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Microsoft SmartGlass in action as Dance Central 3's second-screen DJ

Microsoft SmartGlass in action as Dance Central 3's second-screen DJ

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SmartGlass for Dance Central 3
SmartGlass for Dance Central 3

Dance Central 3 is an incredibly fun dance experience — a game that "pushes Kinect to new heights... [Harmonix's] best sequel yet," according to Polygon. Oddly enough, last week in New York, it was also the first chance we've had to get some quality time with Microsoft SmartGlass since its debut at E3 earlier this year.

The interface is simple enough: once connected to your Xbox, the user can tweak settings and add songs to the queue / create playlists. You can also set up a shopping cart of songs to purchase, but the transactions have to be finalized via the Xbox 360. The tablet interface we played with worked very well, but it's clear that the design is optimized for mobile view. The Dance Central series has always had a fast Kinect-based gesture system for going through the menus, arguably more efficient than Microsoft's own "hover hand" solution, but this is even more convenient. It's a simple but very convenient use of a second screen.

For Harmonix, the Dance Central 3 SmartGlass companion is more or less done. When it will come out entirely depends on Microsoft and its plans for the pseudo-platform.

Microsoft SmartGlass for Dance Central 3

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