desired feature?

I don't want my console to have to be on. I don't want to have to be near my console. I want the option to contribute to my game at work when I'm bored in a meeting. I want that whole experience precisely because it is fracture so when I switch on my console, the game pulls al that info and lets me carry out that perfect heist or assassination.

No one said it was revolutionary because multiscreens a pretty basic, even Chrome does it now. Honestly, I often don't switch my PS3 on because I'm not in the mood for it but I'm always on my iPad and if that can feed into the game that I will play when I eventually have time, brilliant.

Maybe that's exactly the Wii U's problem, that the experience isn't fractured when it really should be.

Jesus, take a breath

Again, you're taking about an app environment that the Wii U could also potentially have. The Wii U in that case then is both seemless and remote, whereas the PS4 and Bone are only fractured.

It's pretty hard going trying to refute the beneffits of the Wii U and GamePad's 2nd screen essence, you should relax and give credit where it's due.

I just don't understand why you think I'm saying the Wii U can't do this. I've explicitly said the opposite once already.

I don't think anyone said it couldn't be done on the Wii U.

It really isn't hard to understand that the way the Wii U uses the second screen and the way I am looking forward to using them are very different. When the second screen isn't divorced from the console and its main controller, I see very little benefit to it.

You make me feel like I'm taking crazy pills.

 

Maybe that's exactly the Wii U's problem, that the experience isn't fractured when it really should be.

I just don't understand why you think I'm saying the Wii U can't do this. I've explicitly said the opposite once already.

You have crazy pills! Share'em round!!

Uncharted 27: Drake's Golden Pillar

Queue Cheesy porno jazz intro, Drakes got to deliver some pizza to a horny widower who has bad plumbing and possibly an ancient artifact he needs to knock some cobwebs off

It's pretty hard going trying to refute the beneffits of the Wii U and GamePad's 2nd screen essence, you should relax and give credit where it's due.

It's a good system with great potential. When a game comes along and uses it properly, it could be brilliant. We're just saying that the two systems are different.

While the Wii U could do the remote stuff, there's a significant hurdle for developers to overcome: Nintendo have not done the groundwork. They would have to make the entire system from scratch. It could be done on the Wii U, but I don't think developers will be bothered to implement it due to the increased cost.

Also, we should perhaps wait to see how good the Gaikai streaming is before dismissing it completely. If I can play my PS4 from my friend's house using my Vita (and their internet), I think it may do pretty well at being able to stream and control a game if I'm sitting in the same room.

You have crazy pills! Share'em round!!

Those two statements aren't mutually exclusive; just because the Wii U's set-up isn't fractured, doesn't mean it can't be. You're an idiot.

Queue Cheesy porno jazz intro, Drakes got to deliver some pizza to a horny widower who has bad plumbing and possibly an ancient artifact he needs to knock some cobwebs off

And you know it isn't a party until Sully shows up.

It's a good system with great potential. When a game comes along and uses it properly, it could be brilliant. We're just saying that the two systems are different.

 

While the Wii U could do the remote stuff, there's a significant hurdle for developers to overcome: Nintendo have not done the groundwork. They would have to make the entire system from scratch. It could be done on the Wii U, but I don't think developers will be bothered to implement it due to the increased cost.

 

Also, we should perhaps wait to see how good the Gaikai streaming is before dismissing it completely. If I can play my PS4 from my friend's house using my Vita (and their internet), I think it may do pretty well at being able to stream and control a game if I'm sitting in the same room.

But what would be the groundwork to get an app to send what is essentially save data to the Wii U? Cloud storage. Nintendo said last year cloud storage is in the works launching sometime this year.

 

Those two statements aren't mutually exclusive; just because the Wii U's set-up isn't fractured, doesn't mean it can't be. You're an idiot.

Now you're just trying to sell me some idiot pills, aren't you. I'm not an idiot you know. (I'll take 12.)

But what would be the groundwork to get an app to send what is essentially save data to the Wii U? Cloud storage. Nintendo said last year cloud storage is in the works launching sometime this year.

Being able to observe and help people in a game is a bit more complicated than "cloud storage". In Battlefield 4 you have an interactive map, some in-game abilities and voice chat.

Being able to observe and help people in a game is a bit more complicated than "cloud storage". In Battlefield 4 you have an interactive map, some in-game abilities and voice chat.

But again, this is just basic multiplayer where the console is sending data over the net through a server to an app device instead of another console. The only geoundwork there is getting the app and console to exchange data.

Ubisoft seem to be behind the tablet thing the most and they aren't bothering with making an app for the Wii U. It could be done. I'm just saying that it's likely not going to be done, based on how Ubisoft and EA are the main people talking about it.

Ubisoft seem to be behind the tablet thing the most and they aren't bothering with making an app for the Wii U. It could be done. I'm just saying that it's likely not going to be done, based on how Ubisoft and EA are the main people talking about it.

I don't think there's been anything to suggest it will be done, no. Time will tell on all accounts.