Dead Rising 3 Has Unique Character, Story Content on SmartGlass

Microsoft has been pushing SmartGlass even more after the announcement of the Xbox One, with more games including some sort of off-screen functionality. Capcom's Xbox One exclusive, Dead Rising 3, will not only have some SmartGlass capabilities, but it will also feature unique content specifically for compatible mobile devices.

In an interview with Siliconera, Dead Rising 3 executive producer Josh Bridge discussed what was so different about the way this new game used SmartGlass. "After you launch the app, it notices that Dead Rising is currently being played, press a button, and in kicks our phone. It actually skins your phone to be like the phone from the game’s universe," Bridge said. "You’ll get calls from a character that are only on the SmartGlass device. So if you don’t have SmartGlass, you won’t get those calls from that guy. Which also means you won’t get those missions."

This character will have a story of his own, which runs concurrent with the main narrative. Fortunately, SmartGlass won't be required to enjoy Dead Rising 3, as this extra content is completely optional. For those of you worried about losing out on potential achievements, that shouldn't be an issue. When asked if there were any unique cheevos to the tablet content, Bridge responded, "Umm... no. I don't think we can do that."

Even better, Bridge revealed there won't be any microtransactions included whatsoever. Instead, features like additional air strikes can be unlocked by this mysterious character, who will give you a code within the game's own economy. You won't be able to just buy dozens of missile attacks to bail yourself out of trouble.

It's an interesting evolution of SmartGlass, which at the moment is a rather pointless feature on the Xbox 360. Perhaps second screen functionality will become more engaging during the next generation, and Dead Rising 3 certainly sounds like it will attempt to make SmartGlass not only relevant but worthwhile, too.

What do you think about additional content being reserved for SmartGlass?